For any people who fast during Ramadan, doubts arise regarding certain situations and activities that could potentially nullify their fast.Dr Ali Ahmad Mashael, a Grand Mufti at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, explains what needs to be avoided during the fasting hours and clarifies some common myths that circulate due to lack of knowledge.
“Muslim scholars all agreed that whatever enters an open port [in the body] and makes its way to the abdomen will break a fast even if it’s part of a treatment procedure. This is something that every Muslim needs to understand and be cautious about during Ramadan,” he said.
Intentional eating and drinking, intentional vomiting, sexual intimacy between a married couple and vitamin injections, all these break a Muslim’s fast and are never debatable between the four [Islamic] schools of thought, said Dr Mashael.
Dr Mashael discusses other situations that many Muslims may face on a daily basis and clarifies whether or not they break the fast, are discouraged, or are debatable.
Taking a dip in a swimming pool or a shower
“Swimming doesn’t break a person’s fast but if water makes its way through the mouth into the throat or inside the nose, which in many cases is believed to reach the abdomen, then it can. Muslims fasting must avoid aggressive swimming strokes or showering or else their fast cannot be counted and they need to make it up after Ramadan.”
“When a person is forgetful, it means they unintentionally ate or drank, this doesn’t break their fast. Their fast is still valid. In the Quran, it says: ‘And there is no sin on you if you make a mistake therein, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful’ [Al-Ahzaab 33:5].”
However, said Dr Mashael, out of the four schools of thought, Al Maliki requires the Muslim to make up the fast after Ramadan.As for chewing gum or smoking, Dr Mashael said they definitely break the fast.
