Praying and Fasting after an Abortion

A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham

جامع منجك، دمشق

Question:

I had an abortion after being pregnant for about 45 days. I inquired about this and one of the sheikhs gave me a fatwā stating that it was obligatory for me to pray after the adhān,[1] and that I also must fast, because the blood is considered abnormal blood (dam fasād) and therefore my ruling is that of a woman who has istiḥādah.[2] I want to ask if what I have done is correct and whether I am obligated to make up my fasts.

Answer (Imam Rushdī Saleem al-Qalam):

Whether a baby comes out alive or dead,[3] the blood that follows is blood of nifās.[4] The period during which one is cut off from purification is called nifās; the obligation to pray is lifted, whatever fasts are missed must be made up, and it is unlawful for a man to approach his wife.[5] You do not have istiḥāḍah. Istiḥāḍah is when blood comes out after the maximum duration for ḥayḍ[6] or the maximum duration for nifās. Ḥayḍ is no more than 15 days for the Shāfiʿīs and 10 days for the Ḥanafīs, while nifās is no more than 60 days for the Shāfiʿīs and 40 days for the Ḥanafīs.

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[1] (tn): i.e. once the time for each prayer has entered.

[2][(tn): i.e. abnormal bleeding.
[3] Ar. isqāṭ, i.e. a miscarriage or abortion.
[4] (tn): i.e. post-natal bleeding.
[5] (tn): i.e. have sexual intercourse with her.
[6] (tn): i.e. menstruation.

Mixed Wealth: Someone works in a usurious bank…can I eat from his home?

A translation of this fatwa from Naseem al-Sham

Question:

Faḍīlat ad-Daktūr al-ʿAlāmah, Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī (may Allah protect him), I have a friend who works in a usurious bank. Is his wealth considered lawful, i.e. if we were to visit him in his home and eat his food, would we be consuming usurious wealth? Please benefit us and may Allah the Exalted benefit you and grant you the highest station of nearness to Him.

Answer (Imam Muḥammad Saʿīd Ramaḍān al-Būṭī):

If your friend’s income is a mixture of that which is lawful and that which is unlawful, there is no objection in the Revealed Law to your receiving his hospitality and eating his food. If, on the other hand, his entire income is from unlawful wealth, it is not permissible for you to consume any of his wealth, whether by transferring ownership of something[1] or by way of eating.[2]

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[1] (tn): e.g. accepting a gift from him, purchasing something from him. 

[2] (tn): i.e. what some scholars milk al-intifāʿ, or the ownership of benefiting from something while not being authorised to rent it, sell it, or otherwise exchange it. See Ash-Sharikāt wa Aḥkamuhā fī al-Fiqh al-Islāmī: Dirāsah Muqāranah fī ash-Sharikāt al-Islmāmiyyah by Imam Muḥammad at-Tāwīl (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 1430/2009,) 34-45.

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