<b>Guidance from the Hadith:</b><br> 1) If a person dies while some fast is still due on him, his heir should observe the fast on his behalf. This applies to the vowed fast.<br> 2) If a person, who has not observed the fast of Ramadān for a valid excuse and dies, his missed fast should be compensated by feeding a poor person for each day. No one should fast on his behalf to make up for missed obligatory fast.<br> Note:<br> The legitimacy of making up for missed fast on behalf of a dead person pertains only to a vowed fast, as indicated by all relevant texts and because this is the view held by the Companions, the most knowledgeable in this Ummah. Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: “If someone falls ill in Ramadān and then dies without observing the fast, poor people should be fed on his behalf. If he makes a vow, however, his heir should fulfill it on his behalf.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd] Commenting on this Hadith, he said: “This relates to vows.”<br> Imam Ahmad said: “No one should fast on behalf of a dead person except for a vowed fast.” This was reported by Abu Dāwūd on the authority of Imam Ahmad.<br> <br> <b>Benefit:</b><br> In his book Tahdhib Sunan Abu Dāwūd, Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said:<br> “The obligation of fasting is treated like prayer. Just as no one can pray on behalf of another or embrace Islam on behalf of another, also no one can fast on behalf of someone else. A vow, on the other hand, is a liability as due as a debt. So, an heir can fulfill a person’s vow on his behalf just as he can repay his debt. This is the right and accurate understanding.”<br> He also said:<br> “The difference lies in the fact that when a person makes a vow, it becomes a liability upon him. Yet, the Shariah has not imposed it upon him in the first place. So, it is less in degree than the obligations imposed upon him as rights to the Legislator, whether he likes it or not. Moreover, a person can be liable to things he can do and things he cannot, unlike the Shariah obligations, which are only due upon those who can do them and cease to be due in case of a person’s inability to perform them. Hence, a personal liability is broader than an originally religious duty, as a person can accept various obligations and can fulfill them by various methods not imposed upon him by the Shariah. So, there are broader ways to discharge personal liabilities than to perform religious duties; that is why there is no need for someone to discharge a personal liability on behalf of someone else after his death. This makes it clear that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) possessed the best understanding and the deepest knowledge of the Shariah and its objectives and wise purposes.”