Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu! I had the intention to fast the 10 days of Thul Hijjah, but after my first day of fasting, it was interrupted by my period, what shall I do now? I am now fasting the remaining days, but should I give expiation for those missed days? Please advise.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we would like to commend your keenness on fasting on those blessed days. We ask Allah, the Exalted, to accept your worship and guide you to all that is good. As for the days of Thul-Hijjah on which you did not fast due to menstruation (monthly period), they are not to be compensated.

Some scholars, though, held that it is legitimate to compensate them.

Shaykh Ibn ʻUthaymeen was asked, “If the day of ʻArafah comes and the woman is menstruating, can she make up for the fast after her period ends?” He replied, “No, because this fast is restricted to a specific day, and as that specific day passes, its fasting also passes. The same applies to the day of ʻAashooraa’.” [Fataawa Noor ʻala Ad-Darb]

Haashiyat Al-Jamal (a Shaafi'i book) reads, “Question: does one make up for the missed voluntary fasting such as Mondays and the day of ʻAshooraa’? The matter requires detail; making up for the fast of such days should be recommended considering the general recommendation of making up for the missed voluntary acts of worship related to a certain time (or date). The contrary was quoted from Ash-Shabsheeri, and he argued that such worship has certain meanings, and they were missed.”

Anyway, it is hoped that you would earn the reward for fasting on those days that you missed as long as you could not do so because of your period, given the general indication of the hadeeth which reads, “When a slave of Allah suffers from illness or sets on a journey, he is credited with equal rewards for whatever good deeds he used to do when he was healthy or at home.” [Al-Bukhaari and others]

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 116013.

Allah knows best.