Question

Does smoking or taking an inhaler invalidate the fast? Please can you respond to the attached article which says smoking and taking an inhaler whille fasting does not break the fast. JazakAllah Khair.

Answer - Al-Jawaab Bi Awn Al-Malik Al-Wahhaab:

An incomplete medical doctor is a threat to life and an incomplete scholar of faith is a threat to faith. This edict mentioned in the question which implies that smoking and taking an asthma inhaler while fasting does not break the fast is completely absurd and either a genuine misunderstanding of the issuer due to ignorance of the Hanafi Mazhab or a deceitful play in order to cause mischief and harm to the fasts of many Muslims.

Smoke and the medicine that exits the inhaler are both a Jawhar or Jirm which means a substance that forms a body in the air unlike the fragrance of flowers therefore both will break the fast if consumed in a state that the person remembers he/she is fasting.

The misunderstanding that many fall into is the failure to understand the difference between duhkhool and idkhaal. Although idkhaal consists of duhkhool, it is completely illogical to deny the difference between them. Duhkhool is the entrance of a subject without a foreign force/object whereas idkhaal is the subject causing the entrance of a foreign object. For example: If a person walks past another person who is smoking or burning bakhoor and the smoke happens to enter his nostrils and into his inside then the fast does not break. Conversely, if the person walking past, stops and asks if he can inhale the smoke of the bakhoor and then does so, the fast will break. A simpler example is that if a person is busy in his day or even idle and suddenly a fly enters his/her mouth and goes down the throat, then his/her fast will not break. However, if the person decides to collect a bowl full of flies and sits down with a spoon to eat them, the fast will break as soon as he ingests the first fly down his throat.

The only text provided by the person who has issued this edict in question is from Muheet Al-Burhaani and the translation is,

“If a person found dust, smoke, taste of medicines or fragrance of perfume in his throat, he has not broken his fast because preventing it is not possible.”

If this implies that smoking and taking medicine does not break the fast then does that not mean people can smoke cigarettes, cigars, sheesha or even marijuana and feel safe that the fast has not broken? Although marijuana is forbidden, whether it breaks the fast or not is an entirely different topic. If this text also implies that taking medicine does not break the fast then that would inevitably mean that a person can swallow a whole bottle of cough medicine and again feel safe that the fast has not broken. Although this would be completely unhealthy and probably very injurious to health, whether it breaks the fast or not is again a completely different issue altogether.

The fact of the matter is, if we understood this text to mean such as the issuer of the verdict in question has implied, it would be a complete disregard of the clause at the end which the issuer thankfully did not leave out but for some reason completely disregarded. The clause is, 

“Because preventing it is not possible.”

This clearly indicates that the dust, smoke, taste of medicine and fragrance of perfume is unstoppable from entering the throat; it is not purposely entered into the mouth but is accidental and unintentional. Although this is quite a logical understanding, I have not come up with it myself but this is actually what the great Hanafi Fuqaha have explained.

The text that is quoted above is not rare, but it is found in almost all the books of Hanafi Fiqh which deal with the topic of Fasting. In all the other books rather than the word, ‘found' it says ‘enters'. For example, in Hidaaya it says,

“If a fly enters his throat and he remembers that he is fasting, he has not broken his fast”

Further down in the text it says this is because it is not possible to prevent it and therefore dust and smoke are the same.

In Tanweer Al-Absaar it says,

“If dust, smoke or a fly enters his throat and he remembers that he is fasting then it will not break”

The same text is found in Al-Durr Al-Mukhtaar, Fath Al-Qadeer, Fataawa Qadi Khaan, Fataawa Hindiyyah, Noor Al-Idaah, Radd Al-Muhtaar, Al-Bahr Al-Raa'iq and many more books.

The fact of the matter is that these texts are implying that if duhkhool occurs of these substances because they are not avoidable in certain contexts, the fast will not break, such as the fly entering the mouth and throat without the intention of the person or smoke entering the throat while walking past a fire or burning incense sticks or dust while a car speeds past in a sandy path or the taste of medicine in the mouth while crushing or grinding medicine. However, if a person causes the entrance of these substances himself then the fast will inevitably break such as the person ingesting the medicine into his mouth and throat to test if it works or a person sparking a cigarette to loosen his motion for digestion etc.

It is quite clear that there is a huge distinction but rather a contradiction between the opinion forced in the edict in question and the traditional text provided by the issuer himself to support it. The opinion implies the idkhaal of medicine or smoke into the throat whereas the text in support implies the duhkhool and the opinion implies the pleasurable act of the person fasting himself whereas the text in support implies the person fasting is helpless due to the impossibility of preventing the entrance.

This is an example of an unjust, misinterpretation, distortion and out of context representation of the traditional Hanafi Texts.

The correct representation of the texts is what I have mentioned above and it can be found in most of the Shurooh of the Hanafi Texts.

In Noor Al-Idaah it says,

“The fast will not break if smoke enters his throat without his own doing”

Here, an absolutely clear condition has been set that if it is without the person's own doing then it will not break.

In Al-Bahr Al-Raa'iq, Imam Ibn Nujaym explains that the rule regarding smoke and dust is simply because the smoke and dust will enter through the nose if one shuts his mouth to prevent their entrance and that this rule is conditioned and restricted by the clause that they are impossible to prevent,

“(His statement: Dust or fly enters and he remembers that he is fasting) This means that he does not break the fast because a fly cannot be prevented and dust and smoke are similar due to their entrance via the nose when the mouth is shut, this is restricted to what is mentioned because if his tears, sweat, blood from his nosebleed, rain or snow reach his throat, the fast is broken due to the ease of shutting and opening the mouth whenever for preventing the entrance and if he swallows it by purpose then ‘Kaffarah' is binding and the consideration of reaching the throat in the matter of tears and its similar is mentioned in Fataawa Qaadi Khaan.”

This text from Al-Bahr clearly shows the distinction between an act that occurs accidentally/unintentionally and that which is done on purpose.

It is similarly found in the masterpiece, Hidayah, the great Imam mentions the above text that the entering of a fly, dust or smoke will not break the fast, and thereafter writes, 

“by ‘qiyaas' the fast breaks by a fly entering his inside even though he is not nourished by it like sand and gravel. The reason for istihsaan is that it can't be prevented and therefore dust and smoke are the same. They differed regarding rain and snow and the most correct is that it will break the fast due to the possibility of preventing it when he is in a tent or under a roof.”

This text quite clearly implies that a fly, smoke or dust entering the throat will logically break the fast but due to it being impossible to prevent therefore istihsaan which may be translated as ‘approbation' rules that it will not break. Furthermore, the great Imam shows a distinction in the rule regarding rain and snow because they can be avoided so then what would be the rule regarding a person who purposely lights a cigarette and smokes it or a person who purposely inhales the Ventolin with his own action of pushing the canister down in order to allow the metering valve to dispense the drug through the aerosol when it is obviously possible to prevent it?

Similarly, Imam Al-Haskafi in Al-Durr Al-Mukhtaar commentating on the text of ‘Tanweer' which I quoted above, has emphasised the clause and then made it absolutely clear that without the clause of it being impossible to prevent the smoke entering the throat, the fast will break,

‘(or dust, fly or smoke enters the throat) even if he remembers, by istihsaan, due to the absence of the possibility of avoiding it to the effect that if he enters the smoke in to his throat, he breaks the fast whether it is smoke or burning Oud or Ambergris if he remembers that he is fasting due to the possibility of avoiding it, take heed of this as Imam Shurunbulaali has explained.'

Imam Al-Haskafi has clarified the matter and made it clear that if a person causes the entrance of the smoke, dust or fly then the fast will break, hence the difference between duhkhool and idkhaal.

Imam Ibn Abideen further enhances the explanation of the previous in his Radd Al-Muhtaar,

“(His statement, by istihsaan) because logically the fast breaks by a fly entering his inside even though he is not nourished by it like sand and gravel as mentioned in ‘Hidayah'. (His statement, due to the absence of the possibility of avoiding it) Dust and smoke are similar due to their entrance via the nose when the mouth is shut as is mentioned in ‘Fath'. This in effect means that if he can avoid doing that which enters its dust into his throat then it will break the fast if he does it. (His statement, to the effect that) means that his statement ‘enters' means it enters itself without any doing of the person himself. (His statement, that if he enters the smoke into his throat) means in any form his entering is, up to the extent that if he burns ‘bakhoor' and brings it near to him and he inhales it while knowing that he is fasting, he breaks the fast due to the possibility of preventing it”

May Allah descend plenty of His mercy on the blessed grave of Imam Ibn Abideen, immediately after the above, he further writes an important note on this matter, 

“This is something that many people are ignorant of and it must not be misunderstood to be like the fragrance of the rose and its water and musk due to the clear difference between air fragranced by musk and similar things and the substance of smoke that reaches his inside by his own doing. By this, the hukm of smoking (while fasting) has become known.”

Imam Ibn Abideen does not stop there but then quotes the great Imam Shurunbulaali from his sharah of Al-Wahbaaniyyah,

“One who smokes while fasting, there is no doubt that he has broken the fast.”

Imam Shurunbulaali has concluded in Maraaqi Al-Falaah,

“In all that we have mentioned it is implied that whosoever enters smoke by his own doing in to his throat in whichever form the idkhaal occurs, his fast breaks. It is the same whether it is the smoke of ambergris or oud or other than them both up to the extent that whosoever burns bakhoor and brings it near to himself and inhales the smoke remembering that he is fasting, he breaks the fast due to the possibility of the fasting person preventing the idkhaal of the smoke into his inside or his brain, this is from amongst that which many people are unaware so take heed and do not mistakenly assume it is like smelling a rose, its water and musk due to the clear difference between the fragrant air or musk or its similar and the substance of smoke that reaches his inside by his own doing.”

It says in Majma' Al-Anhur after mentioning the same as above that if the person enters the smoke, dust or fly in to his throat then the fast breaks,

“Because they differentiated between duhkhool and idkhaal in numerous places because idkhaal is his own doing and it can be prevented and the statement of the author of Al-Nihaayah supports this: When the fly enters his inside, he does not break his fast because the opposite of fasting has not occurred which is the idkhaal of a thing from the outside to the inside and this is from amongst that which many are unaware so beaware of it!”

It is absolutely clear that if a person smokes a cigarette, sheesha, cigar or anything else then it will break the fast and taking the asthma inhaler holds the same ruling as quoted above that the idkhaal of a thing from the outside to the inside breaks the fast. The Hanafi texts quite clearly state, 

“When a person eats or drinks or takes medicine in to the ears, nose or throat, it will break the fast.”

As for whether it is permissible for a person who suffers from Asthma to take his medication in order to prevent his/her illness from becoming worse or to prevent the suffering that he/she cannot bear anymore is perfectly permissible and he/she must make up for the fast as qadaa after the blessed month of Ramadan. This is for any illnesses that a person may suffer and not restricted to sufferers of asthma. Allah the Almighty and Supreme Law Giver has stated in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 183,

“Whoever from amongst you is unwell or travelling then complete the (missed) amount in other days.”

This verse is clear for the permissibility of breaking the fast by taking medicine when a person cannot continue without it and Allah knows best.

Faqeer Zahid Hussain Al-Qadiri
(Beggar at the doorstep of the Ulemaa' and servant of Ifta at TheSunniWay)
6th Ramadan Al-Kareem 1437 AH