Fathwa, - Expiation for missed fasting may be delayed until one is able to offer it

Question
I have 375 missed fasts as for today...I have to give Fidya of 3500kg
of rice. As I am not able to make up 375 in a year..what is the best I
can do right now? Even if I do give 3500kg this year, next year I will
have to give Fidya again for 375days.. and the year after but I do not
wish to tax my husband each year and I have no personal income.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His Slave and Messenger.
If you have missed fasts, then you have to make them up, whether they
are few or many. You are not obliged to make them up in order; rather,
it is permissible to divide them according to your ability.
We wish that the sister who asked the question could have mentioned to
us more details about her missed fasts and the reason behind delaying
making them up so that we may know whether expiation is obligatory on
her or not. Anyway, if she has to offer expiation, then the expiation
is obligatory on her wealth not the wealth of her husband. However,
her husband may offer expiation on her behalf with her permission.
As for expiation, it is to feed one poor person the amount of one Mudd
)of staple food( for each day. So, if she missed fasting 375 days,
then she has to offer 375 Mudds. A Mudd is equal to the amount of two
handfuls scooped up by someone with hands of average size, equaling
750 grams approximately, i.e. it is less than one kilogram.
Accordingly, what the questioner mentioned that she is obligated to
offer 3500 kilograms is incorrect; rather, it is just 281 kilograms.
According to most scholars, expiation does not multiply when the
fasting is delayed for many months of Ramadhaan.Ibn
MuflihAl-Hanbalisaid in Al-Mubdi'i: "If several Ramadhaans pass, then
one is not obliged to offer more than one ransom because repeated
delay does not increase the obligation, like if someone delayed the
obligatory Hajj for years, he would not be obliged to perform it more
than once." ]End quote[
The opinion we adopt here in Islamweb is that expiation does not
multiply )with the multiplication of the years(. For more benefit,
kindly refer to Fataawa 83400and 101245.
On the other hand, if she does not have what she offers expiation
with, then ransom will remain obligatory on her and whenever she finds
what she can offer as a ransom, she may offer it. But, she will not be
sinful if she delayed the ransom because she is not able to offer it.
Allaah The Almighty says )what means(:
• }Allaah does not charge a soul except ]with that within[ its
capacity.{]Quran 2:286[
• }So fear Allaah as much as you are able.{]Quran 64:16[
Al-Buhootisaid in Kashshaaf Al-Qinaa': "Feeding that is obligatory
upon the one who delayed making up missed days of Ramadhaan until
another Ramadhaan came is not waived." ]End quote[
Allaah Knows best.