The ruling on a pregnant woman breaking her fast out of concern for the fetus
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, the discussion is still ongoing regarding the issues of menstruation we touched on yesterday. This woman says: My husband forced me to break my fast out of concern for the pregnancy, even though I was pregnant and I knew myself that I was capable of fasting. What is the ruling?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, the default is that fasting in Ramadan is obligatory for the pregnant woman and for everyone else. If there is uncertainty about whether fasting will harm the fetus or not, it is obligatory to consult the doctors and ask them. If they decide that fasting will harm the fetus, she breaks her fast; she breaks her fast and makes up the days from other days. As for the matter remaining ambiguous and there being hesitation between the husband and wife regarding breaking the fast for the sake of the fetus, this is a matter of great importance, and it is obligatory to refer to the people of expertise, who are the doctors. If they say that fasting does not harm the fetus, she fasts. If they say that it harms the fetus, she breaks her fast to preserve her fetus. Yes.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, the discussion is still ongoing regarding the issues of menstruation we touched on yesterday. This woman says: My husband forced me to break my fast out of concern for the pregnancy, even though I was pregnant and I knew myself that I was capable of fasting. What is the ruling?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, the default is that fasting in Ramadan is obligatory for the pregnant woman and for everyone else. If there is uncertainty about whether fasting will harm the fetus or not, it is obligatory to consult the doctors and ask them. If they decide that fasting will harm the fetus, she breaks her fast; she breaks her fast and makes up the days from other days. As for the matter remaining ambiguous and there being hesitation between the husband and wife regarding breaking the fast for the sake of the fetus, this is a matter of great importance, and it is obligatory to refer to the people of expertise, who are the doctors. If they say that fasting does not harm the fetus, she fasts. If they say that it harms the fetus, she breaks her fast to preserve her fetus. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 13 من 27|أحكام المرأة في الصيام|الحمل وأثره في الصيام|صالح الفوزان|فقه|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (0:46)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.