Question:
I am a young girl, and due to my exams, I was forced to miss six fasts in Ramadan. The exams started during Ramadan, and the subjects were difficult. Had I not broken my fasts on those days, I would not have been able to prepare due to the difficulty of the subjects. I hope you can guide me on what I should do so that Allah may forgive me. May Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
Due to this shortcoming, it is obligatory upon you to repent and make up for the missed fasts. Allah accepts the repentance of those who turn to Him. The reality of the repentance that erases sins in the sight of Allah is as follows:
① Completely abandoning sins out of reverence for Allah and fear of His punishment.
② Feeling remorse and shame for past sins and mistakes.
③ Having a firm resolve never to commit the sin again in the future.
④ If the sin involves the rights of others, then it is necessary to free oneself from that obligation as well.
Allah Almighty says:
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ [Surah An-Nur: 31]
"O believers! Turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, so that you may succeed."
Furthermore, Allah commands:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا [Surah At-Tahrim: 8]
"O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance."
The Prophet ﷺ said:
التوبة تجب ماقبلها (Book of Repentance by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, p. 121)
"Repentance erases past sins."
Additionally, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever has wronged his brother, whether in regard to his honor or anything else, should seek his pardon today before a Day comes when neither dinar nor dirham will be of any use. If he has good deeds, they will be taken from him according to the extent of his wrongdoing. If he has no good deeds, the sins of his oppressed brother will be taken and placed upon him."
(Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Al-Mazalim, Hadith 2449 – Narrated by Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه)
May Allah grant you the ability to repent sincerely and fulfill the obligation of making up the missed fasts. Allah alone grants success.
Shaykh Ibn Baz (رحمه الله)