The rich cannot buy themselves out of fasting
A number of days (designated for fasting), but whoever among you is ill or travelling,
then an equal number of other days, and for those who can bear it, a concession of
feeding a needy person. Then, whoever volunteers extra good work, it is better
for him, but if you fast, it is better for you if you only knew.
2:184
There have been a number of interpretations and translations of 2:184. In this paper, we will list the main interpretations. Then, in the light of the Quran, it can be determined as to what the correct meaning of the words in 2:184 is.
First Interpretation:
The traditional interpretation held by the main body of Muslim scholars replaces the Quranic words "those who can bear it" with the words "those who cannot bear it".
By changing the word "can" to "cannot", which is the exact opposite, the meaning becomes: those who cannot bear the fasting may feed the poor instead.
Needless to say, to add even one word to the words of God is to take liberties with God's words. It is a case of altering God's words to conform to personal understanding.
Taking such liberties implies that God forgot to add the word "not" and that they are correcting God's words! Do God's words need proofreading? Does God forget to add certain words?
Second Interpretation:
This interpretation states that for those who can afford to feed the poor, they can do so if they do not wish to fast. This is also an incorrect interpretation because it violates the following verses:
O you who believe, fasting is decreed upon you as it was decreed upon those before you so that you may be reverent. 2:183
Those of you who witnessed this month shall fast it. 2:185
The above verses confirm that fasting has been decreed by God upon us. Needless to say, God would not say He decreed fasting on us, then at the same time say: If you have money, you do not have to fast if you do not wish to!
It is also incorrect because God does not make the religion easier to follow for the wealthy. This would be an injustice and a case of preferential treatment in favour of the wealthy. God does not operate in such a manner.
The following is the relevant section of 2:184 as translated by Marmaduke Pickthall:
" .... for those who can afford it, there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need ..."
According to this erroneous translation, numerous scholars have granted those who are well off the choice of either fasting or feeding the poor!
This interpretation also violates the Quran because fasting is one of the major practices of Islam, so why would God allow some people to avoid one such major practice just because they are rich? If we allow such an interpretation of 2:184, it would not be any different in concept from saying: If you are rich, you do not have to observe your salat or utter the shahada as long as you feed a poor person!
God gave only two reasons for not fasting, they are sickness and travel. There is no justification in the Quran for a case of simply choosing not to fast, whatever the reason may be.
Third Interpretation:
First, we must note that the concession of feeding the poor comes immediately after the words: "whoever among you is ill or travelling, then an equal number of other days."
In other words, the concession of feeding the poor is available only to those who miss days of fasting due to sickness or travel. Only those are given the choice of fasting other days or feeding a poor person.
Then, out of the two choices, God says that fasting is the better choice:
But if you fast, it is better for you if you only knew. 2:184
In addition, the words go on to say that the one who fasts other days (in place of the missed ones), as well as feeding a poor person(s) is better still:
Then, whoever volunteers extra good work, it is better for him. 2:184
To sum up, after studying the verses about fasting, we are able to derive the following rules:
1- Fasting the month of Ramadan is decreed on all believers. All those who are neither sick nor travelling must fast, regardless of whether they are rich or poor:
O you who believe, fasting is decreed upon you as it was decreed upon those before you so that you may be reverent. 2:183
Those of you who witnessed this month shall fast it. 2:185
2- Those who miss days of fasting through sickness or travelling may fast other days when they are well or when they return from travelling:
Then, whoever among you is ill or travelling, then an equal number of other days. 2:184
3- Those who can afford it, and have missed some days due to travel or illness, are given a merciful choice of fasting other days or feeding a poor person:
For those who 'yutiqunahu' (can bear it), a concession of feeding a needy person (can be substituted). Then, whoever volunteers extra good work, it is better for him, but if you fast, it is better for you if you only knew. 2:184
Thus the concession of substituting fasting with feeding the poor is not available to anyone who can afford it, nor to anyone who chooses not to fast during Ramadan; it is only offered to those who miss days of fasting with a legitimate reason (illness or travel). It must also be said here that whoever misses a few days of fasting due to illness or travel, and prefers to take the option of feeding the poor, he/she is not avoiding a religious act, but only substituting one for another.
4- The choice of feeding the poor or observing fasting is allowed by God, as we read in other Quranic verses (as shown below).
5- Those who volunteer extra work, or in other words, not only do they feed a poor person, but also fast other days in place of the days they missed, are doing better still:
Then, whoever volunteers extra good work, it is better for him. 2:184
6- Those who are permanently ill, and so are unable to fast at any time, and are also poor and cannot afford to feed others, have no obligations. This is clear from the various Quranic verses where God states that God does not wish to cause anyone hardship in practising the religion (see 22:78), as well as the verses that confirm that God does not hold people accountable to what is beyond their means.
7- One may inquire: Why would God give the ones who can afford feeding the poor a choice of 2 options (to fast the missed day or to feed the poor in place of the missed days), yet for those with modest means, and cannot afford to feed the poor, only one option: to fast other days?
The simple answer is that, although those with modest means have only one option, they will always be guaranteed a higher reward when they fast other days for the ones they missed. This is told in the words:
"If you fast, it is better for you if you only knew".
As for those who can afford it, they will have the higher reward only if they choose the option of fasting other days for those missed.
As we know, when things are left to man's choice, man will not always choose what is best for him. As a result, it can be said that the lack of choice (for the poor) in this case is a blessing, for the poor will always attain the higher reward.
Relevant Questions:
This choice between fasting or feeding the poor raises a number of questions:
1- When we read 58:3-4, we find that God is speaking of those who estrange their wives, and how this is unrighteous. God gives a penalty for the men who do so, and that is to free a slave. But if this is not possible, then the man must fast two consecutive months (60 days), and if he is not physically able to do so, then he must feed 60 poor people.
Those who estrange their wives by equating them with their mothers, then go back and repeat that which they had said, they shall free a slave before the two of them may touch one another. That is what you are advised with, and God is All-Aware of what you do. The one who does not find the means is to fast two consecutive months before the two of them may touch one another. And the one who is not able to do so is to feed sixty needy people. That is so that you would believe in God and His messenger. Those are God's limits, and the disbelievers shall have a painful punishment. 58:3-4
The rule in these verses, which equates 60 days of fasting to feeding 60 needy people, gives us justification in saying that one day of fasting is equivalent to feeding one needy person.
2- In 5:89, we read about those who violate an oath. The penalty for doing so gives us a different ratio between fasting and feeding the needy:
God does not hold you accountable for your casual pledges, but He holds you accountable for the pledges which you make binding. The atonement for it (violating an oath) is by feeding ten needy people from the average of what you feed your families, or by clothing them, or by freeing a slave. Whoever does not have the means shall fast three days. 5:89
Here we see that the ratio is not feeding one person or fasting one day. The ratio here is feeding 10 persons or fasting 3 days. This makes us inquire why in 58:4 the ratio between feeding the poor and fasting a number of days is 1:1, but in 5:89 it is 10:3?
3- When we read our original verse, which is 2:184, we find that God gives the minimum possible (feeding one poor person) for every day missed, not 60 poor people (58:4) nor 10 poor people (5:89), so which set of numbers should we follow?
There is a simple answer to all this. To understand this issue, we need to remind ourselves of the subject of each verse and the ratio between feeding the poor and fasting in each:
In 58:4, the subject is those who estrange their wives. The penalty is feeding 60 people or fasting 60 days. In other words, feeding one person is equivalent to fasting one day.
In 5:89, the subject is violating an oath, and the penalty is feeding 10 people or fasting 3 days.
In 2:184, the subject is missing days of fasting through illness or travel. Here we find that, unlike 58:4 and 5:89, God says in 2:184 that the better option is to fast other days "if you fast, it is better for you if you only knew". But if not, substituting it with feeding one poor person, which is the minimum, then God also encourages us to do more.
The answer is that in both 58:4 and 5:89, feeding the poor or fasting are decreed as penalties for specific sins which we have committed (violating an oath or estranging our wives). Thus, the penalties are fixed and not left to our own will. However, in 2:184, there is no sin committed since missing fasting through illness or travel is not a sin, it is in accordance with God's rules for fasting.
As a result, God in His Mercy says that if we miss days of fasting due to sickness or travel, we should fast other days or feed the poor. Without stating numbers, the minimum would thus be feeding one person for every day's fasting missed. To increase the minimum would therefore be a personal choice, one that will be rewarded accordingly:
Then, whoever volunteers extra good work, it is better for him. 2:184