Question:
Salaam….by using birth pills i can control when i could menstruate…can i do this during ramadhan to prevent my menstruation from coming so i can fast the entire month…is it acceptable?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salamu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.
A menstruating woman is not allowed to fast. Whatever fast that was missed due to menstruation will have to be made up for in her days of purity.
The taking of contraceptive pills to prevent menses is permissible if there is a need, provided there are no major health risk factors involved. However, taking such pills in order to fast the entire month of Ramadhan is not considered a necessity. These pills have the tendency to interfere in the normal menstrual cycle and create further complications.
A woman should fast in the days of purity and abstain in the days of menses. Menstruation is something that Allah ﷻ has made naturally in women. Our objective is to serve and worship Allah ﷻ, this means adhering to his commands and instructions. A woman in the state of purity worships her Creator by fasting. Whereas a woman in the state of menses worships her Creator by refraining from fasting.
We don’t believe that a woman preventing her menses, in order to fast the entire month is better than that woman who abstains from fasting due to menses.[1]
A woman should be contented with what Allah ﷻ has decreed for her. Even though she is not able to fast or perform Salah during her menses she can engage in other forms of worship e.g. dhikr, charity, listening to Quran, giving good advices and other numerous good deeds and actions pleasing to Allah ﷻ.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Kaleem Muhammad
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)
www.fatwa-tt.com /www.jaamia.net
[1] قال النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم إن الله يكتب للمريض أفضل ما كان يعمل في صحته ما دام في وثاقه رواه الطبران
قال النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم إن العبد إذا كان على طريقة حسنة من العبادة ثم مرض قيل للملك الموكل به اكتب له مثل عمله إذا كان طليقا حتى أطلقه أو أكفته إلي رواه أحمد
قال النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم إذا ابتلى الله العبد المسلم ببلاء في جسده قال الله : اكتب له صالح عمله الذي كان يعمله ، فإن شفاه غسله وطهره ، وإن قبضه غفر له ورحمه رواه أحمد
