What breaks a fast: making it up (qada), expiation (kaffarah), or nothing at all
Which acts break a fast and only need making up, which need making up plus an expiation, and which do not break the fast at all.
If something breaks your fast, one of three things is true: you just need to fast an extra day later (qada); you need to fast an extra day AND do something extra as a penalty (kaffarah); or actually, your fast wasn't broken at all.
| What happened | What you owe |
|---|---|
| You broke your fast on purpose (eating, drinking, or being intimate with your spouse) with no good reason | Fast one extra day later (qada) AND do a kaffarah penalty |
| You broke your fast by accident, by mistake, or because of something small most people wouldn't think of as "eating" (see the list below) | Just fast one extra day later (qada), no penalty |
| Something happened without you meaning to and you didn't do anything wrong on purpose (see the list below) | Nothing: your fast is still fine! |
The kaffarah (penalty) for breaking a fast on purpose is, first, freeing a slave. If that isn't possible, it's fasting 60 days in a row. If that isn't possible either, it's feeding 60 poor people two full meals each.
1Things that break your fast AND need a penalty (if done on purpose, with no excuse)
- Eating or drinking something on purpose: even something small and unusual, like swallowing a loved one's saliva, eating dirt out of habit, or smoking.
- A husband and wife being intimate together during the fasting hours, on purpose.
- Putting in eye medicine, oil, using a miswak, or having cupping done while thinking (wrongly) that it breaks your fast, and then going ahead and eating, drinking, or being intimate anyway.
Things that break your fast but only need a make-up day, no penalty
- Eating, drinking, or being intimate by mistake, thinking your fast was already broken, and then doing it again on purpose once you realize it wasn't.
- Water going down your throat by accident while rinsing your mouth or nose, or while swimming or diving.
- Sniffing snuff powder up your nose, or putting medicine or oil in your ear or nose.
- Medicine on a cut on your head or stomach that seeps in and reaches your stomach or brain.
- Having an enema.
- Making yourself throw up on purpose.
- Swallowing something that was already in your mouth without meaning to.
- Eating suhoor thinking it's still before dawn, when dawn has actually already come, or breaking your fast thinking the sun has set, when it hasn't yet.
- Swallowing something you can't eat, like a small stone, paper, grass, or cotton.
- Eating or drinking after a wet dream, thinking that broke your fast (it doesn't).
- Someone forcing food or water into another person's mouth while they're asleep.
- Swallowing tears, or liquid in your mouth so salty you can taste it strongly.
- Breathing in strong incense smoke on purpose.
- Swallowing a bit of food stuck in your teeth after you've worked it loose with your tongue.
- Swallowing coloured spit left over from a coloured mouthwash.
- Breaking a fast that isn't a Ramadan fast (like a make-up day or a voluntary fast).
Things that do NOT break your fast at all
- Forgetting you're fasting and eating, drinking, or being intimate by pure accident.If you see someone doing this by mistake, it's kind (and important) to gently remind them they're fasting.
- Dust, smoke, or a fly going down your throat without you meaning to.
- Throwing up without meaning to, even a full mouthful.
- Having a wet dream.
- Blood from your gums that reaches your throat, as long as it doesn't overpower your spit.
Actions that break a fast fall into two groups: those that require only qada (making up the day), and those that require both qada and kaffarah (an additional act of expiation).
The kaffarah for breaking a fast is: freeing a slave; if that is not possible, fasting sixty consecutive days (women who are unable to keep this continuous, due to menstruation or post-natal bleeding, are excused the requirement of consecutiveness); if that too is not possible, feeding sixty poor people two full meals each, or giving them raw grain: half a sa' of wheat per person, or one sa' of barley or dates per person.
1| Category | What is required | Examples given in this ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Breaks the fast: qada and kaffarah both | A make-up day, plus the expiation above | Deliberately eating or drinking anything treated as food or drink (even something unusual: swallowing a loved one's saliva, habitually eating dirt, smoking); deliberate sexual intercourse during the fasting hours; applying eye medicine, oil, a miswak, or having cupping done while believing (wrongly) that it breaks the fast, then going on to eat, drink, or have intercourse regardless |
| Breaks the fast: qada only | Just a make-up day, no expiation | Eating, drinking or intercourse by mistake, then repeating it deliberately after realising the fast was not actually broken; water reaching the throat while gargling or diving; drawing snuff up the nose; medicine or oil placed in the ear or nose; medicine applied to a head or stomach wound that reaches the stomach or brain; an enema; deliberate vomiting; swallowing something already lodged in the mouth; eating at what was thought to be suhoor time after dawn has actually broken; breaking the fast before sunset on the mistaken belief that the sun had set; swallowing an inedible object (a stone, paper, grass, cotton); eating or drinking after a wet dream on the mistaken belief this breaks the fast; forcing food or water into a sleeping person's mouth; swallowing tears or a liquid whose saltiness is felt throughout the mouth; deliberately inhaling incense smoke; swallowing food dislodged from the teeth with the tongue (smaller than a chickpea is separately listed as permitted below; this is the case of removing and swallowing it); swallowing coloured saliva left from a coloured mouthwash; breaking a fast other than Ramadan (including a Ramadan qada fast) |
| Does not break the fast at all | Nothing is owed | Eating, drinking or intercourse while genuinely forgetting one is fasting; dust, smoke or a fly entering the throat unintentionally; unintentional vomiting, even a mouthful; a wet dream itself; blood from the gums reaching the throat without overpowering the saliva |
Nine conditions must all be met for kaffarah to be obligatory (rather than qada alone):
The nine conditions for kaffarah
- The person is sane and of legal age.
- The fast is specifically a fast of Ramadan.
- The intention for the fast was made the night before.
- The intention specified that it was for the fast of Ramadan.
- The fast was broken without any valid excuse, such as illness, menstruation, or post-natal bleeding.
- The breaking of the fast was done voluntarily, without coercion.
- The fast was broken specifically by eating, drinking, or sexual intercourse.
- The person had not already, earlier and unknowingly, done something that invalidated the fast (such as eating by mistake).
- No excuse beyond one's control, such as sudden illness or the onset of menstruation, arose either before or after the fast was broken. Travel is treated differently: choosing to travel does not, on its own, remove the kaffarah, because travel is optional rather than something that happens to a person.
If the fast breaks during Ramadan for any reason, the person must still observe the respect due to the day (hurmat ar-Ramadan): refraining from food, drink and intercourse for the rest of that day. The same applies to a traveller who arrives home, a minor who reaches puberty, a woman who becomes pure from menstruation or post-natal bleeding, someone who recovers their sanity, a sick person who recovers, or a non-Muslim who embraces Islam during the day: all of these must act as a fasting person for the remainder of the day. If the change occurs before midday, fasting that day is fully obligatory on them (a fresh intention can still be validly formed); if it occurs after midday, the remainder-of-day observance applies instead.
Mufsidāt aṣ-ṣawm (invalidators of the fast) divide into two classes: those obliging qaḍāʾ alone, and those obliging both qaḍāʾ and kaffārah.
Kaffārah is: iʿtāq raqabah (freeing a slave); failing that, ṣawm of sixty consecutive days (tatābuʿ is waived for a woman unable to keep the sequence unbroken owing to ḥayḍ or nifās); failing that, iṭʿām of sixty poor persons, two full meals each, or its equivalent in raw grain: half a ṣāʿ of wheat, or a full ṣāʿ of barley or dates, per person.
1| Outcome | Obligation | Instances named in this text |
|---|---|---|
| Invalidated: qaḍāʾ and kaffārah | A make-up day plus the expiation above | Deliberate consumption of anything treated as food or drink, however unusual (a beloved's saliva swallowed deliberately, habitual dirt-eating, tobacco); deliberate jimāʿ during the fasting hours (the ruling applies equally to the passive party, provided capacity for intercourse exists, ejaculation or not, and extends to same-sex acts); use of kuḥl, oil, the miswāk, or ḥijāmah under the mistaken belief that any of these invalidates the fast, followed nonetheless by deliberate eating, drinking, or intercourse |
| Invalidated: qaḍāʾ only | A make-up day, no expiation | Eating, drinking, or intercourse by genuine mistake followed by deliberate repetition once the error is recognized; water reaching the throat during maḍmaḍah/istinshāq or while diving; snuff drawn up the nostril; medicine or oil instilled in the ear or nose; medicament on a head or abdominal wound reaching the stomach or brain; ḥuqnah (enema); deliberate vomiting; swallowing matter already resident in the mouth; eating under the mistaken belief that fajr has not yet occurred, or breaking the fast under the mistaken belief that the sun has set; ingesting an inedible substance (stone, paper, grass, cotton); eating or drinking after iḥtilām on the mistaken belief that this breaks the fast; forcing food or water into the mouth of a sleeping person; swallowing tears or a liquid whose salinity is perceptible throughout the mouth; deliberately inhaling bakhūr smoke; swallowing food dislodged from between the teeth by the tongue; swallowing coloured saliva remaining from a coloured rinse; breaking a fast other than that of Ramaḍān, including a Ramaḍān qaḍāʾ fast |
| Not invalidated | Nothing owed | Eating, drinking or intercourse while genuinely forgetful of one's fast; dust, smoke, or an insect entering the throat unintentionally; unintentional vomiting, even a mouthful; iḥtilām itself; gum-blood reaching the throat without overpowering the saliva |
Kaffārah attaches only where all nine of the following hold:
The nine conditions for kaffārah
- 'Aql and bulūgh in the person.
- The fast broken is specifically that of Ramaḍān.
- The niyyah was formed the preceding night.
- The niyyah specified the fast of Ramaḍān.
- The fast was broken without a legitimate 'udhr (illness, ḥayḍ, nifās).
- The breaking was ikhtiyārī (voluntary), free of ikrāh (coercion).
- It was broken specifically by eating, drinking, or jimā'.
- No prior, unknowing invalidation (such as mistaken eating) had already occurred earlier the same day.
- No excuse outside the person's choice (sudden illness, the onset of ḥayḍ) arose either before or after the breaking. Safar (travel) is treated as within one's choice (ikhtiyārī), not as such an 'udhr, and so does not by itself remove the kaffārah.
Ḥurmat Ramaḍān (the respect owed to Ramaḍān) requires that once a fast is invalidated during the day, the person nonetheless refrain from food, drink and intercourse (imsāk) for the remainder of that day. The same imsāk is required of a traveller who returns home, a minor who reaches bulūgh, a woman purified from ḥayḍ or nifās, one who regains sanity, a sick person who recovers, or a non-Muslim who accepts Islam, should any of these occur during the day. Where the change occurs before midday (zawāl), the fast of that day becomes fully obligatory on them and a niyyah may still validly be formed; where it occurs after midday, only the lesser obligation of imsāk applies for the remainder of the day.
This is the English translation of Nisab Ahle Khidmaat Sharia, exactly as the book has it, for the passages this page was written from. About 1,095 words. Switch back to Guide for the rewritten version.
Rulings of Fasting Introduction
9. Invalidators of Fasting:
There are two types of actions that can break a fast:
1. Those that only require Qadha (making up for the fast, i.e., fasting for one day to replace the missed fast).
2. Those that require both Qadha and Kaffara (making up for the fast and performing an additional act of expiation, which can include freeing a slave or fasting 60 consecutive days, or feeding 60 poor people two meals a day).
These two categories are explained separately:
Actions that require both Qadha and Kaffara:
1. Deliberately eating or drinking something [For example, swallowing the saliva of your beloved, or eating dirt if you are used to it, or smoking tobacco, etc.] that is consumed as food or drink.
2. Engaging in sexual intercourse deliberately during the daylight hours of fasting [Or doing it to someone else, but it is a condition that the woman must be capable of intercourse, whether or not there is ejaculation. Both the one who performs the act and the one who is acted upon must make up the fast and provide expiation. Homosexual acts also fall under this ruling.].
3. If a person applies eye ointment, oil, uses a miswak, or undergoes cupping thinking it will invalidate their fast [This includes doing things that would break the fast but may not initially seem like they would.], and then eats, drinks, or engages in sexual intercourse, both Qadha and Kaffara are required.
Conditions for Kaffara to be obligatory:
For Kaffara to be required, the following nine conditions must be met:
1. The person must be sane and of legal age.
2. The fast must be the one for Ramadan.
3. The intention for fasting must have been made the night before.
4. The intention must specify the type of fast, i.e., the fast of Ramadan.
5. The fast must have been broken without any valid excuse, such as illness, menstruation, or postpartum bleeding.
6. The act of breaking the fast must have been done voluntarily, without any coercion or compulsion.
7. The fast must have been broken by consuming food, drink, or engaging in sexual intercourse.
8. The person must not have done something earlier that could invalidate the fast unknowingly, such as eating by mistake.
9. No unintentional excuse (like illness or menstruation) should have occurred before or after breaking the fast that would have allowed breaking the fast [Travel does not count in this case because it is optional, and the expiation is still required.].
(Note): If any one of these nine conditions is not fulfilled, Kaffara will not be required, and only Qadha will be obligatory.
Explanation of Kaffara:
1. The expiation (Kaffara) for breaking the fast is to free a slave. If this is not possible, then the person must fast 60 consecutive days [The condition of continuous fasting is for men; women experiencing menstruation or postpartum bleeding are exempt from it.]. If they are unable to fast 60 days, they must feed 60 poor people two full meals each, or give them raw grain. For example, if wheat is used, it is half a Sa' (an Islamic measure) per person. If barley or dates are used, it is one Sa' per person [The weight of a sa' is two seers or one and a half pounds, as mentioned in the explanation of Zakat al-Fitr.].
2. If a person breaks multiple fasts in a single Ramadan and has not provided the Kaffara for any of them, a single Kaffara is sufficient for all of them. However, each fast must be made up (Qadha) separately.
Actions that only require Qadha (Making Up the Fast) and not Kaffara:
1. Eating or drinking, or engaging in sexual intercourse by mistake, thinking that the fast has been broken, then deliberately eating, drinking, or engaging in sexual intercourse after realizing it was a mistake.
2. Accidental water entering the throat during gargling or while diving.
3. Exerting tobacco powder from the nose
4. Putting medicine or oil in the ear or nose.
5. Medicine applied to wounds on the head or stomach that reaches the stomach or brain.
6. Taking an enema.
7. Vomiting intentionally.
8. Swallowing something unintentionally that entered the mouth.
9. Eating during what is thought to be the time for Sahri (pre-dawn meal) but after the break of dawn.
10. Breaking the fast before sunset based on the mistaken belief that it is sunset.
11. Swallowing inedible objects like stones, paper, grass, cotton, etc.
12. Eating or drinking after an involuntary wet dream, thinking the fast is broken.
13. Forcing someone or putting water into someone's mouth while they are sleeping.
14. Swallowing tears or liquid that enters the mouth, especially if the saltiness of the liquid is felt throughout the mouth.
15. Inhaling the smoke of incense (such as oud or amber).
16. Eating something that was stuck in the teeth after removing it with the tongue.
17. Swallowing colored saliva from mouthwash used to divide colored liquids.
18. Breaking non-Ramadan fasts or other similar actions [This applies even if the fast being observed is a missed Ramadan fast.].
In all these cases, only the Qadha (making up for the fast) is obligatory.
Some situations where the fast does not break:
1. If someone forgets that they are fasting and eats [It is obligatory to remind a fasting person to keep their fast if they are seen doing something that breaks the fast, unless they are weak or fragile.], drinks, or engages in intercourse by mistake.
2. If dust, smoke, or a fly unintentionally enters the throat.
3. If vomiting occurs unintentionally, even if it is a mouthful.
4. If a person has a wet dream (i.e., Ihtilam).
5. If blood from the gums reaches the throat but does not dominate the saliva.
In all these cases, the fast does not break.
Respect for Ramadan:
If a person's fast breaks during Ramadan, they are still required to maintain the respect of the day by refraining from eating, drinking, or engaging in sexual intercourse for the rest of the day, to uphold the dignity of Ramadan. Similarly, if a traveler returns home, or if a minor becomes an adult, or if a woman becomes pure after menstruation or childbirth, or if a mentally ill person recovers, or if a sick person becomes healthy, or if a non-Muslim embraces Islam, all these individuals are required to remain like those who are fasting for the remainder of the day [This is required if such actions occur after midday; if they occur earlier, fasting is obligatory.].
Terms on this page
Related
- 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.
- Who must fast, and the conditions for it Who fasting in Ramadan is obligatory on, the conditions for that obligation, and the two conditions a fast needs to be valid at all.
- Making up missed fasts (qada) The rules for making up fasts that were missed or broken: when, in what order, and who owes the compensation (fidyah) instead.
- The intention for fasting, and when to make it How to make the intention (niyyah) for a fast, the words used, and by when it must be made for each kind of fast.