In the name of Allah,
Fasting during Ramadan is one of Islam’s pillars. The Qur’an and Sunnah mandate it. Scholars disagree on whether someone who abandons it out of laziness has committed disbelief. The correct judgment is that he has not disbelieved.
Islamically, the fast of Ramadan is an act of worship to Allah, the Most High, which consists of refraining from eating, drinking, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset. Fasting is worshipping Allah through abstaining. He leaves them to worship Allah, not as a habit.
What are the things that break fasting?
Having Sexual Intercourse
If a person who is fasting has sex with his wife, even if he doesn’t ejaculate, his fast is broken. He has to make up for that day later and also pay kaffarah.
The fast is broken when the glans of the penis enter the vagina or anus of a person or animal. Abu Haneefah said kaffarah is not necessary for anal intercourse[i]. According to Abu Hanifah (May Allah have mercy on him), intercourse through a Makruh channel does not involve liability on the model of Hadd, which is not granted in such a scenario. The correct view[ii] is that expiation is needed since the carnal desire has been fully fulfilled[iii].
Ejaculation Without Intercourse
Ejaculation triggered by sexual activity without vaginal penetration, like touch, or kissing requires fasting (makeup) and kaffarah, according to Ahmed Ibn Hanbal and Malik but contrary to the other two Imam.
The Hanafis say, If a man releases semen through embracing or caressing, he is obligated to perform Qada’ but not expiation ( kaffarah)[iv].
The best opinion is that of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) who said: If a man is sexual with his wife by touching or kissing the face or touching the private part (without having intercourse) and he ejaculates, his fast is broken[v].
Ruling On Ejaculation By Thinking And Without Contact
The Hanafis and Shafi’is say the fast is not broken if maniy or madhiy is released by looking or thinking. The more correct view, according to the Shafi’is, is that the fast is broken if someone consistently ejaculates while looking or repeatedly looks and then ejaculates[vi].
Malikis[vii] and Hanbalis think that the release of ‘maniy (Semen) from constant looking breaks the fast because it comes from an action that is enjoyed and could have been stopped[viii].
The Malikis say that if ejaculation is caused by stimulating sights or ideas and lasts for a long time, the fast is broken and kaffarah is due[ix].
The Malikis also say that If his thoughts persist until ejaculation, he will have to make up and perform kaffara. If he stops thinking and ejaculates, he makes it up without kaffarah[x].
The person who ejaculates by thinking has to repent and make up that day later.
Fasting And Pre-Seminal Fluid (Madhy)
The madhiy, or pre-seminal fluid, is a thin, white fluid that is emitted when sensing desire, whether thinking or otherwise. The Malikis say that fast is broken if pre-seminal fluid comes out after physical contact, thinking, or staring, in agreement with Hanbal. Only make-up is required[xi].
The Hanbalis think that it does break the fast if there is direct physical contact, like touching, kissing, etc. But if the cause is repeatedly looking, that doesn’t make the fast invalid.
Abu Haneefah and al-Shaafa’i believe that ‘maniy (Semen), not madhiy, invalidates the fast regardless of the cause. This is also favored by Sheikh Uthaymeen, sheikh ibn Baaz, and sheikh-ul Islam ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on them).
Ejaculation
If a sleeping person has a wet dream, he is not to blame, and his fasting is still valid because a wet dream doesn’t happen on purpose. Still, ceremonial bathing is needed to cleanse oneself of janabah (i.e. major ritual impurity related to sexual discharge)[xii].
Deliberate Eating Or Drinking
If a fasting person accidentally eats or drinks, his fasting is still valid, since Allaah supplies food and drink. He isn’t accountable. This applies to sleep eaters and drinkers[xiii]. The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“Whoever eats or drinks something forgetfully while he is fasting should complete his fast, for what he has eaten or drunk has been given to him by Allah.”[xiv]
Unintentional Eating Or Drinking
The Malikis[xv] say that If you unintentionally break your obligatory fast, you must make up a day. If water enters the throat when rinsing or snuffing breaks the fast. Hanbalis disagrees[xvi].
Unavoidable Things
According to general agreement, if anything is unavoidable—for example, a fly in the mouth or road dust—it does not break the fast.
Enema
As per Malikis, Enema breaks the fast per Abu Haneefa and Hanbal[xvii]. According to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, enemas do not invalidate a fast. According to what he said, this is neither food nor drink, nor is it anything like food or drink.
Miswak
Miswak is permissible before or after the sun’s zenith[xviii], however, Ash Shafi and Ahmed Ibn Hanbal consider it makruh after. Using the Siwak at the beginning and end of the day is desirable and recommended, whether or not one is fasting[xix].
Blood Removal
Cupping, phlebotomy, and blood transfusions break your fast. However, collecting a tiny volume of blood for a blood test does not nullify fasting. Nosebleeds, cuts, and tooth extractions do not affect fasting.
Vomiting
Vomiting is the expulsion of food and other substances from the gut. The Hanafis[xx] stipulate that intentionally vomiting a mouthful violates the fast.
Fasting is broken if one intentionally vomits or spits out stomach contents. But if someone vomits by accident, it doesn’t break their fast, as the Prophet (PBUH) said:
“If anyone cannot help vomiting, he does not have to make up for (that day of fasting), and whoever intentionally vomits, should make up for it.”[xxi]
According to the correct scholarly viewpoint, the quantity of vomit is irrelevant. The fast is broken if someone intentionally vomits a tiny amount.[xxii]
May Allah’s peace and blessings be on the last and final prophet
Sources:
[i] Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah: The Judgments of Fiqh, Abu’l-Qasim Ibn Juzayy Al-Kalbi (Author), Asadullah Yate (Translator), Vol 1, page 219
[ii] See also A Complete Guide to Fasting and Ramadan, SeekersGuidance, Ustada Umm Ihsan, Page 26
[iii] Al-Hidayah THE GUIDANCE, Burhan Al Din Al Farghani Al Marghinani, Book of Fasting, page 322
[iv] Al-Hidayah THE GUIDANCE, Burhan Al Din Al Farghani Al Marghinani, Book of Fasting, page 319
[v] Al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (6/388).
[vi] The fiqh of fasting Ramadan according to the school of Imam shafi‘I, SeekersGuidance, Page 60
[vii] The Risala Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qaywarani’s Manual of Islamic Law, Translated by Aisha Bewley page 377
[viii] al-Mawsu‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 26/267
[ix] The Risala Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qaywarani’s Manual of Islamic Law, Translated by Aisha Bewley page 377, see also Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah: The Judgments of Fiqh, Abu’l-Qasim Ibn Juzayy Al-Kalbi (Author), Asadullah Yate (Translator), Vol 1, page 220
[x] The Risala Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qaywarani’s Manual of Islamic Law, Translated by Aisha Bewley page 377
[xi] Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah: The Judgments of Fiqh, Abu’l-Qasim Ibn Juzayy Al-Kalbi (Author), Asadullah Yate (Translator), Vol 1, page 220
[xii] A summary of Islamic Jurisprudence by Dr. Salih Al-Fawazan, Vol 1- page 388
[xiii] Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (ZAD AL M AA’D) PROVISIONS OF THE AFTERLIFE, WHICH LIE WITHIN PROPHETIC GUIDANCE, Translation Ismail Abdus Salaam, Dar Al-Kotob Al-llmiyah Publication, 2010, Page 130
[xiv] Sahih al-Bukhari 6669
[xv] The Risala Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qaywarani’s Manual of Islamic Law, Translated by Aisha Bewley page 362
[xvi] Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah: The Judgments of Fiqh, Abu’l-Qasim Ibn Juzayy Al-Kalbi (Author), Asadullah Yate (Translator), Vol 1, page 218
[xvii] Al-Hidayah THE GUIDANCE, Burhan Al Din Al Farghani Al Marghinani, Book of Fasting, page 324
[xviii] Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah: The Judgments of Fiqh, Abu’l-Qasim Ibn Juzayy Al-Kalbi (Author), Asadullah Yate (Translator), Vol 1, page 219, See also The Risala Ibn Abi Zayd Al Qaywarani’s Manual of Islamic Law, Translated by Aisha Bewley page 363
[xix] A summary of Islamic Jurisprudence by Dr. Salih Al-Fawazan, Vol 1- page 389, See Al-Hidayah THE GUIDANCE, Burhan Al Din Al Farghani Al Marghinani, Book of Fasting, page 326
[xx] A Complete Guide to Fasting and Ramadan, SeekersGuidance, Ustada Umm Ihsan, Page 29, See also Al-Hidayah THE GUIDANCE, Burhan Al Din Al Farghani Al Marghinani, Book of Fasting, page 321
[xxi] Malik Muawatta Book 18, Hadith 47
[xxii] A summary of Islamic Jurisprudence by Dr. Salih Al-Fawazan, Vol 1- page 389