He fasted before he reached puberty and he forgot to make up some days. Can he make them up after reaching puberty?

Question: 78591

When I started middle school – and I was 13 years old at that time – I broke the fast on three days and forgot about it, and I did not remember it until this year. Now I am sixteen and I have not reached puberty. Should I make up the fasts only or do I have to do anything else?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly:

A child is not obliged to do the obligatory duties of Islam
until after he reaches puberty, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Pen has been lifted from three:
from the insane person who has no control over his reason until he recovers,
from the sleeper until he wakes up, and from the child until he reaches
puberty.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (4399); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood. Whatever the child does of obligatory
duties or mustahabb deeds before reaching puberty, he will be rewarded for
them. Whoever performs Hajj when he is a child or fasts or prays, the reward
for that will be written for him in full, but his Hajj does not count as the
obligatory Hajj or Islam, and he has to do Hajj again after he grows up.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) met
some riders in al-Rawha’ and he said: Who are these people?” They said: We
are Muslims. They said: Who are you? He said: “The Messenger of Allaah.” A
woman lifted up a child and said: Is Hajj valid for this one? He said: “Yes,
and you will have the reward.” Narrated by Muslim (1336).

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

In this report is the evidence for al-Shaafa’i, Maalik, Ahmad
and the majority of scholars, who said that the Hajj of a child counts and
is valid, and he will be rewarded for it, but it does not count as the
obligatory Hajj of Islam, rather it counts as a voluntary Hajj. This hadeeth
is clear on this issue. End quote.

Sharh al-Nawawi (9/99).

Al-Khattaabi said:

It counts as Hajj for him with regard to attaining the
reward, but it is not to be counted as his obligatory Hajj if he lives until
the age of puberty and reaches manhood. This is like prayer, which he (the
minor) should be told to do if he is able to, although it is not obligatory
for him, but the reward will still be written for him, by the bounty of
Allaah, and it will also be written for the one who tells him to pray and
teaches him to pray.

See: ‘Awn al-Ma’bood (5/110).

He is not enjoined to make up the fasts that he missed when
he was a child, and he is not to be enjoined to make up any prayers that he
missed.

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

As for the days that he missed (of Ramadaan) before reaching
puberty, he does not have to make them up, whether he fasted them or not.
This is the view of the majority of scholars. Al-Mughni (3/94).

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said:

It is not obligatory for a child to fast, but his guardian
should tell him to fast so that he will get used to it. Fasting – for the
child who has not yet reached puberty – is Sunnah, and he will be rewarded
for fasting, but there is no sin on him if he does not fast. End quote.

Fiqh al-‘Ibaadaat (p. 186).

Based on this, you do not have to make up these three days
that you did not fast, because fasting was not obligatory for you. But if
you want to make them up there is nothing wrong with that. You should only
make up the fasts, one day for each day missed, and you do not have to do
anything else.

Secondly:

You say in your question that you are now 16 years old and
have not reached puberty.

But you have in fact reached puberty now, because puberty is
reached when one of three things happens which in the case of the male are:

1-Emission of maniy (semen)

2-Growth of coarse hair around
the private part (pubic hair)

3-Reaching the age of fifteen.

In the case of the female, there is a fourth sign which is
the onset of menstruation.

When one of the signs is established, then puberty has been
reached. It is not essential for all of these signs to be present.