kafara

Kafara (also spelled kaffarah or kaffara) is an Islamic legal term referring to expiation or atonement for certain sins or violations. The concept denotes prescribed acts that a person must perform to make amends beyond sincere repentance, with the exact form and quantity varying by offense and juristic school. The word derives from an Arabic root meaning to cover or to atone.

Common applications of kaffara include:

- Breaking an oath (yamin): If a person swears an oath and breaks it, the kaffara commonly involves one of several options, such as feeding ten poor people, clothing ten people, freeing a slave, or fasting for three days; if performing the other options is not possible, fasting three days is prescribed.

- Deliberate breaking of a Ramadan fast: The principal kaffara for intentionally breaking a Ramadan fast is fasting sixty consecutive days; if this is not feasible, some legal traditions permit alternative forms of expiation, based on the school or local practice.

- Other vows or violations: In various contexts, kaffara can apply to specified vows or breaches of certain religious duties, with requirements that depend on the tradition consulted.

Kafara serves both moral and social functions, emphasizing accountability, purification of the offender, and, in several formulations, the feeding or clothing of the needy. Transliteration and details can vary across Arabic-speaking communities and Islamic schools of law.