Written by: Fazilat al-Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri Hafizahullah
Question:
Is it established in Hanafi Fiqh that if a woman is giving birth and there is a fear that the prayer time will end during this period, should she pray?
Answer:
Yes! It is established in Hanafi Fiqh that if a woman is giving birth and one hand of the child has come out, and the prayer time is about to end, she should pray first and then give birth, provided that no harm comes to the child.
The Hanafi scholars have written:
[ما لو كان في بطنها ولد فأخرجت إحدى يديه وتخاف خروج الوقت تصلي بحيث لا يلحق الولد ضرر لأن الجمع بين حق الله وحق الولد ممكن كما في التجنيس]
If a woman has a child in her womb and one hand of the child comes out, and the woman fears that the prayer time will end, she should pray first, provided that no harm comes to the child, because it is possible to combine the rights of Allah and the child, as is written in "Tajnīs."
Reference: Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq by Ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi: 199/2, Fatawa Faiz Karaki: 275/3, Manuscript, Bahishti Zewar by Allama Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Part Two, Page 48, Explanation of Postpartum
Those who call Hanafi jurisprudence the essence of the Quran and Hadith, I ask them, can there be a matter of religion more ridiculous and shameless than this? The jurisprudence of the Muhaddithin is derived from the Quran and Sunnah; they were familiar with the proofs from the Quran, Hadith, the practices of the Salaf, and the consensus of the Ummah, and they based their ijtihad on these very principles.
