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What is the ruling on making up for the past Ramadan, knowing that I broke my fast out of fear for myself and my fetus, and I am now breastfeeding and am concerned about a decrease in milk supply?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a pregnant woman breaks her fast out of fear for herself or her fetus, she is only required to make up the missed days (qada'). This make-up should occur between the Ramadan in which she broke her fast and the following Ramadan. If she is able to fast, she is obligated to make up the missed days before the next Ramadan. Delaying it is not permissible except for a legitimate Shar'i excuse. If she delays making up the days without an excuse, despite being able to do so, she is sinful and is obligated to pay an expiation (fidyah) in addition to making up the days.

However, if she is unable to make up the missed days due to fear of harm to herself or her nursing infant, she is permitted to delay making them up until the excuse is no longer present, and she is not required to pay the expiation.

Hunger or lack of concentration are not excuses for delaying the make-up, unless they lead to extreme, unbearable hardship. As for a decrease in milk supply due to fasting, delaying the make-up is permissible if it harms the infant.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy