Can a Pregnant Woman Pay Expiatory Charity (Fidya) for Her Missed Fasts?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

According to what I’ve heard, anyone unable to fast in Ramadan owing to illness, pregnancy, or other causes should make an expiatory charity (fidya) for each fast missed.

What is the process for a pregnant woman to give expiatory charity (fidya)?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

A pregnant woman who cannot fast during Ramadan is permitted not to fast if doing so would cause her or her child undue difficulty. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

She will make up those missed days of fasting at a later date when she is able to fast without undue difficulty. [Ibid.]

She will not pay any expiatory charity (fidya) since she is able to make them up in the future. Only those who are reasonably sure that they will never be able to make up their fasts will pay the expiatory charity (fidya). [Ibid.]

Related:
What Is the Reasoning behind Paying the Fidya for Missed Fasts of the Deceased?
Can a Woman Give Expiatory Charity (Fidya) If Her Fasts Exceed 200?

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.