بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ
This webpage serves as a concise resource intended for healthcare professionals, as well as individuals interested in the impact of various medication administration methods and medical interventions on the validity of one's fast. The information on this page has been compiled from various sources and is based primarily on the rulings of contemporary Ḥanafī jurists. Variant rulings are also quoted, in particular recommendations from the 9th Fiqh-Medical seminar on "An Islamic View of Certain Contemporary Medical Issues" convened in Casablanca, Morocco, from June 14-17, 1997, organised by the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences (IOMS) and rulings from the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta of Saudi Arabia, specifically those of Shaykh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullāh bin Baz and Abū 'Abd Allāh Muhammad ibn Sālih Al-Uthaymīn رحمهماالله. For comments, suggestions or feedback, please contact Dr. A. Hussain via email at ahussain1999@doctors.org.uk.
Information regarding non-medical factors that invalidate fasting and guidelines for the general public are summarised on this page and shown in the image immediately below:
Those modes of administration and medical interventions quoted in green in the charts below indicate permissibility, i.e. such acts do not break the fast, whereas those in red indicate that such acts break the fast.
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Introduction
Fasting is practised in most of the world’s major religions, but its meaning and practical requirements vary considerably both between and within faiths. Some traditions require complete abstinence from food and drink for a specified period, while others involve avoiding particular foods, reducing meal sizes or eating only at certain times.
Fasting in Islam
In Islam, fasting involves abstaining from food, drink and sexual gratification from dawn until sunset by a Muslim with the intention of fasting. Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory for those obligated to fast. The main purpose of fasting is to attain taqwa (awareness of Allah and a conscious effort to live according to His guidance).
General Principle of Fast Invalidation
A fast is invalidated (broken) if an "agent of consequence" reaches a "cavity of consequence" (jawf) through an "orifice of consequence" via a passage (manfadh), whether natural or artificial and settles therein independently (istiqrār) without a valid excuse (e.g., forgetfulness). Fulfilment of all these criteria is necessary for invalidating the fast according to the Ḥanafiyyah.
1.Agent of Consequence (Invalidating Substance)
An agent of consequence which is capable of invalidating fasting must possess a discernible body and must remain independently within a cavity of consequence, detached from external entities, as per Ḥanafī jurists.
2. Cavities of Consequence (Invalidating Cavities) Jawf
Because the word jawf is not defined explicitly in the Quran or the Sunnah as a legal condition, the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence developed differing criteria based on their linguistic and anatomical understanding.
The Maliki fiqh has the narrowest definition of jawf, it is restricted to the throat (halq), stomach (ma'idah), and intestines. The rectum and female vaginal tract are considered channels to the stomach cavity, and only fluid substances entering them break the fast.
Contemporary Ḥanafī jurists primarily limit the jawf to the throat, stomach, and intestines, though some classical jurists included the brain (dimagh) as a cavity that invalidates fasting not because the brain digests food on its own, but based on the ancient anatomical belief that there was an open channel from the brain leading directly into the stomach.
According to the Ḥanbali fiqh the jawf encompasses the stomach, intestines, throat, and any hollow structure that leads to or connects with the body’s interior, including deep bodily wounds (ja'ifah) and the brain (ma'mumah). Any physical substance reaching the throat, stomach, or cranial cavity via regular or irregular pathways invalidates the fast.
The Shafi'i school interprets jawf in its broadest sense as any internal hollow space or cavity within the body. The the cavity does not need to have digestive capacity. Consequently, jawf includes the stomach, intestines, cranial cavity (brain), the inner ear, the female genital tract, and even the bladder and urethra. Any physical substance deliberately introduced through an open natural orifice (manfadh maftuh) into any of these cavities invalidates the fast.
3. Orifices of Consequences (Invalidating Entry Points)
According to the Ḥanafī jurists, this encompasses all natural orifices and any non-natural orifices with a direct or indirect path to a cavity of consequence. The mouth, nose, and anus are natural orifices of consequence. A gastrostomy would be considered a non-natural orifice of consequence. Note that the lacrimal duct is not considered an orifice of consequence in Ḥanafī fiqh.
4. Independent Stay/ Retention (Istiraq)
In the Ḥanafī fiqh istiraq/ istiqrār is a foundational jurisprudential criterion concerning the invalidation of fasting. It dictates that for an inserted, ingested, or penetrating substance to break a person's fast, it must not only reach an internal body cavity (jawf) but must also settle, lodge, or remain contained within it. Liquids or moist substances break the fast upon reaching the internal cavity because they naturally disperse, absorb, and settle within the body. A solid, non-nourishing object entering an orifice or wound does not invalidate the fast unless it completely disappears inside and achieves istiqrār (independent stay). The Malaki fiqh also considers istiraq an essential condition for invalidating the fast when dealing with non-dissolving solids
Reasons for Divergent Rulings
A number of factors contribute to the divergence of legal opinions on fasting, including:
1. Jurists disagree regarding the nature of fasting i.e. the underlying rationale behind fasting. Some scholars perceive fasting as having an intelligible rationale; these scholars distinguish between nutritive and non-nutritive substances when determining what breaks the fast. Other scholars regard fasting as a purely devotional act, whose objective is absolute abstention from anything entering the relevant body cavity, resulting in the equal treatment of food and non-food substances for breaking the fast.
2. Definition of Jawf (Cavity of Consequence): The interpretation of jawf differs among Muslim jurists as discussed above.
3. Some contemporary scholars follow classical rulings formulated when knowledge of human anatomy was more limited, whereas others draw on modern anatomical understanding when assessing those rulings. For example, some classical texts reflect the mistaken belief that passages connect the brain or the female reproductive tract to the stomach.
Dental treatment during Ramadan should ideally be avoided or undertaken in the morning. Delaying the intention to fast until Islāmic midday (the midpoint between the start of Fajr and the start of Dhur) is permissible in the Ḥanafī fiqh. Provided water ingestion during treatment is avoided one can then make an intention to fast. If water or other substances are swallowed, fasting for that day cannot be done, necessitating a makeup fast later. This strategy avoids breaking a fast. This delay provision for intention applies solely to Ḥanafī fiqh.
Dr. A. Hussain
Useful links (Hanafi fiqh sites and other international fatawa)
Nur al-idah (Classical Hanafi fiqh textbook)
Principles on what invalidates the fast based on "Dabit al-Mufattirat" by Mufti Rafi Usmani
Criterion of Breaking Fast Mufti Mohammed Zubair Butt
Actions which break the fast A Manual of Hanafi fiqh
FAQs on fasting Fatwa Jamiatul Ulema South Africa
Can one take a steam bath while fasting or not? Darul-Ifta Jamia Binoria Aalamia
Does the fasting person break his fast by entering the sauna bath? 4/43 al-Durar al-Bahiyya min al-Fatawa al-Kuwaytiyya [23/75/7326]
Intravenous injections and infusions can be divided into two types: Non-nutrional (ghayr mughadhiyah) and Nutrional (al-maḥālīl al-mughadhiyah). Ghayr mughadhiyah intravenous injections do not provide sustenance, hydration, or caloric nourishment to the body. Al-maḥālīl al-mughadhiyah intravenous injections such as saline, glucose, and Hartmann's solution provide electrolytes, water, and other essential nutrients to the body.
The majority of contemporary jurists, including Ḥanafī jurists, consider the use of nutritional intravenous injections and infusions to invalidate the fast on the basis of qiyās as it resembles drinking. Some Ḥanafī jurists such as Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i and Mahmud Shaltut, do not consider them to invalidate the fast because the fluid/ injection does not enter the body through an invalidating orifice nor settle in an invalidating cavity as required by classical Ḥanafī legal texts.
Does the use of a drip break the fast? Fataawa Mahmoodiya, V: 10, P: 149, Farooqiyyah
The Use of Therapeutic Injections/ Intravenous During Fasting al-Ijtihad fi Manat al-Hukm al-Shari Dirasa Tasiliyya 521
Does Fasting become void if eye-drops are used in the eyes? Darul-Ifta Jamia Binoria Aalamia
Using Eyedrops while Fasting Fatwa Jamiatul Ulema South Africa
Using Eyedrops while Fasting Fatwa al-Durar al-Bahiyya min al-Fatawa al-Kuwaytiyya 16/78/4902
Can we use inhaler while fasting? Darul-Ifta Jamia Binoria Aalamia
Use of Asthma Inhaler Fatwa Jamiatul Ulema South Africa
Test of sperms for purpose of fertility while fasting in Ramadan (IVF) Darul-Ifta Jamia Binoria Aalamia
Semen produced by husband for IVF al-Durar al-Bahiyya min al-Fatawa al-Kuwaytiyya 4/40
Does injecting husband's semen into wife's uterus invalidate the fast (IVF) al-Durar al-Bahiyya min al-Fatawa al-Kuwaytiyya 4/38
Is it permissible for a woman to have a pap smear while fasting? Darul-Ifta Jamia Binoria Aalamia
Does a cervical smear test invalidate one’s fast? Detailed fatwa by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam (Leicester)
Does vaginal examination, speculum insertion, smear break the fast? al-Durar al-Muntaqah min al-Kalimat al-Mulqah
Is it permissible to apply a haemorrhoids ointment inside of the anus while fasting? Darul-Ifta Jamia Binoria Aalamia
Does inserting a urinary catheter into the bladder break the fast? Mawsuat al-Fiqh ala al-Madhahib al-Arbaa 4/535
No, according to imam Abu Hanifa and Muhammad al-Shaybani. This is the official Hanafi fiqh position. According to imam Abu Yusuf, it does break the fast. According to Maliki it does not break the fast. According to the Hanbali fiqh (views of Ibn Qudamah and Mansur al-Buhuti) it does not break the fast. According to the majority opinion in the Shafi'i school, it does break the fast.
Can a person make an intention to keep a Fast after Sehri time has ended? Jamiatul Ulema South Africa
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GREEN text signifies does not break the fast.
RED text signifies does break the fast.
