For those women who are pregnant, the question often arises about whether or not they should fast in Ramadan. Pregnancy is a heavy burden on the female body and makes the Fast for a pregnant woman harder. This raises an obvious question. Is there any extra reward of Fasting during Pregnancy in Islam?
There are many Hadith that elevate the reward for a sick person or a person who is suffering from some sort of physical impairment. So does this also apply to Pregnancy during Fasting?
Narrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud:
I visited Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) while he was suffering from a high fever. I touched him with my hand and said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! You have a high fever.” Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Yes, I have as much fever as two men of you have.” I said, “Is it because you will get a double reward?” Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Yes, no Muslim is afflicted with harm because of sickness or some other inconvenience, but that Allah will remove his sins for him as a tree sheds its leaves.”
~ Sahih al-Bukhari 5660
Fasting during Pregnancy in Islam
Pregnant women are placed within the same category as “sick people” concerning Fasting. In other words, people who have some sort of physical condition that could put their health at risk while Fasting.
With this in mind, one thing becomes clear. If Fasting will harm the pregnant woman or her unborn child, then it is prohibited for her to Fast. This is apparent from many Hadiths and Verses, such as Surah Nisa, which emphasize this.
“And do not kill yourselves.” [Surah-al-Nisa 4:29]
Even if the mother simply fears for her child, she is permitted to forgo her Fast. In both cases, the woman is required to make up her missed Fasts later (after her pregnancy is over). Some Imams are also of the opinion that the woman should also pay the Fidyah (feeding one person per missed Fast), along with making up for the missed Fast later.
Now let’s come to the case where the pregnant woman is confident in herself, and opts to Fast during Ramadan. Is there any extra reward?
To put it simply, No, there is no mention of any extra reward in any authentic Hadith or Quranic Verse. In fact, the above-mentioned guidelines make it clear that for a pregnant woman, the exact opposite could happen, where she commits a sin by jeopardizing the health of herself and/or her child by Fasting.
“The cavalry of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) attacked us, so I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was eating a meal. He said: ‘Come and eat.’ I said: ‘I am fasting.’ He said: ‘Sit down and I will tell you about fasting. Allah has relieved the traveler of half of the prayer, and He has relieved the traveler, the pregnant, and the nursing mothers of the duty to fast.’ By Allah, the Prophet (ﷺ) said them, both, or one of them, and now I feel so disappointed that I had not eaten of the food of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).”
~ Sunan Ibn Majah 1667
To conclude, there is no explicitly mentioned reward for Fasting during pregnancy in Islam (other than the normal rewards for Fasting). However, this does not entirely rule out any special reward that Allah may decide to grant you for fasting while pregnant. Allah knows best.