Expiation for pregnant or suckling woman who breaks fast
15-5-2017 | IslamWeb
Question:
There is a woman who is 8 months pregnant. The doctor has told her not to fast in Ramadan. What shall she do? How much should she pay in Egyptian pounds per each day of fasting that she comes to miss? Should she pay this money or her husband?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If the woman in question breaks her fast because she fears for herself, then she is required only to make up for the fast that she comes to miss. If she breaks her fast because she fears for the health condition of her future baby, then she is required to feed a poor person for each day of fasting that she misses, in addition to making up for the missed fast later. The amount of the food is one mudd, as has been stated by many scholars.
The mudd that she has to deliver is an amount of food that weighs about 750 gm per each day of fasting that she misses. According to Hanbali scholars, she is required to provide a mudd of wheat or half a sa‘ (a volumetric measure approximately equal to 2.7 liters) of other kinds of food. Half a sa‘ equals about one and a half kilos. This last measure should be most likely to assure the fulfillment of the obligation. Providing the monetary value of the food is not allowed according to the majority view of the Muslim scholars. Rather, the feeding of the poor is required in accordance with Allah’s saying (which means): {…And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] – a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]...} [Quran 2: 184]
Muslim scholars disagree on who shall pay for the food in case the feeding is required; the pregnant woman or the guardian of the future baby. Some scholars maintain that the cost of the feeding is paid by the guardian of the future baby, as adopted by the Hanbali scholars. Other scholars believe that the woman herself (the mother of the future baby) is required to pay for the food, as adopted by the Shafi‘i scholars. In any case, the guardian of the baby may pay for the food with the woman’s permission, as unanimously agreed upon.
In his commentary on Ar-RawdhAl-Murbi‘, Ibn Qasim states:
If they (pregnant and suckling women) break their fast because they fear only for their babies, then they have to make up for the missed fast and provide food in expiation. What is meant here is that the guardian of the child is the one who is legally asked to pay for the food on behalf of the woman. The expiation is to feed a poor person in place of each day the pregnant or suckling woman comes to miss. It is most likely that the guardian of the child is the one who is addressed here to bear the cost of the food because the woman in hand breaks the fast for his interest.
Ibn Qasim comments:
The text of the author seems to assume that it is the woman who is required to provide the food from her own money. However, the commentary on the text excludes this assumption and makes it clear that the woman is not required to pay for the food. In Al-Furoo’, it is stated that the cost of the feeding is required of the guardian. Al-Funoon, however, states that the woman is most likely to provide the food. This last view is more logical because the baby is more hers. Yet, the cost could be shared by the mother and the guardian of the child. The cost could be also shared between the mother and the child's relative who is responsible to provide for him, or from the child's money, since fast-breaking is allowed for their benefit.
As we mentioned, the Shafi‘i scholars maintain that ransom or expiation is to be paid from the money of the beneficiary of the concession.
According to Mughni Al-Muhtaj:
If they (pregnant and suckling women) fear only for their babies, meaning if a pregnant woman fears that fasting may cause her to misconceive and a suckling mother fears that fasting may cause the milk to decrease, then such women are required to make up the days of fasting that they will miss, plus providing the ransom prescribed for their situations from their own money, even if they are sick or on a travel.
Allah knows best.