Guidelines concerning things that break the fast

What about one who is grinding grain, and something flies into his mouth as a result of that whilst he is fasting?

Praise be to Allaah.

That does not spoil his fast, and his fast is valid, because when this happens it is not by their choice, and they did not mean for it to reach their stomachs. I would like to take this opportunity to explain that things which break a person’s fast – namely intercourse, eating, drinking, etc. – only do so if three conditions are met: 

1 – that he knows (the ruling). If he does not know the ruling then it does not break his fast, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): 

“And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend”

[al-Ahzaab 33:5] 

“Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error”

[al-Baqarah 2:286] 

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “My ummah is forgiven for mistakes and forgetfulness and for what they are forced to do.” The one who is ignorant is making a mistake, and if he knew he would not have done that, so if he does something that breaks the fast out of ignorance, then he is not to blame and his fast is complete and is valid, whether he was ignorant concerning the ruling or the time. 

A similar case is when a person does something that breaks the fast, thinking that it does not break the fast, such as one who has cupping done, thinking that cupping does not break the fast. We would say to him, your fast is valid and you do not have to do anything. And there are other things which happen to a person not by his choice; so there is no blame on him and that does not break his fast, for the reasons we have mentioned. 

In conclusion, the things that break the fast do not break it unless three conditions are met: 

1 – he should know the ruling

2 – he should not have forgotten that he is fasting

3 – he should be doing that by choice. 

And Allaah knows best. 

He had intercourse with his wife without ejaculating during the day in Ramadaan, because he was unaware that this is haraam, and he did not have a bath afterwards

I got married nine years ago. During the first year of marriage I used to engage in foreplay with my wife during the day in Ramadaan and I used to have intercourse without ejaculating. I was unaware that that is haraam, because I thought that if I did not ejaculate, it did not break the fast. 
After the first year, I did not do that again. That was so that I could avoid doubtful things. 
Since I got married until now, I have repeated what I did during the first year of engaging in foreplay with my wife, but that was during the night in Ramadaan and during the night and day at other times of the year, when I had intercourse without ejaculating, and I did not do ghusl because I thought that if I did not ejaculate, I did not need to do ghusl. 
I hope that you will answer, noting that what happened was the result of ignorance on my part, and that you will tell me what my wife and I should do.

Praise be to Allaah.

This question includes two issues: 

1 – Intercourse on the part of one who is fasting

2 – Rulings on one who has intercourse but does not do ghusl 

Firstly: 

If a person who is fasting has intercourse with his wife during the day in Ramadaan, one of the following two scenarios must apply: 

The first scenario: he thinks that having intercourse without ejaculating is not haraam during the day in Ramadaan, so he has intercourse and he is ignorant or unaware of the ruling. 

The second scenario: he knows that having intercourse (during the day in Ramadaan) is haraam but he does not know what the punishment is. 

With regard to the first scenario, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

The most correct view is the view of those who say that whoever does one of the things that break the fast or one of the things that are forbidden during ihraam or one of the things that invalidate the prayer and is unaware of it, then there is no sin on him, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error”

[al-Baqarah 2:286]

and Allaah has said: “I have done that.” 

So if this man who had intercourse with his wife during the day in Ramadaan was unaware of the ruling, and he thought that the kind of  intercourse that is haraam is the kind in which ejaculation occurs, then he does not have to do anything. 

But in the second scenario, if he knew that intercourse (during the day in Ramadaan) is haraam, but he did not know that there is expiation (kafaarah) for that, then he has to offer the expiation, because there is a difference between ignorance of the ruling and ignorance of the punishment. Ignorance of the punishment is no excuse, but ignorance of the ruling is an excuse. 

Hence the scholars said: If a person drinks an intoxicant thinking that it will not cause intoxication, or thinking that it is not haraam, then there is no sin on him. But if he knows that it will cause intoxication and that it is haraam, but he does not know that he is to be punished for that, then he should be punished and he is not excused from that. Based on this, we say to the questioner that so long as you did not know that intercourse without ejaculation was haraam, there is no sin on you or on your wife, if she was also ignorant of the ruling as you were. 

Secondly: 

The effect of this action on fasting and prayer. 

With regard to fasting, janaabah (being in a state of impurity following sexual activity) does not have any effect on it, because the fasting of a person who is in a state of janaabah is valid. But not doing ghusl in order to pray poses a problem, because prayer is not valid without doing ghusl because the person remains in a state of janaabah. Most of the scholars are of the view that this person must make up all the prayers for which he did not do ghusl, but is it known that this man will have had intercourse and ejaculated, and then done ghusl. 

But he may not know how often he did that. So we say to him that he should try to work it out and do his best to make up the prayers, to be on the safe side. But if you did not know anything about this and it did not cross your mind that simply having intercourse without ejaculating would mean that ghusl was essential, then we hope that you do not have to do anything, i.e., that you do not have to make up the prayers. But you do have to repent and seek forgiveness for your negligence in not asking about the matter. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, al-Liqa’ al-Shahri 

See also the answer to question no. 9446online

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Ruling on the fast of one who thinks about sex then ejaculates

If a man was sitting and thinking (about sex), then he went to sleep and ejaculated, whilst he was fasting during the day in Ramadaan, does that invalidate his fast, and does he have to make it up?

Praise be to Allaah.

Whoever thinks about sex and ejaculates, or has a wet dream and ejaculates, that does not invalidate his fast, but he has to do ghusl from janaabah, because when Umm Sulaym asked him, “Does a woman have to do ghusl if she has a wet dream?” the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Yes, if she sees water.” 

The same ruling applies to men, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Water is for water.” 

With regard to his fast, it is valid, because a wet dream is not something that happens by choice. Similarly, thinking is something which is forgiven by Allaah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has forgiven my ummah for wrong thoughts that cross their minds, so long as they do not speak of them or act upon them.” 

This is all kindness from Allaah. 

He tasted the food and swallowed it by mistake

My wife asked me to help her make iftaar, and whilst I was helping her I checked the food for salt, forgetting that I was fasting. Did I break my fast by doing that? Because I was doing something that was not obligatory upon me according to sharee’ah or according to custom?

Praise be to Allaah.

Praise be to Allaah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allaah. 

There is nothing wrong with a fasting person tasting the food if he needs to, if he does that by testing it with the tip of his tongue, then he spits it out without swallowing anything, whether the one who is fasting is a man or a woman. 

But if the fasting person forgets and swallows it by mistake, there is no sin on him, and he should complete his fast. This is because of the general meaning of the evidence which indicates that according to sharee’ah, the person who forgets is excused. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever forgets that he is fasting and eats or drinks something, let him complete his fast, for it is Allaah Who has fed him and given him to drink.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 1399; Muslim 1155).

 And Allaah knows best.

Does vaginal bleeding due to surgery mean that one cannot fast?

I gave birth two months ago but the bleeding of nifaas has not stopped until now. The radiographer found a piece of the placenta still inside the uterus, and I had an operation to remove it. This was after the first week of Ramadan had passed, but I did not fast until after the operation, even though the bleeding has not stopped. What should I do now? Is my fast valid? Can I have intercourse now, as the bleeding is very little since I did the operation?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The maximum length of nifaas (post-partum bleeding) is forty days, after which the woman is taahir (pure) and she may pray and fast and her husband may have intercourse with her, even if there is bleeding. This blood that comes after forty days is a haemorrhage, not nifaas. 

This has been discussed with evidence in the answer to question no. 10488. 

Based on that, your fasting after doing the operation is valid, even if there is bleeding. 

You have to make up the first week of Ramadaan when you did not fast. 

With regard to the prayers that you did not offer after the forty days (of nifaas) ended, you do not have to make them up, in sha Allaah.  

See the answer to question no. 45648. 

And Allaah knows best.

If bits of food go down his throat without him meaning them to, does that invalidate his fast?

I put in removable braces after eating sahoor, and I did not notice that there were bits of food on the braces after I had brushed my teeth, which led to some bits of food going down into my throat, and I spat out some other bits. Do I have to repeat that fast or what?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The Muslim who intends to fast should clean his teeth at night and remove any bits of food that may be stuck to them or caught in between them. He should also rinse his mouth out well when he does wudoo’, to remove any bits of food that may be stuck to his teeth.  

If a person voluntarily swallows bits of food that are caught between his teeth when he is able to spit them out, then he invalidates his fast by doing that. But if he swallows them without meaning to, such as if they go into his throat with his saliva and he cannot stop that, then his fast is valid and he does not have to do anything else.  

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Our companions – i.e., the Shaafa’is – said: If there is some food left between his teeth, then he should remove it at night and clean his mouth. If he starts his day fasting and there is anything stuck between his teeth and he swallows it deliberately, then his fast is invalidated and there is no difference of opinion among us concerning that. This was also the view of Maalik, Abu Yoosuf and Ahmad. 

Our evidence for ruling that his fast is invalidated is that he swallowed it when he was able to spit it out, and there was no need to do that, so he has invalidated his fast, just as if he had spat it out into his hand and then swallowed it.  

But if it mixes with his saliva and he swallows it without meaning to, then there is a difference of opinion narrated by our companions from al-Shaafa’i. Some of them narrated that it breaks the fast, and some of them narrated that it does not break the fast. The correct view is that of the majority, which is that there were two situations in this case. When he said that it does not break the fast, he was referring to a situation where it cannot be distinguished and spat out. And when he said that it does break the fast, he was referring to a situation where the person was able to spit it out but did not do so, and swallowed it instead. End quote. 

Al-Majmoo’ (6/317) 

See also the answer to question no. 78438 for a useful quotation from Ibn Qudaamah, and the answer to question no. 22981 for useful guidelines on things that invalidate the fast. 

And Allaah knows best.

He was told that having an injection breaks the fast so he broke his fast and made it up later on. What should he do?

Fate dictated that I should get pulmonary tuberculosis, and the treatment involved having a needle very day for a year, as well as other medications three times each day. The treatment coincided with the beginning of Ramadaan, but despite that I began to fast the holy month. After 15 days of fasting, I went to take the injection as usual at the health centre, and there the nurse asked me if I was fasting, and I said yes. His response what that I should stop fasting from that day onwards, so following his instructions I stopped fasting for the rest of Ramadan, and after that I made up the days that I did not fast. After I found out that injections do not invalidate the fast, I regretted it and felt that I had committed a great sin, even though my intention was clearly to fast the whole month despite my sickness. I blame that nurse who told me not to fast for the rest of the month. I hope that you can advise me about the Islamic ruling concerning this.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

Injections that are given to sick people are of two types: 

1-    Those which contain nourishment. These cause the fast to be invalidated if one uses them deliberately.

2-    Those which do not contain nourishment. These do not affect the fast, whether they are given via a vein (intravenous) or a muscle (intramuscular), according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions, because they are neither food not drink, nor do they take the place of food or drink. 

See question no. 49706 and 65632. in which we quote some of the fatwas of the scholars concerning this issue. 

Perhaps this nurse was following the view of those who say that injections break the fast if they reach the stomach. 

Whatever the case, the fact that you broke the fast based on his instructions, then made up the fasts that you missed, means that you have done what was required of you, and you do not have to do anything else. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a woman who dyed her hair then her sister told her that that invalidates the fast, so she broke her fast then made it up. He replied: The answer to this question involves two things, the first of which is this woman who issued a fatwa without knowledge, because if a woman who is fasting dyes her hair, it does not invalidate the fast. The second issue has to do with this woman who received information that was not based on proper knowledge and broke her fast then made it up based on that fatwa. She does not have to do anything now, because she has done what was required of her. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (19/226). 

Secondly: 

In your question you say: “Fate dictated that…” This is a common mistake, because fate has no will. The correct thing to say is: Allaah willed, or Allaah decreed. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about saying “Circumstances dictated that such and such should happen” or “fate willed that such and such should happen.” 

He replied: Saying “fate decreed” or “circumstances decreed” is wrong, because circumstances refers to time, and time has no will. Similarly fate has no will either. Rather the One Who decrees is Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. If a person says “The will of Allaah dictated that such and such should happen,” there is nothing wrong with that, because will cannot be attributed to fate. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (3/113).

We ask Allaah to heal you and give you good health, and to increase you in understanding and knowledge. 

And Allaah knows best.