My wife is suffering from severe toothache and she is in the last month of pregnancy. As you know, teeth cannot be taken out during pregnancy, so can she rinse her mouth with salt and water and cloves during the day in Ramadaan?
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing wrong with a fasting person rinsing his or her mouth with water, or with water and salt, especially if there is a need to do that, such as reducing pain etc, subject to the condition that he be very careful not to let anything reach the stomach. If anything reaches the stomach by mistake, there is no sin on him and his fast is still valid.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “If a gnat flies into the mouth of a fasting person or something enters his mouth without him wanting it to, or he rinses his mouth or nose and some water enters his stomach without him meaning it to, then his fast is still valid and he does not have to make it up.”
Majaalis Shahr Ramadaan, 15.
And Allaah knows best.
And he was asked about rinsing the mouth when it is very hot – does that invalidate the fast?
He replied: The fast is not invalidated by that, because the mouth comes under the same ruling as the outside of the body. Hence the fasting person may rinse his mouth whilst fasting and that does not break his fast. Moreover rinsing the mouth is obligatory in wudoo’, so if the mouth did not come under the same ruling as the outside of the body, washing it would not be obligatory in wudoo’. And rinsing the mouth when it becomes dry because of intense heat is something that makes fasting easier. It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pour water over his head because of thirst if it was intensely hot when he was fasting. This was narrated by Abu Dawood (2365) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to soak his garment and put it on when fasting, to cool himself down. And Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) had a cistern which he would fill with water and bathe in it when he was fasting. All of this indicates that doing things to make fasting easier for a person is permissible and there is no sin in it. But the one who rinses his mouth should be careful to avoid letting the water reach his stomach because that is a serious matter. But if water reaches his stomach in this case without him meaning it to, then there is nothing wrong with that.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 19.
The two reports from Ibn ‘Umar and Anas were narrated by al-Bukhaari in a mu’allaq report in his Saheeh.
See also the answer to question no. 38907.
Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid
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I work in a company that produces coffee. We often have to taste the coffee to compare the flavour and smell. I know that it is permissible to taste things whilst fasting, if you make sure that none of the drink enters the body. When I taste the coffee I try very hard to make sure that I do not swallow any amount, not even a small amount. But tasting coffee leaves a taste and smell in the mouth. Does tasting coffee whilst fasting invalidate the fast?
Praise be to Allaah.
If a fasting person needs to taste the food whilst fasting, there is nothing wrong with that, and it does not affect the fast so long as none of the food enters the throat of the fasting person. This applies equally to coffee and other things.
If he tastes it without any need to do so, this is makrooh, but it does not invalidate the fast.
Ibn ‘Abbaas said: There is nothing wrong with tasting what is being cooked or whatever. Narrated by al-Bukhaari in a mu’allaq report.
Imam Ahmad said: I prefer that he should avoid tasting food, but if he does that it will not affect him and there is nothing wrong with that. Al-Mughni, 4/359.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said in al-Fataawa al-Kubra (4/474):
Tasting food is makrooh if there is no need to do that, but it does not break the fast.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked in Fataawa al-Siyaam (p. 356): Is the fast invalidated by tasting food?
He replied: The fast is not invalidated by tasting food so long as one does not swallow it, but you should not do that unless there is a need for it; in that case if a little of it reaches your stomach by accident your fast is not invalidated.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (10/332):
There is nothing wrong with a person tasting food during the day when fasting, when there is a need to so that, and his fast is valid if he does not deliberately swallow any of it.
If the taste or smell remains, that does not affect the fast, so long as you do not deliberately swallow anything.
Ibn Sireen said: There is nothing wrong with using a wet siwaak – i.e., when fasting. It was said: It has a flavour. He said: And water has a flavour, but you rinse your mouth with it.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (3/261):
It is makrooh to taste food such as dates, bread and soup, unless there is a need to do that, in which case it is o.k.
The reason for that is that some of this food may go down into the stomach without a person realizing, so tasting this food exposes him to spoiling the fast. Also he may be desiring the food a great deal, so he tastes it in order to enjoy it, and he may swallow it, then some of it goes down into his stomach.
Examples of necessity are when a cook needs to see how salty or sweet the food is, and so on.
Based on this: there is nothing wrong with tasting the coffee when you are fasting, because you need to do that. But you have to be very cautious and make sure that nothing reaches your stomach.
And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid
