Kaffarah calculator
Find out what you owe for a broken oath or a fast you broke on purpose: how many people to feed, what it costs in your currency, or how many days to fast. Hanafi rulings first.
Madhhab
Quick guide
- Oath
- Feed or clothe 10, or fast 3 days
- Fast
- 60 days in a row, or feed 60
- Per person
- One fitrana (Hanafi)
Nothing you type leaves this device. This is guidance to help you understand the rules; for your own case, ask a scholar you trust.
Guide
What is kaffarah? Oaths and fasts
Kaffarah is an expiation: an act Allah has set to wipe out a particular sin. There are two kinds most people need. For a broken oath, feed ten poor people, or clothe them, and only if you cannot afford that, fast three days. For deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast, fast sixty days in a row, and only if you cannot, feed sixty poor people. Kaffarah is not a fine; it comes with sincere repentance.
Kaffarah for breaking an oath
لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَٰنِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ ٱلْأَيْمَٰنَ ۖ فَكَفَّٰرَتُهُۥٓ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَٰكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍۢ ۖ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَٰثَةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ كَفَّٰرَةُ أَيْمَٰنِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ ۚ وَٱحْفَظُوٓا۟ أَيْمَٰنَكُمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Laa yu'aakhizukumul laahu billaghwi feee aimaanikum wa laakiny ya'aakhizukum bimaa 'aqqattumul aimaana fakaf faaratuhooo it'aamu 'asharati masaakeena min awsati maa tut'imoona ahleekum aw kiswatuhum aw tahreeru raqabatin famallam yajid fa Siyaamu salaasati aiyaam; zaalika kaffaaratu aimaanikum izaa halaftum; wahfazooo aimaanakum; kazaalika yubaiyinul laahu lakum Aayaatihee la'allakum tashkuroon
"Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]. That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn. But guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be grateful."
Quran 5:89, translation by Sahih International.
Kaffarah is due for breaking an oath about the future, sworn by Allah or one of His names or attributes, such as "wallahi", or by saying "I swear". You may choose to: feed ten poor people, each two filling meals or half a sa of wheat (about 1.75 kg, one fitrana) or its value in money; or clothe ten poor people, each with a garment that covers most of the body, such as a long shirt or a full outfit; or free a slave. You may also give one poor person for ten days. Only if you cannot afford any of these do you fast three days in a row. The kaffarah is paid after the oath is broken, not before. Each broken oath needs its own kaffarah.1
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Each poor person is given one mudd (about 0.6 kg) of the local staple food, given as grain, not cash or meals. Any garment counts as clothing, even a cap or a scarf. The three days need not be in a row. Feeding or clothing may be given before the oath is broken.
- Maliki
- One mudd of food per person, or two meals in some views. Clothing must be enough to pray in: for a man a long garment, for a woman a dress and headscarf. The three days need not be in a row, though it is better. Kaffarah may be given before breaking the oath.
- Hanbali
- One mudd of wheat or half a sa of dates or barley per person, as food. Clothing must be enough to pray in. The three days must be in a row. Kaffarah may be given before breaking the oath.
Oaths that need no kaffarah
- A false oath about the past (al-ghamus), sworn knowing it is a lie, is a major sin. In the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools there is no kaffarah for it, only sincere repentance and putting right any harm done. The Shafi'i school requires kaffarah as well.
- A slip of the tongue (al-laghw), or swearing about the past while sincerely believing it true, carries no sin and no kaffarah (5:89).
- Swearing by anything other than Allah, such as by your parents or the Prophet ﷺ, is not a valid oath, so there is no kaffarah, but it is forbidden: the Prophet ﷺ said "whoever swears, let him swear by Allah or keep silent".2
- A promise without an oath is not an oath, though keeping promises is part of faith.
If you swore to do something sinful, or to leave something better, break the oath and pay the kaffarah: the Prophet ﷺ said that if you see something better than what you swore to, do what is better and expiate your oath.3 A vow (nadhr) is different from an oath and normally must be fulfilled.
Kaffarah for breaking a Ramadan fast
Kaffarah is due for deliberately eating, drinking or having intercourse during a Ramadan fast, without an excuse, after intending the fast at night. It is fasting 60 days in a row. Only someone who cannot fast them, through illness or old age, may instead feed 60 poor people, each one fitrana or two meals, or one poor person for 60 days. If a day in the 60 is missed, the count starts again, except for a woman's period. Each broken day is also made up (qada). Several days broken in the same Ramadan need one kaffarah, if none was done in between. A woman who agreed to intercourse owes her own kaffarah.4
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Kaffarah is due only for intercourse, and only from the man, for each day broken. Eating or drinking on purpose needs a make-up fast and repentance.
- Maliki
- Kaffarah is due for deliberate eating, drinking and intercourse, for each day broken. You may choose between feeding 60 poor people, one mudd each, which is preferred, and fasting 60 days in a row.
- Hanbali
- Kaffarah is due only for intercourse, for each day broken. Eating or drinking on purpose needs a make-up fast and repentance.
The kaffarah of 60 days comes from the hadith of the man who came to the Prophet ﷺ saying he was ruined, because he had been with his wife while fasting in Ramadan. The Prophet ﷺ asked whether he could free a slave, then whether he could fast two months in a row, then whether he could feed sixty poor people.5 For fasts missed for a reason, such as illness or old age, see the fidya calculator.
How to pay kaffarah
In the Hanafi school you may pay the value in money to the poor, which most people do today, or give food, or invite poor people for two meals. Many charities and masjids accept kaffarah and feed people on your behalf: check that they feed the full number of people. In the other schools it must be given as food. Kaffarah goes to the same people as zakat, so not to your parents, children or spouse: see who can receive zakat.
- Quran 5:89; al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Ayman. The Hanafi requirement of three consecutive days follows the reading of Ibn Masud, "three consecutive days".
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Ibn Umar.
- Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah; a similar hadith from Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah is in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
- Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Sawm; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1936, from Abu Hurayrah.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know
What is kaffarah for breaking an oath?
Feed ten poor people, or clothe ten poor people. Only if you cannot afford either, fast three days. In the Hanafi school feeding each person is one fitrana or two meals, and the three days must be in a row.
How much is kaffarah for a broken oath in money?
In the Hanafi school, ten times the fitrana amount, since each of the ten people is given one fitrana. Enter your masjid's fitrana above to see the total in your currency.
How much is kaffarah for breaking a fast?
Sixty days of fasting in a row. Only if you cannot fast may you feed sixty poor people, which is sixty times the fitrana in the Hanafi school. You also make up the broken day.
Can I fast three days instead of paying kaffarah for an oath?
Only if you cannot afford to feed or clothe ten people. Fasting is the last option in the verse, not a free choice.
Is there kaffarah for lying under oath?
In the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools, no: a deliberately false oath about the past is a major sin that needs sincere repentance, not kaffarah. The Shafi'i school requires kaffarah too.
Can I give oath kaffarah to one person?
In the Hanafi school, yes, if you give the same poor person one share a day for ten days. Giving one person all ten shares on the same day counts as one. The other schools require ten different people.