For most of my student life, I didn’t make up any of the missed fasts from the previous years. When I came to senses I had to make up fasts for about 14 years. On an average, if I missed 6 fasts each year, I had about 84 fasts to make up. I knew I couldn’t fast 84 days in a row. it just wasn’t realistic so I had to come up with a plan. Again, when my daughter was born a week before Ramadan, I had to make up 30 fasts from that year.

Are you on this same boat where you’ve accumulated a number of fasts that you need to make up due to pregnancy, breastfeeding, menstruation cycle, sickness, travel and what not? Whether you missed Ramadan fasts due to these valid reasons or other, if you set your mind to it, inshaAllah you can make up the missed fasts. If you’d like to join me on this journey, here’s few strategies that helped me tremendously. Hope they are helpful for you too along the way.

1. Know your goal and commit

As you may already know fasting outside of Ramadan is a very different experience. It lacks the amazing sense of community and feeling of oneness with the ummah. Life gets busy and we also forget sometimes. So it can feel very isolating to make up those fasts outside of Ramadan.

“Allah intends ease for you, not hardship, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful.”

-Quran 2.185

Just set your goal by calculating how many days you need to fast and know that Allah swt will make it easy for you. Make your intention. You can do it inshaAllah.

I always find it helpful to track my goals on paper. Download this simple Missed Fast Tracker to help you track your goal vs progress.

2. Strategically plan for which days to fast

My strategy is simple. I want to fast at least the 2 Sunnah days of the week – Monday and Thursday. This way, you can do 8 fasts a month, and knock off 88(11 months outside of the month of Ramadan) missed fasts in one year.

Sometimes, it may not be possible to fast every single week due to travel, work and other commitments. Make a goal to fast at least 75 days per year until you are caught up. I know many also target to fast on the al ayyam al beed, the white days which are 13th, 14th, and 15th of each Islamic month in the lunar calendar. Only you can plan which days you can fast. Decide and stick to the plan.

3. Take advantage of the cooler and shorter winter days

Winter is one of the best time to develop ourselves spiritually! Shorter days to fast, longer nights to worship. You can warm up the days and nights by worshiping Allah swt and fast extra days during winter months.

4. Find a buddy who needs to make up her fasts

Find someone you know who also wants to make up their fasts. It is so encouraging when others are doing it too with you. Motivate each other, meet for iftars and create a sense of sisterhood. If you can’t find someone near you, find someone virtually on social media groups and team up to make up your fasts.

May Allah give us the ability to make up all our missed fasts. May He accept all our efforts and fasts, and allow us to experience the joy of this upcoming Ramadan. Ameen.

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