Pregnant or Nursing? Islam Grants You an Exemption from Fasting

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Reem Shraiky, UK

During pregnancy, the body’s need for vitamins and minerals increases to ensure the foetus’ healthy growth and meet the mother’s nutritional requirements. The foetus’ health is closely linked to the quality and quantity of the mother’s diet, as food provides the energy and essential nutrients necessary for its growth and organ development. Additionally, good nutrition enhances maternal health and reduces the risk of pregnancy complications such as high blood pressure, anaemia, and gestational diabetes. So, proper nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting the health of both the mother and the foetus.

Therefore, it is vital for a pregnant woman to follow a balanced diet that provides the necessary energy and nutrients to safeguard her well-being and that of her baby. 

This is why Islam places great emphasis on caring for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Even if a couple gets divorced during this period, Allah commands in the Holy Qur’an that it is the man’s full responsibility to provide for the financial and physical needs of his ex-wife while she is nursing and caring for the baby.

Similarly, Islam exempts pregnant and breastfeeding women from fasting as the body relies on glucose for energy, and prolonged fasting can cause blood sugar levels to drop, leading to dizziness, fatigue, and weakness. If a woman avoids drinking fluids, dehydration can occur, resulting in headaches, dizziness, and reduced amniotic fluid levels.

Moreover, regular prolonged fasting can lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients like iron, calcium, and folic acid, increasing the risk of complications such as anaemia and poor foetal growth. The foetus depends on a steady supply of nutrients, and prolonged fasting may slow foetal development or lead to lower birth weight. Some studies suggest that frequent fasting or inadequate nutrition can even increase the risk of premature birth.

On the other hand, if a breastfeeding woman does not eat for 9–10 hours, she may experience fatigue, dizziness, and weakness due to low blood sugar levels, as breastfeeding requires extra calories (about 450–500 kcal/day more than usual). Breast milk is about 87% water, so if the mother does not drink enough fluids, she may suffer from headaches, dry mouth, and reduced milk supply.

At the same time, regular fasting without proper nutrition can deplete the mother’s vitamin and mineral stores, leading to hair loss, brittle nails, and fatigue. Deficiencies in calcium, iron, and B vitamins can negatively impact both mother and baby.

Some might argue that staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water before and after fasting, along with consuming nutrient-dense meals, is sufficient for a pregnant or breastfeeding woman to fast. While this may be true to some extent, we know that pregnancy – even with adequate food and drink- places great strain on the body. In fact, Allah the Almighty, who created us, acknowledges this hardship. He states:

‘And We have enjoined on man concerning his parents — his mother bears him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning takes two years’^[1]

Moreover, Allah the Almighty clearly states:

“The prescribed fasting is for a fixed number of days, but whoso among you is sick or is on a journey shall fast the same number of other days; and for those who are able to fast only with great difficulty is an expiation — the feeding of a poor man. ”^[2]

The Arabic word used for “able to fast only with great difficulty” is يطيقونه, it is derived from أطاق  which means “to carry out an action with great effort and extreme difficulty, such that one can only accomplish it by exhausting oneself severely.”^[3] and the verb  طَوّق (ṭawwaqa), which is from the same root, means “to impose something burdensome or difficult upon someone, as if placing a collar around their neck.”^[4]

That is why most Qur’anic commentators interpreted this verse as referring to those who fast with extreme hardship—so much so that their physical strength deteriorates, and they sometimes faint from severe weakness. This includes the frail elderly, those with heart conditions, individuals with weak nerves, and pregnant or nursing women. These are people who may not appear visibly ill, but if they fast, they become sick.

For them, it is permitted to feed a needy person as compensation instead of fasting.

This meaning is further supported by another qirā’at (i.e., a recognised canonical method of reciting the Holy Qur’an) of this verse mentioned by the scholar Al-Qurtubi: “يُطَوَّقونه” (yutawwiqunahu)—meaning those who fast with overwhelming hardship and difficulty, whose health deteriorates alarmingly due to fasting. Thus, they are allowed not to fast, but they must provide food to a needy person as a substitute.^[5]

Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), the Second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community states, ‘Islam has set a condition for fasting in Ramadan: a person must not be ill—whether they are actually sick or at risk of becoming sick due to fasting. This applies to pregnant and nursing women, frail elderly individuals whose strength has declined, and young children who are still growing—all of whom should not fast.’

He further says:

‘Fasting for a traveller or a sick person is meaningless, just like the fasting of a menstruating woman. Who does not know that if a menstruating woman fasts, there is no virtue in it? Rather, it is ignorance and foolishness. Similarly, the fasting of a sick person or a traveller is not a virtue. Likewise, it is not righteousness for a very old person, whose strength has faded, to fast if it prevents them from fulfilling other duties in life. Nor is it commendable for a growing child to fast, as their body is storing energy and strength that will sustain them for the next fifty or sixty years of their life. However, a person who is truly capable of fasting—if they do not fast, they are sinful.’^[6]

Who can understand the Holy Qur’an better than the Holy Prophet (sa)himself? He stated:

“Allah has remitted half the prayer to the traveller, and fasting to the traveller, the woman who is suckling, and the woman who is pregnant.”^[7]

This is precisely what the Companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) followed. Ibn ʿUmar (ra) reported that a pregnant woman asked him about fasting, and he said:

“Break your fast and feed a needy person for each day, and you do not have to make it up.”^[8]

Ibn ʿAbbās (ra) instructed a pregnant slave woman to break her fast during the month of Ramadan. He said, “You are like the elderly who are unable to fast, so break your fast and feed half a sāʿ of wheat for each day.”^[9]

Ibn ʿAbbās (ra) also said to a breastfeeding woman, “You are among those who bear a great burden(يطيقونه) . Break your fast and feed a needy person for each day.”^[10]

So if Allah and His Messenger (sa) have granted pregnant and nursing Muslim women this concession, then it is incumbent upon them to accept it with submission and seek the greatest reward of obedience.

Allah the Almighty states: 

‘And it behoves not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that there should be a choice for them in the matter concerning them. And whoso disobeys Allah and His Messenger, surely strays away in manifest error.’^[11]

About the Author: Reem Shraiky is a life devotee of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – International Arabic English Translation & Research Office, UK.

ENDNOTES

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^[1] The Holy Qur’an, 31:15

^[2] The Holy Qur’an, 2:185

^[3] Al-Bahr Al-Muḥīṭ

^[4] Lane

^[5] Tafseer Al-Qurtubi, Vol.2

^[6] Al-Tafsīr Al-Kabīr (The Grand Exegesis), Vol. 2

^[7] Mishkat al-Masabih, Book of Fasting

^[8] Sunan al-Daraqutni

^[9] Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Vol.4

^[10] Al-Nāsikh wa al-Mansūkh” by Imam Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām, Vol.1

^[11] The Holy Qur’an, 33:37