A woman who was in postpartum bleeding broke her fast in Ramadan, and after several months she became pregnant and was unable to make up the fast for Ramadan, then she broke her fast in the second Ramadan because she was in her ninth month.

The questioner : He says: My wife was in postpartum bleeding, and Ramadan came upon her and she did not fast it. Before she made up this month, and after only five months, she became pregnant with her second child. During those five months, she was unable to make up the fast because she was breastfeeding and because she was very tired, with severe fatigue in the beginning of the pregnancy that caused her weakness and forced her to be hospitalized. Then, a second time, Ramadan came upon her while she was pregnant with her third child in her ninth month. She tried to fast but was unable to, so she broke her fast and fed a poor person for each of the remaining days. She also fed for the first month. Is feeding sufficient in place of fasting, following the example of the old man who is unable to fast, or is making up the fast obligatory for her? If making up the fast is obligatory, is it for both cases or for one of them? And if the answer is that making up the fast is required, what is the meaning of the statement of the noble Companion Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) when he was asked about the pregnant woman who fears for her child and fasting becomes difficult or burdensome for her, and he said: "She breaks her fast and feeds a poor person for each day a mudd of wheat", a mudd being the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) measure? And if we consider this correct for the pregnant woman, does it include the woman in postpartum bleeding? Knowing that the feeding occurred in both cases: in the first instance, it was in cash, and the amount was distributed among the poor; and in the second instance, the feeding was also by providing one of the poor with ready-made food to eat and drink daily until the end of Ramadan. Is this action correct and sufficient in this form, or not?

The Shaykh : If this action that was performed was based on a consultation with one of the scholars, then you are on what you were ruled. But if it was based on ignorance, then the stronger opinion in this matter is that the pregnant woman and the nursing woman must make up the fast, and it is obligatory, because the utmost is that we classify them with the sick person, and Allah the Exalted has made it obligatory for the sick person to make up the fast, and He said: And the obligatory thing is making up the fast, not feeding. But if it is assumed that this woman’s inability to fast continues throughout the year, then she is classified with the old man who cannot fast, because her condition preventing her from fasting has become one that is not expected to end. In that case, she must feed a poor person for each day, and feeding is obligatory. It is not permissible to give money in its place. Then, the poor people must be equal in number to the days. Repeating the feeding to one poor person, as is apparent in the question, is not sufficient, even if it is repeated to him throughout the month. Rather, it is necessary to feed twenty-nine poor people if the month is twenty-nine days, or thirty poor people if the month is thirty days. Yes.

The questioner : And that he gave out money on some days?

The Shaykh : I mentioned that if it is based on a ruling from one of the scholars, then he is on what he was ruled. Otherwise, feeding is obligatory, and the money he gave out becomes voluntary charity and does not suffice for the obligatory duty.

The questioner : Yes, this message is from the listener H A W from Iraq, Erbil Governorate. He says.