I Forgot the Number of Days I Missed Fasting Due to Irregular Menstruation Over Four Ramadans and Cannot Even Estimate Them. How Should I Make Them Up?

Secondly: The difference between menstrual bleeding (hayd) and irregular non-menstrual bleeding (istihadah) This is among the most important matters that must be considered in the questioner's situation, because bleeding caused by illness or medication is not necessarily all menstrual bleeding.

Important note: The questioner should not automatically consider every instance of bleeding caused by medication to be istihadah, nor should she consider every instance of bleeding to be menstruation. Rather, it is necessary to determine the nature of the interruptions in bleeding and the periods of purity, her previous menstrual habit, and the duration of bleeding in order to establish the correct ruling. Thirdly: What should she do if she has forgotten the number of days she missed fasting?

Fourthly: How should she calculate the missed days over the four years? The questioner may follow the following method: 1. Refer to her previous menstrual habit: She should recall the usual duration of her menstrual cycle before the irregularities began, if she previously had a consistent cycle. 2. Review her medical records: She should check her medical records, medication schedules, or any calendar in which she may have recorded the days of bleeding. 3. Distinguish between menstruation and istihadah: To the best of her ability, she should distinguish between the days that were considered menstruation and those that were considered istihadah, according to the Islamic guidelines. 4. Determine the days she actually missed fasting: She should calculate the number of days she did not fast during each Ramadan, excluding any days she has already made up. 5. Combine the remaining days: She should add together the outstanding days from all four years and make them up according to her ability. For example, if after making a reasonable effort she believes that she owes six days from the first Ramadan, seven from the second, five from the third, and eight from the fourth, she should make up a total of twenty-six days. This is merely an illustrative example and is not an estimate of the questioner's actual situation, since the number of days she missed is unknown. She is not required to make up every day of all four Ramadans merely because she has forgotten the number of days she missed. Rather, what is required is to exercise her judgment and make a reasonable effort to determine the number, not to burden herself with obligations for which there is no evidence. Fifthly: The ruling on delaying the makeup fasts from 2023 to 2026 If the delay in making up the fasts was due to an ongoing illness or an inability to fast, she is not sinful for the delay, nor is she required to feed the poor because of this excused delay.

Sixthly: Is it permissible for her to make up the fasts on separate days? It is permissible for her to make up the missed fasts on separate days, and she is not required to fast them consecutively. If she experiences difficulty fasting on consecutive days, she may fast one day, refrain from fasting for several days, and then resume making up the fasts until she has completed all the days she owes. If her illness or treatment causes fasting to be harmful to her, she may delay making up the fasts until she is able to fast without significant harm. She should also consult a specialist physician to determine whether she is medically capable of fasting. However, if it is established that her illness is chronic and that she will remain permanently unable to fast in the future, with no expectation of recovery, then her situation falls under the rulings concerning a person who is permanently incapable of fasting. In that case, consideration should be given to feeding the poor instead of making up the fasts. However, this ruling does not apply merely because she suffers from endometriosis, since the illness may persist while she remains capable of fasting. Conclusion: The questioner must make a reasonable effort to determine the number of days she missed fasting during Ramadan from 2023 to 2026 and make up the number of days she reasonably believes remain obligatory upon her. She is not required to know the exact number with certainty if doing so is beyond her ability. However, she should first distinguish between menstrual bleeding and istihadah, because not all bleeding caused by illness or medication is necessarily menstruation. Therefore, it is not permissible to count every day of bleeding as a day that must be made up without first establishing the correct ruling concerning that bleeding. If the delay in making up the fasts was due to illness or an inability to fast, she is neither sinful nor required to feed the poor because of this excused delay. Rather, she must make up the fasts when she becomes capable of doing so. We advise the questioner to present the details of her previous menstrual habit, the days on which bleeding occurred, and the periods during which it stopped to a trustworthy scholar. This is because correctly identifying the days of menstruation and istihadah in her situation is essential to determining the fasting days she is required to make up. We ask Allah Almighty to grant her healing and well-being, make it easy for her to make up the fasts she owes, and relieve her of hardship and difficulty.