Does this break my fast?

If you forgot you were fasting and ate or drank, your fast is still valid. Stop as soon as you remember, spit out what is in your mouth and carry on. A well-known hadith in Bukhari and Muslim says it was Allah who fed you.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up in the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. The Maliki school asks you to make up the day.

Maliki

Keep fasting, and make up the day later if it was an obligatory fast such as Ramadan. No kaffarah.

Eating or drinking on purpose between dawn and sunset breaks the fast. In Ramadan, without a valid excuse such as illness or travel, it is a serious sin: repent to Allah and keep away from food and drink for the rest of the day.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day (qada) in every school. Kaffarah is also due in the Hanafi and Maliki schools, not in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools.

Hanafi

Qada and kaffarah.

Maliki

Qada and kaffarah.

Shafi'i

Qada only, with sincere repentance.

Hanbali

Qada only, with sincere repentance.

If you ate or drank believing it was still before Fajr, and then learned that dawn had already come, the four schools say that day's fast is broken. It was not a sin. Stop eating when you find out and keep fasting the rest of the day out of respect for Ramadan.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up one day (qada). No kaffarah.

If you broke your fast believing the sun had set, and it had not, the four schools say that day's fast is broken. You did not sin. Stop eating, wait for sunset, and make the day up later.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up one day (qada). No kaffarah.

Tiny bits that go down with your saliva without you meaning to do not break the fast. If you notice a piece of food in your mouth, spit it out: swallowing it on purpose breaks the fast in most schools. The Hanafi school only counts a piece the size of a chickpea or larger.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up for tiny bits. If you swallowed a piece on purpose, make up the day.

Touching food with the tip of your tongue to check the taste, then spitting it out, does not break the fast as long as nothing goes down your throat. Many scholars call it disliked without a real need, so only do it when you have to, for example when cooking for others.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up. If you swallowed some, make up the day.

Chewing gum breaks the fast, because its sugar and flavour dissolve into your saliva and are swallowed. Sugar-free gum still releases flavour, so avoid all gum while fasting. If you chewed it because you forgot you were fasting, the ruling for forgetting applies.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day (qada). In the Hanafi and Maliki schools, doing it on purpose in Ramadan may also require kaffarah, so ask an imam.

Swallowing your own saliva does not break the fast in any school. You do not need to spit all day.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Phlegm that stays in your throat and goes down does not break the fast. Once it has reached your mouth, spit it out if you can, because the schools differ about swallowing it from there.

Qada and kaffarah: Hanafi and Maliki: nothing to make up. Shafi'i and Hanbali: make up the day if you swallowed it on purpose after it reached your mouth.

Hanafi

Does not break the fast.

Maliki

Does not break the fast.

Shafi'i

Breaks the fast if it reached your mouth and you swallowed it on purpose.

Hanbali

Breaks the fast if it reached your mouth and you swallowed it on purpose.

Brushing your teeth does not break the fast, as long as you do not swallow water or anything else.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Shafi'i

Disliked after midday, when the sun has passed its highest point. The fast stays valid.

Hanbali

Disliked after midday, when the sun has passed its highest point. The fast stays valid.

Toothpaste does not break the fast if you swallow none of it. Because a little can slip down easily, many scholars call it disliked while fasting. The easy way: brush with toothpaste at suhoor and after iftar, and use only a brush or miswak during the day.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up, unless you swallowed some on purpose.

Mouthwash does not break the fast if you spit it all out and swallow none. Gargling deep in the throat makes swallowing likely, so it is better to use mouthwash outside fasting hours.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up, unless some went down your throat (see water during wudu).

When you rinse your mouth and nose in wudu while fasting, do it gently. If water slips down your throat by accident, the schools differ on whether the fast is broken.

Qada and kaffarah: Hanafi and Maliki: make up the day. Shafi'i and Hanbali: nothing to make up if you rinsed normally.

Hanafi

Breaks the fast, even by accident.

Maliki

Breaks the fast, even by accident.

Shafi'i

Does not break it if you rinsed normally. If you rinsed hard or deep, it does.

Hanbali

Does not break it if you rinsed normally.

Blood in your mouth does not break the fast. Spit it out and rinse gently. Swallowing the blood on purpose does break it.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up, unless you swallowed blood on purpose.

Dental treatment does not break the fast as long as you swallow no water, blood or medicine. A local numbing injection does not break it either. If you can, book the appointment after iftar to make it easier.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up, unless you swallowed something on purpose.

Putting something on your lips does not break the fast. Do not lick it off or swallow it.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Swallowing medicine breaks the fast. If you need it during the day because you are ill, you are excused from fasting and make up the days later. Ask your doctor whether you can move your doses to suhoor and iftar instead.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day (qada). If illness is the reason, there is no sin and no kaffarah.

Eye drops do not break the fast in the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools. The Maliki and Hanbali schools say they break it if you taste them in your throat. Many scholars today say they do not break it. If you can, use them after iftar.

Qada and kaffarah: Hanafi and Shafi'i: nothing to make up. Maliki and Hanbali: make up the day if you tasted it in your throat.

Hanafi

Does not break the fast.

Maliki

Breaks the fast if the taste reaches your throat.

Shafi'i

Does not break the fast.

Hanbali

Breaks the fast if the taste reaches your throat.

The classical schools generally held that drops in the ear break the fast. Many scholars today say they do not when the eardrum is intact, because the ear then has no open way to the throat. With a damaged eardrum they can. If you can, use them after iftar; if you cannot, ask an imam.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day if you follow the view that it breaks.

Something put into the nose that reaches the throat breaks the fast in all four schools. Some scholars today allow a medical nasal spray as long as you do not swallow what reaches your throat. If you can, use it between iftar and suhoor. If you need it during the day, ask an imam.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day if you follow the view that it breaks.

Scholars today differ. Many say an asthma inhaler does not break the fast, because it is a small amount of medicine that goes to the lungs. Others, including many Hanafi scholars, say it breaks the fast because the medicine enters through the mouth. If you need it, use it: your health comes first.

Qada and kaffarah: If you follow the view that it breaks, make up the day. If you need it every day, you may be excused from fasting: ask your doctor and an imam.

Most scholars today say an injection into the skin, muscle or vein does not break the fast when it is medicine and not nourishment. It does not enter through the mouth and does not feed the body.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

A drip or injection that feeds or hydrates the body, such as glucose, does the work of food and drink. Most scholars today say it breaks the fast. If you are ill enough to need one, you are excused from fasting anyway.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up one day (qada). No kaffarah.

A vaccine given as an injection does not break the fast, in the view of most scholars today. A vaccine sprayed into the nose follows the ruling for nasal spray.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Having a small amount of blood taken for a test does not break the fast.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Most schools say giving blood does not break the fast, but avoid it if it would leave you too weak to finish the day. In the Hanbali school, cupping breaks the fast, and many scholars who follow it treat giving a large amount of blood the same way. The easy option is to donate after iftar.

Qada and kaffarah: Hanbali view: make up the day. Other schools: nothing to make up.

Hanafi

Does not break the fast.

Maliki

Does not break the fast.

Shafi'i

Does not break the fast.

Hanbali

Breaks the fast, by comparison with cupping.

Most schools say cupping does not break the fast, though it is better avoided if it weakens you. The Hanbali school says it does. Many people simply have hijama after iftar.

Qada and kaffarah: Hanbali view: make up the day. Other schools: nothing to make up.

Hanafi

Does not break the fast. Disliked if it makes you weak.

Maliki

Does not break the fast. Disliked if it makes you weak.

Shafi'i

Does not break the fast. Disliked if it makes you weak.

Hanbali

Breaks the fast, for the person being cupped and the one doing it.

The four schools classically held that an enema breaks the fast. On medical suppositories, scholars today differ: many say they do not break it, because they are not food and do not reach the stomach. If you can, use them after iftar, and ask an imam if you need one during the day.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day if you follow the view that it breaks.

Things absorbed through the skin do not break the fast: creams, oils, sunscreen and medicine patches. The skin is not a way into the stomach.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

A nicotine patch on the skin does not break the fast in the view of most scholars today, for the same reason as other skin patches. Nicotine gum is different: it breaks the fast like any chewing gum. A patch can be a real help if you are quitting smoking in Ramadan.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Showering, bathing or pouring water over yourself to cool down does not break the fast. Keep water out of your mouth and nose.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Swimming does not break the fast by itself. The risk is water getting into your mouth or nose and down your throat, which breaks it in some schools. Many scholars advise against swimming, and especially diving, while fasting.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up, unless water went down your throat (see water during wudu).

Wearing perfume and smelling it does not break the fast. Incense smoke (bakhoor) is different: breathing in its smoke on purpose breaks the fast in the Hanafi school, and many scholars advise everyone to avoid it.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Smelling food while you cook or walk past a bakery does not break the fast.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Things that get into your mouth or throat without your choice, like dust, flour, a little smoke from someone else's cigarette or a fly, do not break the fast. You could not avoid them.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

If you vomit without meaning to, your fast is still valid. A hadith in Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi says that whoever is overcome by vomiting has nothing to make up. Do not swallow any of it back on purpose.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Making yourself vomit on purpose breaks the fast, according to the same hadith.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up one day (qada). No kaffarah.

Hanafi

Breaks the fast only if it is a mouthful or more.

Exercise does not break the fast. Train lightly, or after iftar, so you do not harm yourself. If thirst or exhaustion puts your health in real danger, you may break the fast and make the day up later.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Kissing or hugging your spouse does not break the fast. If it leads to ejaculation, the fast is broken. If you know you may not be able to control yourself, keep a distance until sunset.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up. If it led to ejaculation, make up the day, and ask an imam whether kaffarah is also due in your school.

Hanafi

Only ejaculation breaks the fast.

Maliki

Disliked while fasting. If pre-seminal fluid (madhy) comes out, make up the day.

Shafi'i

Only ejaculation breaks the fast.

Hanbali

If pre-seminal fluid (madhy) comes out, the fast is broken: make up the day.

Intercourse between dawn and sunset breaks the fast. In Ramadan, doing it on purpose is one of the most serious ways to break a fast. Between sunset and dawn it is allowed (Quran 2:187).

Qada and kaffarah: In Ramadan: make up the day (qada) and do kaffarah, which is fasting 60 days in a row or, if you truly cannot, feeding 60 poor people. All four schools agree on this. Each spouse should ask an imam about their own share, because the schools differ on the details.

Causing yourself to ejaculate breaks the fast in all four schools, and you need a ghusl before you pray. If you slip, repent, keep fasting the rest of the day and make the day up later. Allah loves those who turn back to Him.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day (qada). The Maliki school also requires kaffarah if it happened on purpose in Ramadan.

Hanafi

Qada only.

Maliki

Qada and kaffarah.

Shafi'i

Qada only.

Hanbali

Qada only.

A wet dream does not break the fast, because it was not your choice. Take a ghusl before your next prayer and carry on fasting.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

If you were intimate at night and dawn came before you had your ghusl, your fast is still valid. Take the ghusl and pray Fajr. Hadiths in Bukhari and Muslim describe the Prophet (peace be upon him) doing the same.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

If your period or postnatal bleeding starts during the day, even a few minutes before sunset, that day's fast does not count, and you may eat and drink. This is not a sin or a failure: it is how Allah made it.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day later, before the next Ramadan. No kaffarah.

Bleeding that is not your period, such as irregular bleeding outside it, does not break the fast. You fast and pray as normal. If you are not sure whether bleeding is your period, ask a knowledgeable sister or an imam, since the schools count the days differently.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Many scholars allow pills that delay your period so you can fast all of Ramadan, as long as a doctor says they are safe for you. You take them outside fasting hours, and the days you fast are valid. Letting your period come naturally is just as fine: the missed days are made up later.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Smoking and vaping break the fast, because the smoke or vapour is drawn in on purpose and reaches the throat. Ramadan is a good time to cut down, and a nicotine patch does not break the fast.

Qada and kaffarah: Make up the day (qada). In the Hanafi and Maliki schools, doing it on purpose in Ramadan may also require kaffarah, so ask an imam.

Sleep does not break the fast, even a long sleep through the day. The prayers still need to be prayed on time, so set alarms for Dhuhr and Asr.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

Your fast is still valid. Eating suhoor is recommended because there is blessing in it and it makes the day easier, but the fast does not depend on it.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up.

The intention is in your heart, not in words. If you went to sleep knowing tomorrow is Ramadan and meaning to fast, or you woke up for suhoor, you have made the intention.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up if you knew you were going to fast. If you truly had no intention at all, ask an imam.

Hanafi

For a Ramadan fast, the intention can still be made in the morning, before the middle of the fasting day, if you have not eaten.

Maliki

One intention at the start of Ramadan covers the whole month.

Shafi'i

Make the intention every night before dawn.

Hanbali

Make the intention every night before dawn.

In most schools, missing prayers does not undo the fast, but it is a far bigger problem than the fast: the prayer is the most important pillar after the shahada. Some scholars hold that someone who leaves prayer completely gains nothing from fasting. If you are still learning to pray, pray what you can, and keep going.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up for the fast. Missed prayers are a separate question.

These do not break the fast, so there is no day to make up. But they can empty it of its reward. A hadith in Bukhari says that whoever does not give up false speech and acting on it, Allah has no need of their giving up food and drink.

Qada and kaffarah: Nothing to make up. Repent and guard your tongue.