Some conditions excuse a woman from the fast of Ramadan, and they are hers alone: menstruation and the bleeding after childbirth, and pregnancy and breastfeeding. In each of them she leaves the fast, and the days are made up afterwards. This page gathers those excuses, with their evidences, and the making up that follows them.
The page rests on Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah’s Majmu’ al-Fatawa, Volume 25, and on Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan’s Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women, whose chapter on the fasting of women (printed pp. 81-82) prints in English much of what this page carries. Two of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen’s explanations of ‘Umdatul-Ahkaam supply the rest: the Book of At-Tahaarah and the Book of Fasting.
The scholars’ own words, and the verses and hadeeths they bring, stand as quotations on the page; everything else is their teaching carried in summary.
Menstruation and Postnatal Bleeding
A woman does not fast while she is menstruating, and the bleeding after childbirth, nifas [the bleeding after childbirth], carries the same ruling in fasting. The fasts she misses are made up after Ramadan; the prayers she misses are not made up. ‘Aishah’s narration of that ruling stands in the explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkaam, in the fuller form of Mu’aadhah’s question:
“On Mu’aadhah, she said, ‘I asked ‘Aishah, saying, “What’s with the situation of the menstruating woman, she makes up the fast and she does not make up the prayer?” She said, “Are you a Harooriyah?” I said, “I am not a Harooriyah, however, I am asking.” She said, “That used to happen to us and we were ordered to make up the fast and we were not ordered to make up the prayer.”‘”
The hadeeth is al-Bukhari (321) and Muslim (335). The same hadeeth stands on Women’s Natural Blood in that book’s shorter form; here it stands whole, the question included. The rulings of menstruation as a whole stand on Menstruation (Hayd).
As for the wisdom in it, Ibn Taymiyyah explains it in Majmu’ al-Fatawa (25/251), in the words al-Fawzan’s book renders:
“A woman loses her blood through the menstrual blood that leaves her body. The menstruating woman is capable of fasting at times other than during her menstruation, during which her own blood leaves her body. Fasting in this condition is easy, as no blood that strengthens the body is being lost. Fasting during her menstruation would mean that blood that nourishes her body and is part of it would be lost, and this would entail the weakening of her body, and fasting would become difficult, and thus she has been ordered to fast outside of her menstruation.”
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
A pregnant woman, and a woman who is breastfeeding, fasts while she is able and fears no harm for herself or her child. When she fears harm she breaks her fast, taking the ruling of the sick person, of whom Allah said:
“And whoever is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days.” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:185)
So the missed days are made up when she is able. What is owed on them beyond the making up depends on where the feared harm falls, and al-Fawzan sets out the two cases in Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women:
“if fasting while a woman is pregnant or is breast-feeding will harm her or her child or both of them, then she should break her fast. If the harm that caused her to break her fast affected only her child, and not herself, then she must make up the days she missed and feed a poor person against each day she missed. If the harm were to affect her only, then she would only make up the fasts she missed. This is because both the pregnant woman and the breastfeeding woman are included in the statement of Allah:”
“And as for those who can fast with difficulty is a ransom: the feeding of one poor person (for every day).” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:184)
And on that verse, Ibn Kathir said, in the words al-Fawzan transmits in his book (printed p. 82) from the Tafseer [1/739]:
“Included in this meaning is the pregnant woman and the woman who is breastfeeding if they fear for themselves or their children.”
Ibn Taymiyyah was asked about a pregnant woman who feared for her child, and he answered (Majmu’ al-Fatawa 25/217-218):
“If a pregnant woman fears for her child, she may break her fast, make up the days, and feed a needy person for each day: a ratl of bread with its condiment.”
A ratl is a measure of weight, near half a kilogram. So she breaks the fast when she fears harm, makes the days up, and, when the fear was for her child, feeds a poor person for each day besides.
Irregular Bleeding (Istihadah)
Irregular bleeding, istihadah [prolonged bleeding outside the period], does not prevent fasting. The woman in that state must fast, because her bleeding is not menstruation: it has no fixed time that can be guarded against, like blood from a wound, so it was not made incompatible with the fast, unlike the blood of menstruation (Majmu’ al-Fatawa 25/251). The blood side of her rulings stands on Purification (Taharah), and her prayer side on Menstruation (Hayd).
Making Up Missed Fasts
The days missed for any of these excuses are made up after Ramadan, and their timing has its own evidence. ‘Aishah said, in the Book of Fasting’s chapter on making up in Sha’ban:
“There was due upon me fast from Ramadhaan and I was not able to make it up except during Sha’baan.”
The book’s footnote gives the hadeeth as al-Bukhari (1841) and Muslim (1146). Its benefits, on the following pages of the explanation (printed p. 152), are three: delaying the making up until Sha’ban is permitted; hastening to make up is better; and delaying it into the following Ramadan is prohibited, for ‘Aishah made Sha’ban the latest she would delay. The fast as a whole, with all its rulings, stands on Fasting (Siyam).
Voluntary Fasting for Women
Beyond the obligatory fast, a woman does not fast a voluntary fast while her husband is present except with his permission. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“It is not permissible for a woman to fast while her husband is present except with his permission.”
The hadeeth is Sahih al-Bukhari (5192) and Sahih Muslim (1026). It does not touch the obligatory fast of Ramadan. With his permission, or while he is not present, voluntary fasting is open to her and recommended.
References
Majmu’ al-Fatawa, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur’an edition, Volume 25: the pregnant woman who fears for her child (printed pp. 217-218); the wisdom behind not fasting during menstruation and the ruling of istihadah (printed p. 251). Volume 15 was checked for the passage once cited from it as 15/251; the passage stands in Volume 25, printed p. 251.
Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Darussalam, Second Edition, June 2003, ISBN 9960-347-29-5, translated by Burhan Loqueman: printed pp. 81-82.
Explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkaam, Book of At-Tahaarah Part 1, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen: printed p. 111 (Hadeeth 43, the narration of Mu’aadhah).
Arousing the Intellects with an Explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkaam, Book of Zakah and Fasting, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen: printed pp. 150, 152 (Hadeeth 186, making up in Sha’ban, and its benefits).
Natural Blood of Women, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen, Third Edition, Daar Al-Bukhari, researched and translated by Saleh As-Saleh: printed pp. 17-18, 29-30, checked in corroboration. The copy in my library carries no year or ISBN statement; it is cited by its title page only.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir: the sentence quoted on this page stands in Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women (printed p. 82), where al-Fawzan cites it as Tafsir Ibn Kathir 1/739; the volume-and-page number this page once carried for it was a transposition of that citation. In the Darussalam English abridged printing of the Tafsir, the passage stands at Volume 1, printed p. 498, in different words.
The books print the divine name as “Allaah” in al-Fawzan’s Rulings. In his passages on this page it is written “Allah”, following the site’s spelling decision; the rest of each quotation stands exactly as printed.
Further Reading
- Fasting (Siyam): the fast as a whole, including who is excused from it
- Menstruation (Hayd): the rulings of prayer and fasting during menstruation
- Women’s Natural Blood: postpartum bleeding within the full treatment of natural blood
- Purification (Taharah): purification as a whole, with the blood rulings in outline
Verified on 2026-10-25 against the books listed above.