and, in addition to making up the missed days, it is recommended that a woman who broke her fast out of fear for her child feed one poor person for every day she did not fast.

The eminent scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Ibn ʿAbbās and other Companions gave the ruling that when a pregnant woman or a nursing mother fears for her child, she should break the fast and feed one needy person for each missed day, putting feeding in the place of fasting”—that is, as a discharge of the obligation, while she must still make up the fast later.

It is likewise obligatory to break the fast when that is necessary to save someone from destruction, such as rescuing a drowning person or the like.

A Muslim must specify the intention for any obligatory fast during the night—whether it be the fast of Ramadan, an expiatory fast, or a vowed fast—by resolving that he is fasting Ramadan, making up a day of it, or fulfilling a vow or an expiation. This is based on the Prophet’s saying: “Actions are but by intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended.” ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, also reported that the Prophet said: “Whoever does not formulate the intention to fast before dawn has no fast.” Therefore, the intention for an obligatory fast must be formed during the night,