Praise be to Allah
1) There is nothing to prevent a pregnant woman from going on pilgrimage. Such a woman remains ritually clean. She must observe prayer and fasting. She may be subject to repudiation as per the Sunnah.
2) Better still, the Sunnah testifies that Asma bint Umayyah (pbuh) went out on the pilgrimage while she was in a very advanced state of pregnancy since she gave birth on her arrival from the place of entry in a state of sanctity. According to Aisha (pbuh), Asma bint Umays, wife of Abu Bakr, gave birth to Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr under a tree. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) told Abu Bakr to order him to take a ritual bath and to go into a state of sacredness. (Reported by Muslim, 1209.
The tree in question was in Dhul Hulayfa, which is the place from which the people of Madinah would go into a state of sacredness.
An-Nawawi said about the benefits of the hadith:
« This includes the possibility of the woman in childbirth and the woman who is menstruating to go into a state of sacredness, and the recommendation that they take a ritual bath for this purpose. This is a matter of consensus. However, our doctrine and that of the Malikites, Abu Hanifa and the majority opinion make it a mere recommendation, whereas Hassan and the Zahirites (literalists) make it a duty.
A woman who has given birth or is menstruating may perform all the rites of the pilgrimage properly except for circumambulation and the two rak’aa that follow it because of the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to a woman: « Do all that pilgrims do except circumambulation » (Shariah Musharraf, 8/133)?
If it is a woman who has never performed the pilgrimage, pregnancy is not an excuse for not doing it, because she can perform it while avoiding the jostling. If she cannot stone the steles, she can have someone stand in for her. If she cannot walk to make the circumambulation and the walk between Safa and Marwa, she can use a wheelchair, etc.
Many people complete the pilgrimage in a state of great comfort both with regard to the route and to accommodation and the performance of the rites.
3) It is true, however, that if it is the case of a pregnant woman to whom a reliable doctor has revealed that her participation in the pilgrimage constitutes a danger to her or her child because she is sick or weak or for some other reason, in that case, she is prevented from making the pilgrimage that year on the basis of the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): No harm to be done or damage to be suffered (reported by Ibn Madja, 2340). This hadith is good. See its presentation in Ibn Rajab’s Djami al-‘umom wal-hikam, 1/302.
Some doctors distinguish between the beginning of a pregnancy and its term. In the first case, they fear for the formation of the fetus. In the second case, they do not see any justification for the fear.
Allah knows best.
