A group of prominent British Muslim scholars have issued a fatwa which gives medical professionals consent to defer their Ramadhaan fasts. This is if fasting could possibly jeopardize the treatment of coronavirus patients.

Ramadhaan is due to start at the end of this week, with Muslim doctors, nurses and healthcare workers at the frontline in the battle against COVID-19. A number have lost their lives to the coronavirus.

The challenge for those treating COVID-19 patients, according to Muslim medical professionals is that Personal Protective Equipment includes a mask, or powered air respirators which can result in dehydration and heat stress. This is because of the tight fit around the face for extensive periods.

In hotspot areas in the UK, the shifts of medical personnel has been increased to more than 12 hours per day. It becomes very difficult to keep such long fasts (roughly 17 hours) especially if the shift is busy. There are concerns that if a doctor or nurse does fast under these conditions, it could lead to potentially life-threatening mistakes.

The fatwa, which was signed by scholars in Blackburn, Batley, Bury, Bradford, Leeds, London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Leicester, states: “If it is possible to fast without risking the lives of patients, for example, if annual leave can be taken and the hospital has adequate staffing, this should be considered, if not for the whole month, then for as many days possible…”

It further states: “If, however, it is not possible to fast due to the strong likelihood of dehydration and severe thirst along with the risk of making clinical errors which could potentially affect lives, the fasts can be postponed to a later date. This is a judgement you need to make on a personal level based on your own health whilst keeping in mind your duty of care to patients.”

It also states that the decision to fast or to delay the fast to a later date should be reviewed daily, and that the fast should be attempted if, for instance, the shift is not expected to be busy or a shorter shift becomes possible. However, if at any point the medical worker begins to struggle, the fast “can be broken and repeated at a later date without any additional penalty”.

The fatwa states that on days where medics are not expected to be at work, the fast must be kept.

Umm Muhammed Umar