Can a woman who is observing ‘iddah following the death of her husband go out to pray Taraweeh and go to work?

My husband died 45 days ago, and I am used to going to pray Tarweeh in
the mosque the during the month of Ramadan. Isit permissible for me to
go to the mosque in orderto offer the prayer before my 'iddah is
complete? Is it permissible for me to do my job in the grocery store?
Please note that the grocery store is in the same house. Is it
permissible for the one who visits the graves to eat from any tree
that is planted in the graveyard?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We ask Allah to reward you in your calamity and to compensate you with
something better.
Secondly:
The woman who is observing 'iddah following the death of herhusband
should not go out at night except in cases of necessity. Your going
out to pray Taraweeh is not a necessity. Based on that, you should
pray Taraweeh in your house.
Thirdly:
It is permissible for the woman who is observing 'iddah following the
death of her husband to go out during the day to work, but when night
comes she has to stay at home. So there is nothing wrong with your
workingin the grocery, so long as that is during the day only.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allahhave mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (8/130):
The woman who is observing 'iddah may go out for her needs during the
day, whether she is divorced or has recently lost her husband, because
of the report narrated by Jaabir who said: My maternal aunt was thrice
divorced, and she went out to harvest her palm trees. She was met by a
man who rebuked her and toldher not to do that. She mentioned that to
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he said:
"Go out and harvest your palm trees, for perhaps you willgive charity
from it or do something good." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i and Abu Dawood.
Mujaahid narrated: Some men were martyred on the day of Uhud and their
wives came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah,we feel lonely at night; can
we sleep in the house of one of us and then in the morning we will go
back to our own houses? The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "(Stay together and) talk in the house of one
of you, then when you want to sleep, let each one of you go to her own
house." So she is not allowed to stay overnight anywhere but in her
own house, and should not go out at night, except in case of
necessity, because the night is the time when immorality is most
likely to occur, unlike the day, which is the time when most people go
about their needs and earn a living, and buy what they need. End
quote.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (20/440): The basic principle
is that a woman should observe mourning in the house of her husband in
which she waswhen he died, and she should not go out of it except in
case of need or necessity, such as going tothe hospital if she is
sick, or buying what she needsfrom the marketplace such as bread and
the like,if she does not have any one with her who can do that. End
quote.
As for eating from the trees that are planted in the graveyard, there
is nothing wrong with that, but you should note that the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade women to visit the
graves. This has been discussed in the answer toquestion number 8198 .
And Allaah knows best.

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A surgeon loses concentration because of fasting; is it permissible forhim to break the fast?

There is a surgeon who does four or five operations a day, i.e., he is
responsible for the lives of four or five people. He experiences
difficulty when fasting because he loses concentration and hiswork
requires concentration and precision to a great extent.Is it
permissible for him to break the fast? Please notethat he remains in
this situation throughout the year, apart from one day off per week.
Praise be to Allaah.
Fasting Ramadan is obligatory for every adult, sane, non-travelling,
healthy Muslim, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for
you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become
Al-Muttaqoon (the pious).
184. [Observing Sawm (fasts)] for a fixed number of days, but if any
of you isill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from
other days"
[al-Baqarah 2:183, 184].
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam on which it is built, as
is well known and established, and all Muslims show great respect for
this duty of fasting throughout the Muslim world. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Thus it is [an obligation that mankind owes to Allaah] and whosoever
honours the Symbols of Allaah, then it is truly, fromthe piety of the
hearts"
[al-Hajj 22:32].
See also the answer to question number 38747 .
What the Muslim should do is honour this symbol because Allah has
honoured it, and he shouldbeware of taking the matter lightly. He
should strive to find all possible means of preserving it as Allah has
enjoined. If it is too difficult for him to fast whilst working, then
he has to shift his work from daytime to night-time, if that is
possible. These kinds of regular operations-- i.e., those that are not
emergency cases -- can be done at night as easily as by day, as is the
practice ofmany doctors.
If it is not possible for him to shift his work to the night-time,
then he must take his annual leave during the month of Ramadan or
during part ofit at least, if it is possible for him to do that, and
devote that time to fasting.
If that is not possible, and he cannot find other work in which he can
fast duringthe day in Ramadan, and he will be harmed by giving up his
job, then it is permissible for him to break the fast on the days on
which fasting causes considerable hardship, but he should not break
the fast just for fear of hardship; then he should make up the days
that he did not fast during his weekly break or on other days when he
is able to make it up, on condition that he complete making up the
days that he did not fast before Ramadan begins in the following year.
It says in Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat (1/478): If a person's work is
hard and he will be harmed by giving it up and he is afraid of
physical harm, then he may break the fastand make it up later on. This
was stated by al-Aajurri. End quote.
In al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (28/57) it says: The Hanafis said: With
regard to those whose work involves physical effort and who are in
need of their earnings, such as bakers and harvesters, if he knows
that if he works he will encounter harm that may make it permissible
for him not to fast, then it that case it is haraam for him to break
the fast before he actually encounters hardship. End quote.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (10/244): It is not
permissible for a worker tobreak the fast during the day in Ramadan
just because he is working, butif he encounters great hardship that
forces him tobreak the fast during the day, then he may break the fast
with something that will ward off that hardship, then refrain
fromeating and drinking until Maghrib, when he may break the fast with
the people but he should make up that day on which he broke the fast.

And Allah knows best.

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2a] Is he responsible for thedeath of the one who was hurt in this accident?

2a]
The same applies tothese who work as firefighters; if a fire
occursduring the day and they go to rescue someone andthey cannot do
that except by breaking the fast and eating food to give them physical
strength, then they should break the fast and eat that which will give
them physical strength. End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen,

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2] Is he responsible for thedeath of the one who was hurt in this accident?

2]
I am an emergency worker, working for the health department. I was
required to attend the scene of a traffic accident, where the injured
person was lying on the ground. When I reached the injured person – I
was notentirely sure whether he had a pulse or not – I moved him into
the ambulance and administered the necessary first aid, namelyCPR
(cardiopulmonary resuscitation). That was after I had ascertained,
inside the ambulance, that no pulse was present.When I reached the
hospital I handed him over to the emergency department, and they put
him in the resuscitation room. One of the doctors asked me: Did he
have a pulse during transportation from the accident scene? And I
replied No, without thinking. I was not sure about that, whether he
had a pulse or not. The time from the accident site to the hospital
was approximately half an hour, during which time I was doing
resuscitation. I was fasting and I was exhausted because of the effort
I expended during the trip to the hospital. Hardly had I said that
word but they removed all the equipment from the injured person and
declared that he was dead. I have been feeling guilty ever since; if I
had said yes, they would have carried on trying to resuscitate him and
that might have been, after Allah, the means of bringing him back to
life. Now I keep going over it in my mind. The accident happened more
than two years ago. What do I haveto do now? Do I have to offer any
expiation? How can I stop thinking about this matter? Please note that
these worries are giving me sleepless nightsand haunt me every time I
give first aid. I hope that you will answer me as soon as possible.
May Allah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
From asking some doctorsabout your situation, it seems to us that you
are not to blame from a technical point of view; the role of emergency
medical personnel is in the vicinity of the incident, where they are
to do whatever they can to treat those who are injured, and that role
endswhen they hand over the injured persons to the emergency ward
doctor.
The work of the emergency ward doctor begins when the injured person
is handed over to him and he does not havethe right to base serious
decisions on what the emergency worker says. The doctor has to do
whatever he can for the injured person, regardless of what the
emergency worker says, which may be lacking or mistaken.
Removing resuscitation equipment from the patient is not to be based
on the testimony of an emergency worker; ratherit is to be based on
the opinion of a specialist doctor after allowing enough time to hook
the patient up to the resuscitation equipment.
The patient can only have arrived at the hospital alive or dead. If he
was alive upon arrival, the resuscitation equipment should not be
removed except following the decision of three specialistdoctors. If
he was dead onarrival, there is no need for resuscitation equipment in
the first place. These two scenarioshave been discussed in the answer
the question no. 115104 .
Thus it becomes clear thatthe responsibility lies withthe doctor and
not with the ambulance worker.
Based on that, it does not seem that you are to blame for whatever
happened with the patient, so there is no need for anxiety or
distress. We ask Allah to have mercy on the deceased if he was a
Muslim.
You have to do your job well and fear Allah with regard to patients
and accident victims, and to be certain and definitive with your
testimony.
Secondly:
You said that you were fasting and you were exhausted because of
fasting. It should be notedthat if fasting will lead you to fall short
in your work, which may expose accident victims to danger, then you
have to break the fast. This applies if your fast was obligatory. If
it was a naafil fast, then the matter is even more clear.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) said:
Whoever breaks the fast in order to save a person who is drowning or
beingburned in a fire and is onewho has to be saved, thenhe should
break his fast and make it up later on. For example, if you see a
house that is on fire and there are Muslim people inside, and you
cannot fulfil the duty of saving them except by breaking the fast and
drinking water so as to have the strength to save these people, then
it is permissible for you – and is indeed obligatory upon you – in
this case to breakthe fast in order to save them. The same applies
tothese who work as firefighters;

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