Islamic Manual

Disliked and permissible acts while fasting

Things that are better avoided while fasting even though they do not break the fast, and things that are fully permitted and safe to do.

Makrūhbetter not to

None of the things below actually break your fast, but they're better avoided, because they show a little disrespect for your fast or risk breaking it by accident.

Better to avoid while fasting

  1. Tasting or chewing food without a real reason.If there's a real need, like a cook having to taste a dish, it's not disliked.
  2. Going overboard when rinsing your mouth or nose with water.
  3. Overdoing the washing after using the toilet.
  4. Holding water in your mouth for a long time.
  5. Collecting up your spit on purpose and swallowing it.
  6. Delaying suhoor so long that dawn nearly catches you.
  7. Chewing charcoal to clean your teeth.
  8. Delaying iftar longer than you need to.

On the other hand, plenty of things are completely fine and don't touch your fast at all:

Totally fine while fasting

  1. Putting kohl (surma) in your eyes.
  2. Using a miswak to clean your teeth, wet or dry, even in the afternoon.
  3. Wearing or smelling perfume.
  4. Buying and selling things.
  5. Having blood drawn (like at a doctor's).
  6. Putting oil on your head or skin.
  7. Dripping water into your ears.
  8. Putting medicine drops in your eyes.
  9. Swallowing your own spit.
  10. Swallowing the wetness left in your mouth after rinsing it.
  11. A tiny bit of food stuck between your teeth, smaller than a chickpea, if it just goes down on its own without you fishing it out with your tongue.
Makrūhbetter not to

None of the following invalidate a fast, but they are disliked (makruh) to do while fasting.

Disliked while fasting

  1. Tasting or chewing something without necessity.Where there is a real need (for example, fear of a husband's or a ruler's displeasure requiring a taste-test of food), it is not disliked.
  2. Exaggerating in gargling the mouth or drawing water into the nose.
  3. Overdoing the cleaning process during istinja (after using the toilet).
  4. Holding water in the mouth for an extended time.
  5. Deliberately collecting saliva in the mouth and swallowing it.
  6. Delaying suhoor until there is a real risk that dawn will break before finishing.
  7. Chewing charcoal to clean the teeth.
  8. Delaying iftar without a need to.

Permissible while fasting: none of these break the fast

  1. Applying surma (kohl) to the eyes.
  2. Using a miswak, wet or dry, even after midday.
  3. Applying or smelling perfume.
  4. Trading or conducting business.
  5. Undergoing phlebotomy (bloodletting).
  6. Applying oil to the head or body.
  7. Dripping water into the ears.
  8. Applying medicine to the eyes.
  9. Swallowing one's own saliva.
  10. Swallowing the moisture left in the mouth after gargling.
  11. Swallowing a piece of food stuck between the teeth that is smaller than a chickpea, provided it is not deliberately removed with the tongue first.
Makrūhbetter not to

The following are makrūh while fasting without invalidating the fast.

Makrūhāt of fasting

  1. Tasting or chewing food without ḍarūrah (genuine necessity).Where necessity exists, such as fear of a husband's or a ruler's displeasure requiring a taste-test, it ceases to be disliked.
  2. Mubālaghah (exaggeration) in maḍmaḍah or istinshāq.
  3. Excess in the cleansing performed during istinjāʾ.
  4. Retaining water in the mouth for a prolonged interval.
  5. Deliberately collecting saliva in the mouth before swallowing it.
  6. Delaying suḥūr to the point of real risk that fajr intervenes.
  7. Chewing faḥm (charcoal) to clean the teeth.
  8. Delaying ifṭār without need.

Mubāḥ (permitted) acts that do not affect the fast

  1. Applying kuḥl (surma) to the eyes.
  2. Using the miswāk, wet or dry, even after zawāl.
  3. Applying or smelling perfume.
  4. Trade and commerce.
  5. Ḥijāmah (cupping/phlebotomy).
  6. Applying oil to the head or body.
  7. Dripping water into the ears.
  8. Applying medicine to the eyes.
  9. Swallowing one's own saliva.
  10. Swallowing residual moisture left in the mouth after maḍmaḍah.
  11. Swallowing a fragment of food caught between the teeth, smaller than a chickpea, provided it was not deliberately dislodged with the tongue.

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