There is no virtue in forced suffering

A friend that my wife had not spoken to in a good few months gave us the good news recently that she was pregnant. And, she added, she intended fasting for the whole month of Ramadan.

She had also fasted the whole month of Ramadan when she was expecting a previous baby – while in her seventh month of pregnancy. And, she had fasted the whole month while breastfeeding another.

Many people will read this and say “Masha Allah” because of this friend’s (actually, her husband’s, but let’s ignore that little detail for now) determination to fulfil the compulsory act of fasting in Ramadan – even under such difficult circumstances. Most Muslim scholars have said that a pregnant or breastfeeding woman does not have to observe the Ramadan fast, that she is exempt if she fears for the health of her baby or herself. The latter part of that sentence, the qualification, needs some reflection.

I’m not particularly impressed at hearing of pregnant or breastfeeding women fasting. In fact, when I heard what our friend was doing, I was a little concerned. While most mothers or mothers-to-be are quite sensible and will consult a medical practitioner or are quite happy to stop fasting if they feel there might be any danger (or if they hear the cries of a hungry infant), some feel there is something meritorious in fasting in such a situation, as if they develop a greater closeness to Allah because of it. This is a misplaced virtue.

Sometimes there is no serious consideration given to how the fasting might affect the foetus or the infant? What does it mean when we say “if she fears for the health or life of her baby”? Can an expectant mother automatically make such a decision – by herself – without first getting professional advice? If a child is exclusively breastfed, the impact on that child of her mother remaining hungry for the entire day can be substantial. There is a good chance that the milk of a fasting mother will dry up. Or that the milk might not be as nutritious as it might have been were she not fasting. Or that supplementing breast milk with substitutes will result in the baby later rejecting the breast.

The scholars did the right thing: they gave the mother the right of choice, they left it to her to decide. It is noteworthy that Islamic law, in matters of ritual worship such as salah or fasting, places such the power of decisions in the hands of the individuals rather than in the hands of an authority figure. The problem arises, however, when a such progressive scholarly opinion gets interpreted through the lenses of ignorant attitudes which dictate that there is virtue in suffering.

The Prophet (s) is reported to have said: “Allah has relieved the travellers of fasting and half of the prayer, and the pregnant and the breast-feeding women of the fast.” When Allah has “relieved” the believer of an obligation, when Allah has granted a favour to us regarding certain of our obligations, how can we regard ourselves as better believers if we refuse the favour of our Lord?

I sometimes get asked why, when I’m travelling, I shorten my salah. We are not travelling in the desert, the argument goes, we don’t ride camels, so our travelling is not as difficult as it was for the Prophet (s) and the sahabah and we, therefore, should not shorten our prayer. Again, who are we to reject the favour that Allah has granted us? What arrogance is it that suggests that we can be better if we do what we want rather than what Allah has allowed us to? It is not “better” to pray the full salah when travelling. And it is not “better” for a woman to fast when she is pregnant or breastfeeding.

Many of us have a mistaken notion that the best ‘ibadah (service of Allah) is the one that is made the most difficult. Does Allah really need us to suffer in serving him? Is forced deprivation a way of showing our commitment to Allah? Is that what He requires?

Bukhari reported from Anas that, during his hajj, the Prophet (s) saw a man leaning on both sides on his two sons, whereupon he asked: “What is the matter with this man?” The people said: “He has vowed to walk during hajj.” The Prophet (s) said: “Allah is in no need whatever of torturing this man.” Then he commanded the man to perform his hajj riding. The Prophet, incidentally, performed his hajj while riding his camel.

Truly, Allah does not need us to torture ourselves. Of course, He obliges us to serve Him, he asks for our sacrifice even. Our lives as Muslims should be characterised by struggle in order to create a better world. And, as many Muslims who languish in prisons like Guantanamo Bay and who have lost family members in the struggle for justice know, service to Allah sometimes results in great hardship and sacrifice. But to deliberately and unnecessarily harm ourselves in our ‘ibadah and then think that that harm will be pleasing to Him is not an Islamic notion. It is even worse to think that He will be pleased by us harming an innocent child (or foetus) and thinking that we are worshipping Him in the process. Allah is, after all, the Compassionate and Merciful.

It is not easy to give a blanket fatwa on a matter such as whether a mother can fast while pregnant. That is why the well-known Muslim scholars did not give such blanket fatawa. They preferred to leave the decision in the hands of the individual so that individual decisions can be made, on a case-by-case basis. Every mother is unique; every child is unique. And the decision about whether the mother should fast must be an individual one, made with some degree of assistance from a medical professional. But Allah has granted an exemption. Therefore, there should be no guilt associated with her not fasting if that is her decision, nor should there be any particular glory attached to the fact that she does, if that is her decision.