Does sacrificing one sheep avail for the entire household?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
In Islamic jurisprudence, the sacrifice (Udhiyah) is considered a Communal Sunnah (Sunnah Kifayah) for the members of a single household who share the same financial support.
If one member of the household performs the sacrifice—even if they are not the primary breadwinner, such as the wife or one of the children—the religious request is fulfilled on behalf of the entire household. This is similar to the Funeral Prayer (Salat al-Janazah), where the obligation is dropped for the community if some perform it.
While the communal request is satisfied by one person's action, the specific spiritual reward (Thawab) for the act of worship belongs only to the person who sacrificed, unless that individual explicitly intends to include the other family members in the reward.
A single sacrifice also avails for a man who is married to more than one wife. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
Do pregnant and breastfeeding women have to fast?
Pregnant and breastfeeding women are required to fast. However, if fasting causes them harm or unusual hardship, they may break their fast but must make up for the missed days later.
If they break their fast solely out of fear for the fetus or the child, then they must both make up the fast and give fidyah (feeding a needy person for each missed day), as the benefit of breaking the fast was only for the child.
What is the ruling if a postpartum woman becomes pure before forty days; are acts of worship obligatory upon her, and is she permissible for her husband?
If the postpartum woman becomes definitely pure before forty days, she must perform the ritual bath and perform acts of worship as a pure woman does. What was prohibited for her also becomes permissible, so she becomes permissible for her husband after her bath. The minimum duration for postpartum bleeding is a moment (an instant), and its usual maximum is forty days. Reaching forty days is not a condition; rather, it is sufficient for the blood to stop or to see the white discharge (qassa bayda'). And Allah the Almighty knows best.
If someone starts the day sick or traveling while fasting, is it permissible for them to break their fast?
● A sick person who finds fasting difficult is allowed to break their fast, whether they began the day fasting or not.
● As for a traveler:
○ If they were still at home at dawn and then traveled after Fajr (dawn), they must continue fasting unless they experience extreme hardship, in which case they may break their fast.
○ However, if they were already traveling when dawn broke—meaning they had left their town before Fajr—then they are permitted to break their fast. This is what the Prophetﷺ did during the year of the conquest (of Makkah).
