Fiqh al-Sawm — Rawzat

Fiqh al-Sawm — The Jurisprudence of Fasting: What Breaks It, What Doesn't, and What Completes It

فِقهُ الصَّوم — فِقهُ الصَّوم: مَا يُفسِدُهُ وَمَا لَا يُفسِدُهُ وَمَا يُكمِلُه

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Fiqh al-Sawm (فِقهُ الصَّوم — the jurisprudence of fasting; from *sawm* — fasting, restraint, abstention) is the detailed legal framework governing the validity of the Ramadan fast and other fasts in Islamic law. The foundational principle: *sawm* is not merely abstaining from food and drink but a comprehensive restraint of the self — the Prophet said: *'Whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it and ignorance, Allah has no need of him abandoning his food and drink.'* (Bukhari) Legally, the fast is invalidated by things that reach the inside through a normal route and by sexual intercourse; it is not invalidated by what enters through non-eating routes, by forgetfulness, or by swallowing unavoidable quantities. The Quran explicitly establishes the categories of excuse: *'and whoever is ill or on a journey — the same number [of missed days] from other days.'* (2:185)

Things That Invalidate the Fast

Category 1 — Invalidation + Qada’ only (make up later):

Eating or drinking by mistake (deliberate eating = qada’ + kafara in Maliki/Shafi’i)
Vomiting deliberately
Menstruation or postpartum bleeding beginning during the fast
Cupping (hijama) — Hanbali/Maliki position; not held by Hanafi/Shafi’i

Category 2 — Invalidation + Qada’ + Kafara (expiation):

Intentional eating or drinking during the fast while in full knowledge
Sexual intercourse during the fast — kafara: free a slave, OR fast 60 consecutive days, OR feed 60 poor persons (in order — all madhabs agree on this kafara)

Madhab differences on injections:

Majority (Hanafi/Maliki): IV/nutrient injections invalidate the fast (reaching the inside)
Shafi’i/Hanbali: most injections do not invalidate (not through eating route)
Contemporary fatwa: intravenous nutrition invalidates; standard medical injections generally do not

Things That Do NOT Invalidate the Fast

Forgetfulness: “My community is forgiven for forgetfulness, mistake, and what they were compelled to do.” (Ibn Majah) If one eats forgetting they are fasting, the fast remains valid
Swallowing saliva (unanimous)
Tasting food without swallowing (majority — Hanafi: also permitted for the cook)
Eye drops, nasal spray, and ear drops (majority — they do not reach the digestive tract)
Sleeping — no effect on the fast
Wet dreams — no effect
Using the miswak (tooth-cleaning stick)
Applying kohl (eye coloring)

Excused from Fasting

Sick person: permitted to break the fast if fasting causes significant harm; must make up the days later.

Traveler: permitted to break the fast on a journey meeting the travel distance requirements.

Pregnant and nursing women: permitted to break if they fear harm to themselves or the child; they make up the days, and according to some scholars also pay fidya (feeding a poor person per day) if they feared for the child alone.

The elderly who cannot fast: pay fidya (feeding a poor person per each missed day) with no qada’.

Fiqh al-Sawm — The Jurisprudence of Fasting: What Breaks It, What Doesn't, and What Completes It

Things That Invalidate the Fast

Things That Do NOT Invalidate the Fast

Excused from Fasting

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