Can one catch up fast of previous years?
Yes, one can catch up on missed fasts from previous years. According to Al-Kafi, it is stated: If a man owes any days of fasting from Ramadan, let him make them up in any month he wishes, consecutively day by day. If he cannot, then he may make them up however he wishes. He should purify the days—whether he fasts them consecutively or separately, both are good.
Al-Kafi 2:217
Additionally, there is a narration that addresses the situation of a person who did not fast until another Ramadan came: If he recovered but delayed fasting until the next Ramadan, then he should fast the days he missed and give charity for each day by feeding a measure of food to a needy person, and he must make up the fast.
Al-Kafi 2:211
This indicates that not only is it permissible to make up missed fasts from previous years, but there may also be an obligation to compensate with charity if the fasts are not made up in a timely manner.
Sources
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Al-Kafi 2:217
Al-Kafi · Book 2, Hadith 217
Indeed, Iblis, cursed by God, dispatches the armies of the night from where the sun sets and rises. Therefore, increase the remembrance of God in these two hours and seek refuge with God from the evil of Iblis and his troops, and protect your children during these hours, for these are hours of heedlessness. — OR — If a man owes any days of fasting from Ramadan, let him make them up in any month he wishes, consecutively day by day. If he cannot, then he may make them up however he wishes. He should purify the days—whether he fasts them consecutively or separately, both are good. — OR — Gambling and plundering are not lawful. — OR — Regarding a man who married a woman and her father bestowed the dowry, his value being five hundred dirhams, on condition that she return one thousand dirhams to him. Then he divorced her before consummation. He said: She owes him nothing. — OR — I asked him about a house that fell on a group gathered under it, and it was unknown who died first. He said: ‘They inherit from one another.’ I said: ‘Imam Abu Hanifa introduced a certain ruling concerning two brothers, one was my master and the other was a servant of a man, one had one hundred thousand dirhams and the other had nothing; both drowned in a ship and it was not known who died first. The wealth belonged to the heirs of the one who had nothing; the heirs of the one with the money received nothing.’ Abu Abdullah said: ‘He heard that ruling and confirmed it.’
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Al-Kafi 2:211
Al-Kafi · Book 2, Hadith 211
Whoever says, 'O Lord, O God, O Lord, O God,' until his soul departs, is told, 'At your service, what is your need?' — OR — I asked them about a man who fell ill and did not fast until another Ramadan came. They said: If he recovered but delayed fasting until the next Ramadan, then he should fast the days he missed and give charity for each day by feeding a measure of food to a needy person, and he must make up the fast. If he remained ill until the next Ramadan, then when he becomes able to fast that Ramadan, he should fast those days and give charity for the first set of missed days for each day, but he is not required to make up those missed fasts. — OR — I asked him about buying and selling manuscripts. He said: "Do not buy the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, but buy the iron, the paper, and the binding, and say: 'I am buying this from you for such and such.'" — OR — I asked Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) about the meaning of the words of Allah the Exalted: ‘And for the divorced women, provision is due, a duty upon the righteous.’ What is the minimum provision if the man is poor and cannot find much? He said: A head-cover or something similar. — OR — I heard Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) say: When Ali (peace be upon him) had a servant who died and left relatives, he would not take any inheritance from him, saying: ‘Relatives have some claim to one another.’
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