شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ
Matters Pertaining to Fasting
As Ramadan draws near, here's a clear guide to what breaks a fast, what doesn't, and what to do if it happens
"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become pious." — Surah Al-Baqarah (2:183)
Getting Ready for Ramadan
As we are all aware that Ramadan is quite close, it is important that we make ourselves knowledgeable about the rules of fasting. Knowing what does and doesn't break a fast helps us avoid unnecessary doubt during the month, and gives us confidence in our worship.
✅ Actions That Do NOT Break the Fast
- Eating or drinking something forgetfully
- A mosquito, fly, or other object going down the throat accidentally
- Water entering the ears while swimming or bathing
- Dust or dirt going down the throat unintentionally
- Swallowing one's own saliva
- Vomiting involuntarily, even a mouthful
- Applying kohl (surma) to the eye
- Taking a bath to cool down
- Rubbing oil on the body or head
- Taking an injection for medication
- Applying perfume (itr)
- Using a miswaak
- Having a dream which makes ghusl necessary
- Inhaling smoke or dust involuntarily
⚠️ Actions That Break the Fast and Require Qadha
Qadha means observing a fast to make up for one that was missed or broken.
- Anything put by force into the mouth of a fasting person
- Water going down the throat while gargling, or by mistake
- Vomiting a mouthful intentionally
- Voluntarily swallowing vomit that has returned to the mouth
- Voluntarily swallowing a pebble, piece of paper, or any inedible item
- Swallowing something edible, equal to or bigger than a chickpea, that was stuck between the teeth — though if it was first removed from the mouth and then put back in and swallowed, it breaks the fast regardless of size
- Putting oil into the ear
- Inhaling snuff
- Forgetting that one is fasting, eating or drinking, and then — realising the fast is "already broken" — eating or drinking again on purpose
- Swallowing blood from the gums, particularly where the saliva appears reddish
- Eating or drinking after dawn, or breaking the fast before sunset, due to a cloudy sky or a faulty watch, and only realising the mistake later
- Breaking a nafl, mustahab, or sunnah fast
- Medication entering through the private parts
🚫 Actions That Require Both Qadha AND Kaffarah
These are the more serious cases — deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast without a valid Shar'i excuse, through:
- Eating or drinking normal food
- Inhaling smoke by smoking
- Taking medicine
- Having intercourse
What Is Kaffarah?
Kaffarah is a penalty imposed for deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast. It applies in the following sequence — one moves to the next option only if the one before it is genuinely not possible:
- Free a slave
- Fast for sixty days continuously, without missing a single day — if a day is missed partway through, the sixty days must start over
- Feed sixty poor people two meals each, or feed one poor person two meals a day for sixty days, or give the cash equivalent of two meals for sixty people (or the equivalent in wheat or grain)
Kaffarah applies only to a Ramadan fast broken deliberately — for any other missed or broken fast, only Qadha is required.
🤲 Valid Excuses to Break a Fast
- Sickness
- Being bitten by a poisonous animal
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
- Extreme thirst
- Haidh (menstruation) or Nifaas (post-natal bleeding)