The short answer: the fast is broken by deliberately eating or drinking, marital relations during the fasting hours, deliberately making yourself vomit, and the start of menstruation or post-natal bleeding. Eating or drinking by mistake does not break the fast.
Things that break the fast (agreed)
| What | Note |
|---|---|
| Deliberately eating or drinking | Anything taken by mouth on purpose, including smoking |
| Marital relations between Fajr and Maghrib | Breaks the fast and also requires an expiation (kaffarah); ask a scholar |
| Deliberately vomiting | Vomiting that happens on its own does not break the fast (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi) |
| Menstruation or post-natal bleeding | The day is made up later |
Missed fasts are made up after Ramadan, one day for each day missed.
Things that do NOT break the fast
- Eating or drinking by mistake. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever forgets while fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is Allah who fed him and gave him drink" (Bukhari and Muslim).
- Brushing teeth or using a miswak, as long as you don't swallow toothpaste or water.
- Swallowing your own saliva.
- Rinsing the mouth and nose in wudu, gently, without swallowing.
- Showering or swimming, without swallowing water.
- Tasting food without swallowing, if there is a need, such as when cooking.
- Waking up in a state of ritual impurity; do ghusl and continue the fast.
- Blood tests.
Questions where the schools differ
- Eye drops, ear drops and nasal sprays: some scholars say they break the fast if they reach the throat; others say they do not. It is safer to use them after iftar if you can.
- Injections: nutritional injections and drips break the fast; most contemporary scholars say non-nutritional injections, such as vaccines or insulin, do not.
- Inhalers: scholars differ; people who need one for asthma should use it, and ask their scholar how it affects the fast.
When in doubt, ask a scholar you trust. Anyone who is ill, pregnant, breastfeeding or travelling has concessions; health comes first.
Teaching children
Children learn this best with simple examples: "If you forget and drink, stop when you remember and carry on fasting." See kids fasting in Ramadan for an age-by-age guide.
Our Islamic Studies and Ramadan Quran classes for kids teach the rules of fasting in a child-friendly way. You can book 3 free trial classes.
