- The new moon of Ramadan has been sighted in my country and I have made intentions to fast. Then, during the day, I traveled to another country where the moon had not been sighted. Can I break my fast, like the people in this country?
Our later scholars have differed in this matter. Allamah Al-Shihab Ibn Hajar, in his Tuhfa (383:3), opined that this traveler does not go with the people of the country he has traveled to and does not break his fast like them, but completes his fast. And al-Khateeb al-Shirbini and al-Shams al-Ramli have asserted that this traveler goes with the people of the country he has traveled to and, like them, breaks his fast, as has been transmitted from them by Abdul-Hamid in the super-commentaries on the Tuhfa.
- Is one’s fast invalidated if a little bit of water reaches the throat, unintentionally, while rinsing out the mouth during wudu and ghusl?
If it reached the throat, during the first three legitimate rinses of wudu, without exaggeration, the fast is not invalidated, because it originated in an action that was called for
- During wudu, water accidently reaches the inside of ears.
The jurist's axiom concerning water accidentally entering the body cavity during purification is that water which inadvertently goes down from something which is requested by the Sacred Law, even a sunna, does not invalidate the fast and water that goes down from something which is not requested does.Washing the ears along with the face is sunna, so this water should not break the fast
- After eating, the colour of the saliva is altered. After thorough rinsing the colour does not leave. Does this trace of food in the mouth invalidate fast when swallowing this saliva?
Swallowing this saliva does not invalidate the fast provided you have used a toothstick (siwak) or brushed your teeth with that intention and thoroughly rinsed your mouth. Remember some of the dispensations for "swallowing a body while fasting" include: accidentally swallowing a body, someone plagued with bleeding gums swallowing saliva changed by blood, swallowing food that was between your teeth when unable to expel it, and inhaling dust or flour.
- If a fasting person sleeps all day, is his fast valid?
“Sleeping the whole day does not affect the fast, because the individual remains fit for legal responsibility.”
- Is it permissible for a fasting person to taste food?
If he can taste the food without it reaching the body cavity, it is permissible and does not break the fast, but it is disliked out of fear that it might reach his throat, as it says in the Tuhfa with the Minhaj, (3:425).
[It is not disliked for] one who needs to do it, such as a person who chews on some bread to soften it for a child, or someone who is trying to improve the food. It is not disliked for them to taste it, as the imams have stated. Refer to the Hashiya of Abd al-Hamid on the Tuhfa. (3:425)
- I accidentaly forgot that I was fasting and ate something; does this break my fast?
The Prophet s.a.w said, "Whoever forgets that he is fasting and then eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for verily, it was Allah who gave him to eat and drink" (Bukhari and Muslim). The scholars of the Shafi`i school deduced from this hadith that if one forgetfully does something that invalidates the fast, then one's fast is not thereby invalidated (cf. Minhaj al-Talibin). So if you eat or drink something during the day because you forgot that you were fasting, your fast is not invalidated. The moment you remember that you are fasting, however, you must spit out the food or drink that is still in your mouth. If you continue eating or drinking after remembering that you are fasting, your fast will be invalidated.
- Do lying, backbiting and tale-telling invalidate one’s fast?
Lying, backbiting and tale-telling and others such sins that take away the reward of fasting, but do not invalidate the fast itself. Whoever does such a thing, his fast is not broken, but he loses the reward of it, as has come in the hadith, “How many may fast but get nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst.”
- Does vomiting invalidate the fast?
If the person fasting deliberately vomits and he is aware that it is unlawful for him to do so, then his fast is invalidated and he has to make it up. However, if he vomits involuntarily then it does not break the fast
- Does using toothpaste invalidate one’s fast?
Using toothpaste does not invalidate one’s fast unless some of it reaches the body cavity
- Ietikaf, or staying in the mosque for worship.
When a person embarks on this Sunnah, it is permissible for him to pay a visit to his family at home to attend to their needs. He does this during the day and then comes back to resume his stay in the mosque. It is also permissible for this family to visit him in the mosque.
