In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Contemporary Issues That Break the Fast and Those That Do Not

Fasting: The fourth pillar of Islam, achieved by:

• Abstaining from eating and drinking.

• Abstaining from sexual intercourse.

• Avoiding spiritual prohibitions.

Definition of Fast-Breakers: Anything that reaches the throat or stomach. However, jurisprudents differ on this. The prevailing opinion is: anything that can reach the stomach breaks the fast, without excessive broadening or narrowing of the definition. No text in the Holy Quran or the noble Sunnah specifically defines "throat" or "stomach"; rather, the Almighty's saying is used:
(And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night].)
Meaning: anything like food or drink and similar things that reaches the stomach.

Below is a clarification of what breaks the fast and what does not in contemporary issues:

What Does Not Break the Fast in Contemporary Issues

• Oxygen gas, if not accompanied by other substances, does not break the fast because it is air.

• Asthma inhalers do not break the fast; because they are gas accompanied by a small amount of medicine, like a pump and inhalation, and less enters the throat than the remnants of gargling. So, it falls under the ruling of doubt, and certainty is not removed by doubt.

• Eye drops do not break the fast. Kuhl (eyeliner) has been permitted for a fasting person.

• Blood donation does not break the fast.

• Nose drops and nasal sprays do not break the fast, unless something from them enters the mouth and is swallowed.

• Ear drops do not break the fast because they do not reach the stomach.

• Subcutaneous injections do not break the fast.

• Draining cerebrospinal fluid or pus does not break the fast.

• What is administered through the anus or bladder, such as suppositories; the prevailing opinion is that if it does not certainly reach the stomach, it does not break the fast.

• What enters through the female private parts (vagina and vaginal canal), including vaginal washes, speculums, vaginal examinations, suppository tablets, ointments, and other similar items; they do not break the fast because they do not reach the stomach and are not connected to it.

• Taking samples from the liver or other organs does not break the fast.

• An endoscope ( منظار - a medical scope/camera) does not break the fast if it does not carry any substances with it.

What Breaks the Fast in Contemporary Issues

• Kidney dialysis breaks the fast because it involves purifying the blood of toxic substances by replacing them with alternative fluids, thus breaking the fast.

• Intravenous injections generally break the fast in my view. Some differentiate, saying that if they are nutritive, they break the fast, otherwise not.

• A fasting patient receiving blood intravenously; this breaks the fast.

• Egg fertilization (IVF) breaks the fast in two cases:

  • Internally, by introducing sperm to the egg.

  • Or by extracting it and then reintroducing it.

• Smoking, shisha, and e-cigarettes break the fast; because the substances reach the throat and lungs and spread throughout the body. Moreover, it is a sin, and there is no concession for a sinner.

Detailed Issues

1. Local anesthesia does not break the fast. As for general anesthesia, it is done in one of two ways:

   • Anesthesia via vein with a fast-acting substance.

   • Loss of consciousness.
     If unconsciousness lasts the entire day, it breaks the fast. The prevailing opinion is that one who loses consciousness is counted as having one day.

2. Blood donation does not break the fast. It is like cupping (hijamah), and the majority of scholars believe it does not invalidate the fast. Some have said it breaks the fast, relying on the hadith: "The one who performs cupping and the one for whom it is performed have broken their fast," but this hadith is weak and contradicted by the hadith: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) had cupping performed while he was fasting," which is an authentic hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.

3. Diabetic patients, in cases where doctors say that fasting harms them, do not fast. They are obligated to pay kaffara (expiation) by feeding one poor person for each day, approximately 7 US dollars.

Allah knows best.

Written by
Prof. Dr. Ali Muhyiddin Qaradaghi