What Breaks the Fast and What Does Not

What breaks the fast

The fast starts at dawn and ends at sunset. If one of these things happens during that time, the fast of that day is invalid:

• Eating or drinking on purpose.
• Marital relations (intercourse).
• Deliberate vomiting. If you make yourself vomit, the fast is broken.
• Menstruation or post-natal bleeding. If it begins even a short time before sunset, the fast of that day is not valid.

Scholars agree on the main points, and most also hold the same about deliberate vomiting. The word "on purpose" is important. The rules below show why.

Think of the fast as a trust between you and Allah. The rules are clear, so that you can fast with confidence and peace of mind.

What does not break the fast

Allah does not hold a person responsible for a real mistake. The Prophet ﷺ taught that if a fasting person eats or drinks because of forgetting, they should complete the fast, because Allah fed them and gave them drink.

These things do not break the fast:

• Eating or drinking by forgetting.
• Swallowing something without intending to, such as a drop of water during wudu (ablution) or a little dust or a fly.
• Vomiting that you did not cause.
• Taking a bath or shower, or putting water on your head to stay cool.
• Brushing your teeth, if you are careful not to swallow water or paste.
• Waking up in the state of janabah (needing a full bath) after dawn. You take the bath and continue the fast.

If you remember that you are fasting, even in the middle of a meal, stop at once and spit out what is in your mouth.

Remember that a small mistake does not need worry. Do not doubt your fast without a clear reason.

Modern questions

Some modern questions are not described in the early texts. Examples are injections, eye or ear drops, nasal sprays, inhalers and blood tests. Scholars differ on some of these, and the answer can depend on the kind of treatment.

Please do not decide by guessing. Ask a qualified local scholar, and ask your doctor about the medicine itself. Never stop a needed medicine without medical advice.

Islam gives ease to the sick, so a person who must take regular treatment may have an excuse not to fast.

If you are unsure whether something broke your fast, keep a note of the question and ask a scholar after iftar. Do not delay the fast or your worship because of doubt.

Make-up and expiation

If your fast breaks for a reason that is not allowed, or you break it with a valid excuse, you make up that day after Ramadan. This is called qada.

Marital relations during the day in Ramadan are more serious. Beyond making up the day, scholars teach an expiation called kaffarah. In the report from Sahih al-Bukhari, the order is to free a slave, or if that is not possible to fast two months in a row, or if that is not possible to feed sixty poor people.

Scholars differ on whether kaffarah also applies to eating or drinking on purpose. Ask a scholar about your case. In all cases, the person should repent and ask Allah for forgiveness.

Sources

• Quran 2:187
• Sahih al-Bukhari (Book of Fasting)
• Sahih Muslim (Book of Fasting)
• Sunan Abi Dawud (Book of Fasting)
• Jami at-Tirmidhi (Book of Fasting)