Whoever forgets while fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it was Allah who fed him and gave him drink.
What breaks it
| Act | Effect | Afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| Eating or drinking deliberately | Fast broken | Make up the day (qada) |
| Sexual intercourse while fasting | Fast broken | Qada and, in the classical position, an expiation (kaffarah) |
| Deliberately inducing vomiting | Fast broken | Qada |
| Menstruation or post-natal bleeding | Fast invalid for those days | Qada |
| Intentionally ejaculating | Fast broken | Qada |
What does not break it
- Eating or drinking by genuine forgetfulness — stop as soon as you remember and continue the fast.
- Involuntary vomiting.
- Rinsing the mouth or nose in wudu, provided water is not swallowed.
- Brushing teeth, including with toothpaste, so long as nothing is swallowed; using a miswak is explicitly encouraged.
- A blood test, and according to most contemporary scholars an injection that carries no nutrition.
- Bathing, swimming, or cooling off with water.
- Tasting food with the tongue without swallowing, for example while cooking.
- A wet dream, which requires ghusl but does not invalidate the fast.
The disputed middle
Some cases are genuinely contested among contemporary scholars and you should follow the position of an authority you trust rather than a generic answer. Inhalers for asthma, nutritional drips, dialysis, eye and ear drops, and nasal sprays all fall here. The point of disagreement is usually whether the substance reaches the stomach and whether it nourishes.
Who is exempt
| Situation | What applies |
|---|---|
| Illness that fasting would worsen | Break the fast, make up the days when well |
| Travel | May break the fast; make up the days later |
| Menstruation, post-natal bleeding | Must not fast; make up the days later |
| Pregnancy or breastfeeding with risk to mother or child | May break; qada, and in some positions fidyah |
| Chronic illness or old age with no prospect of making up | Fidyah — feeding a person in need for each missed day |