Having sexual intercourse with the wife in the daytime of Ramadan due to ignorance

Q 1: I was young and uneducated when I got married. My husband used to have sex with me in the daytime in Ramadan and I was agreeable, but I was ignorant of the punishment (Part No. 9; Page No. 236) and so was he. Now, he is dead and I do not know the number of days on which I did so. What should I do?

A: You are required to observe the due Kaffarah (expiation) of each day of Ramadan where you had sexual intercourse. The Kaffarah is to emancipate a believing slave. If you cannot do that, you have to fast two successive months (60 days). If this is impractical for you, you have to feed sixty poor persons for each day in which you had sexual intercourse. If you do not remember the number of days in which you did that, you can guess them. The same is true for your deceased husband. If he left an estate behind, the Kaffarah is to be given from it. If anyone of his relatives or even any Muslim wants to fast on his behalf, there is much good in doing so. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If anyone dies in a state (that he had to complete) some days of fasting, his heir must fast on his behalf. (agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)If there is no one to fast on his behalf and there is no Muslim slave to free, food for sixty poor people should be taken from his estate for every day in which he had sexual intercourse. Every poor person is to be given half a Sa` (1 Sa`=3 kg. Approx.) from the staple food of the country, such as rice. If he did not leave an estate but some of his relatives or some benevolent persons donate the food, it is good. You are also obliged to make up for the days on which you had sexual intercourse and you should feed a poor person half a Sa` for each day because you delayed making up for those days. The same applies to your deceased husband: to make up for those days on his behalf and to feed the needy for having delayed doing so. (Part No. 9; Page No. 237) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.