(1) If a Woman Cannot Join Her Abdomen to Her Thighs During Sujūd (Prostration) Due to an Excuse
Question: What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: a pregnant woman is experiencing difficulty and hardship in joining her abdomen to her thighs during sujūd. While this was possible in normal circumstances, she is now in the seventh month of pregnancy, making the usual posture difficult. Can she perform sujūd by staying somewhat raised—that is, keeping her abdomen slightly lifted—without touching her thighs?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: If a woman experiences difficulty and discomfort in joining her abdomen to her thighs due to pregnancy or any other reason, she may perform sujūd by keeping her abdomen separate from her thighs. There is no legal hindrance in this, because a woman performing sujūd by contracting and joining her thighs to her abdomen is one of the Sunnahs of sujūd specific to her. The Islamic jurists have used the phrases "ینبغی للمرأۃ" and "السنۃ فی حقھا" when describing a woman's method of sujūd. This indicates that this manner is a Sunnah of sujūd, and therefore, it is permissible to abandon this manner due to an excuse. In fact, when it is impossible otherwise, doing so becomes necessary.
Furthermore, our religion of Islam only makes demands upon men and women according to their capacity and condition. Allah Almighty states:
لَا یُكَلِّفُ اللّٰهُ نَفْسًا اِلَّا وُسْعَهَاؕ
Allah only burdens a life according to its capability.[1]
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم
(2) Is qaḍāˈ (Making Up) Required for Prayer and Voluntary Fasting Performed During nifās (Post-Natal Bleeding)?
Question: What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: a woman, after the birth of her first child, experienced bleeding for a few days, which then stopped. After waiting for a few days, and assuming the bleeding would not resume, she performed ghusl (ritual bath) and started performing prayers. Since it was the month of Muḥarram, she also began observing voluntary fasts. However, before the forty days were complete—for example, on the thirty-first day—the bleeding resumed but then completely stopped within the forty-day limit after a few more days. The question is: Were the prayers she performed and the voluntary fasts she observed during that time valid according to Shariah, or is qaḍāˈ required for them? Furthermore, did the fast break when the bleeding resumed during the fast, and if so, is qaḍāˈ required for it?
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Answer: In the situation above, the mentioned woman's prayers and fasts are not valid, and she is not required to perform qaḍāˈ for them. Similarly, there is no requirement to perform qaḍāˈ for the voluntary fast during which the nifās blood resumed, as that fast did not legally begin.
The detailed ruling on this matter is that if the bleeding stops before the completion of forty days after childbirth and then resumes within the forty-day limit after a few days' pause (e.g., on the thirty-first day), then the entire duration—from the birth of the child until the final cessation of the bleeding—will be considered nifās (post-natal bleeding) according to the Shariah, even if there were some days in between when blood did not appear.
The prayers performed or fasts observed by the woman during this period are not valid, because these acts of worship were performed during the state of nifās, and nifās prevents both prayer and fasting. Therefore, no qaḍā is required for them after becoming pure. However, if these had been obligatory (farḍ) or compulsory (wājib) fasts, qaḍā would have been required for them due to their legal obligation.
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم
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