500 children in Gaza, Sudan & 13 more countries are waiting for a guardian — earn 12 months of sadaqah jariyah today.
Sponsor a child500 children are waiting for a guardian — earn 12 months of Sadaqah Jariyah today.
Sponsor a child
500 children in Gaza, Sudan & 13 more countries are waiting for a guardian — earn 12 months of sadaqah jariyah today.
Sponsor a child500 children are waiting for a guardian — earn 12 months of Sadaqah Jariyah today.
Sponsor a child
1st August 2026
If you're asking “can I still fast if I missed suhoor”, or wondering what to do about a fast you've missed or broken during Ramadan, the good news is that Islam has clear, well-established answers for almost every situation. This guide covers what actually breaks a fast, what to do if you miss one through a valid excuse, what happens if you break your fast on purpose, and exactly how to make up what you owe.
Missing suhoor doesn't invalidate your fast, missing a fast for a valid excuse (illness, travel, menstruation) is made up later through Qada or Fidya, and deliberately breaking a fast without good reason requires the more serious expiation of Kaffarah, alongside sincere repentance.
No – this is one of the most common misunderstandings about fasting. Suhoor (the pre-dawn meal) is a Sunnah, a recommended practice, not a condition for your fast being valid. If you're asking “what can I do if I missed a fast” because you slept through suhoor, the answer is reassuringly simple: your fast still stands. Just continue as normal, without eating or drinking, until Maghrib. As long as your intention to fast was made for the day (or, for Ramadan specifically, a general intention for the whole month is sufficient in the majority view), oversleeping doesn't undo it.
So when do you break your fast, unintentionally or otherwise? A number of specific actions invalidate a fast if done deliberately during fasting hours:
● Intentionally eating or drinking.
● Intentionally inducing vomiting.
● Sexual intercourse.
● The start of menstrual or postnatal bleeding.
A number of things commonly assumed to break a fast actually don't, provided they're unintentional or don't involve swallowing anything: accidentally eating or drinking due to genuine forgetfulness, swallowing your own saliva, using eye or ear drops, brushing your teeth without swallowing water, or a non-nutritional injection. If you're ever unsure about a specific situation, it's worth checking with a local imam or trusted scholar rather than assuming the worst.
Islam recognises several valid reasons for missing a fast, including illness, travelling, menstruation, pregnancy and breastfeeding. What you owe afterwards depends on whether the excuse is temporary or permanent. If you have a temporary illness with a genuine hope of recovery, you must make up the missed fasts (Qada) once you're able to. If the illness is permanent, with no reasonable hope of recovery, you're exempt from fasting altogether and instead pay Fidya – the Qur'an describes this directly:
“For those who can only fast with extreme difficulty, compensation can be made by feeding a needy person for every day not fasted”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:184)
For menstruating women, fasting isn't permitted during bleeding, and any fasts missed for this reason must be made up (Qada). Once bleeding stops, perform ghusl and continue fasting the remaining days of that Ramadan as normal – there's no need to wait. Any days missed while bleeding are then made up after Ramadan ends, before the next Ramadan begins; there's no Fidya alternative here, since this is considered a temporary condition. For pregnant or breastfeeding women, the default is to fast as normal, and only avoid it if there's a genuine concern for your own health or your baby's. The position on what's owed afterwards is a little more nuanced: many scholars treat this similarly to illness, requiring Qada once it's safe to fast again, while others permit Fidya instead in certain circumstances, particularly where the primary concern is for the baby's health rather than the mother's own. Given how much this can depend on individual health circumstances, it's worth speaking to a knowledgeable scholar about your specific situation rather than relying on general guidance alone.
For travelling, Islamic fiqh generally defines a traveller as someone journeying at least 48 miles (77km) from home and staying less than 15 days at their destination – the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah has relieved the traveller of fasting and half of prayer” (Sunan Ibn Majah). Fasts missed while travelling under this definition are made up (Qada) once you're home.
What happens if you break your fast on purpose, without any valid excuse? It's treated far more seriously than missing one for a genuine reason. It requires Kaffarah – the more significant expiation of fasting 60 consecutive days, or, if that isn't possible, feeding 60 people in need (commonly calculated at around £5 per person, the approximate cost of a meal, though you should confirm the exact current rate via Human Appeal's own calculator) – in addition to making up the single missed day itself.
Alongside Kaffarah, sincere repentance (tawbah) matters just as much: genuinely regretting what happened, stopping the behaviour, resolving not to repeat it, and turning back to Allah with sincerity. There's no requirement to publicly announce or confess a broken fast to anyone – this is a matter between you and Allah – but the obligation to make amends through Kaffarah and Qada remains, and shouldn't be delayed indefinitely.
Here's a quick summary of the three main compensation options and when each applies:
Option | When it applies | What it involves |
Qada | Fasts missed for a temporary, valid excuse – illness, travel, menstruation, or postnatal bleeding. | Making up the missed day with a fast of your own, any time before the next Ramadan begins. |
Fidya | Fasts missed due to a permanent or long-term inability to fast – chronic illness or frail old age. | Feeding one person (or the monetary equivalent) for each missed day, instead of making it up. |
Kaffarah | Deliberately, intentionally breaking a fast without a valid excuse. | Fasting 60 consecutive days, or feeding 60 people, in addition to making up the single missed day. |
Working out exactly what you owe doesn't need to be complicated. Human Appeal's Fidya and Kaffarah appeal includes calculators to work out precisely how much to give, whether you're unable to fast at all this Ramadan or need to make amends for a fast broken intentionally – so you can move straight from understanding your obligation to fulfilling it, accurately and without guesswork.
Spiritual
Explore the three levels of fasting: physical, mental, and spiritual. Learn how to deepen your understanding of fasting beyond abstaining from food and drink, and cultivate inner peace and spiritual growth.
Spiritual
While Ramadan is about much more than abstaining from food, fasting has a number of health and spiritual benefits.
Spiritual
In this guide, we’ll walk you through preparing for the holy month of Ramadan so that you can embark on this spiritual journey with a sense of readiness and purpose.
No – this is between you and Allah, not something you need to declare publicly. What matters is dealing with the obligation sincerely, whether that's Qada, Fidya or Kaffarah, rather than delaying it indefinitely.
They don't need to be consecutive. Missed fasts can be made up individually, spread across the year, as long as they're completed before the next Ramadan begins.
Make a sincere, reasonable estimate based on your best recollection, and use that figure. Islam doesn't require impossible precision, just honest effort to make things right.
There's no fixed calendar deadline, but it should be paid as soon as reasonably possible – leaving it indefinitely means leaving a genuine obligation unfulfilled for longer than necessary.
