When is it permissible for a pregnant or nursing woman to break her fast?
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The Shaykh : Welcome, and may Allah greet you.
The questioner : May Allah greet you, Shaykh Muhammad. This questioner says: When is it permissible for a pregnant or nursing woman to break her fast?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. We must know that among the principles upon which this lenient Shari'ah is built is that ease is more beloved to Allah the Exalted than hardship. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said in the verses of fasting:[Al-Baqarah 2:185] And He the Exalted said in the verse of ablution: [Al-Ma'idah 5:6] And He the Exalted said: [Al-Hajj 22:78] And this is the custom.
So when a pregnant or nursing woman experiences hardship from fasting, they break their fast, and breaking the fast is better for them because it involves accepting the dispensation of Allah Mighty and Majestic and easing things for them. Likewise, if they fear for their children—meaning the pregnant woman fears for her fetus in her womb, and the nursing woman fears for her child due to a lack of milk—then they also break their fast to save the pregnancy and the child from harm. This is part of the ease from Allah Mighty and Majestic.
But some scholars say that if the fear is for the children—meaning the child in the case of the nursing woman and the fetus in the case of the pregnant woman—rather than for the mother, then they must, in addition to making up the fasts, feed one poor person for each day. This is done by the person who is obligated to provide for the child and the pregnancy, because this breaking of the fast is not for their own benefit but for the benefit of their children.
If the woman takes precaution in this situation and makes up the fasts and feeds one poor person for each day, on behalf of the person who is obligated to provide for the child, that is better. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah greet you, Shaykh Muhammad. This questioner says: When is it permissible for a pregnant or nursing woman to break her fast?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. We must know that among the principles upon which this lenient Shari'ah is built is that ease is more beloved to Allah the Exalted than hardship. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said in the verses of fasting:
Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَAllah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you
مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْAnd strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty
وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍSo when a pregnant or nursing woman experiences hardship from fasting, they break their fast, and breaking the fast is better for them because it involves accepting the dispensation of Allah Mighty and Majestic and easing things for them. Likewise, if they fear for their children—meaning the pregnant woman fears for her fetus in her womb, and the nursing woman fears for her child due to a lack of milk—then they also break their fast to save the pregnancy and the child from harm. This is part of the ease from Allah Mighty and Majestic.
But some scholars say that if the fear is for the children—meaning the child in the case of the nursing woman and the fetus in the case of the pregnant woman—rather than for the mother, then they must, in addition to making up the fasts, feed one poor person for each day. This is done by the person who is obligated to provide for the child and the pregnancy, because this breaking of the fast is not for their own benefit but for the benefit of their children.
If the woman takes precaution in this situation and makes up the fasts and feeds one poor person for each day, on behalf of the person who is obligated to provide for the child, that is better. Yes.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1188- متى يباح الفطر للحامل والمرضع؟ /سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com (0:05)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.