Fatwa ID: 08416
Answered by: Muftiyah Shireen Mangera-Badat
Question:
I was wiping my lips when a part of the cloth I was using entered my mouth. It was wet but not dripping with water, but just to be safe, I spit out the saliva in my mouth several times because I was fearful that since the wet part of the cloth touched the moist part of my lips, it was part of my saliva now.
I tried not to swallow my spit but I’m having thoughts: what if some entered my throat even before I could spit even though I don’t remember any saliva going down my throat. Is my fast still valid? If not, would one make-up fast be needed or do I need to do Kaffarah?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
For a fast to break, things have to be consumed to able to reach the stomach.
In your situation the cloth touched the mouth with nothing entering the stomach. If the cloth touched your lips, it’s important to remember that saliva itself is not an impure substance. If the cloth was not so wet that it was dripping or visibly carrying impurity (such as from food or something harmful), there is no reason to assume that your fast was invalidated.
The scholars are unanimous in saying that Swallowing something accidentally does not break the fast. Raddul mukhtar 3/365.[1]
Since your fast was not broken, there would be no need for kaffarah.[2]
References:
[1] أي إذا أكل ناسياً فذكره إنسان بالصوم ولم يتذكر فأكل فسد صومه في الصحيح خلافاً لبعضهم. ظهيرية . لأن خبر الواحد في الديانات مقبول، فكان يجب أن يلتفت إلى تأمل الحال لوجود المذكر
[2] ………..نه لو أكل قبل النية لا يسمى ناسياً، وكذا في صوم القضاء والكفارة نعم يتصور النسيان في أداء رمضان والمنذور المعين. قوله : ( على الصحيح) متصل بقوله قبل النية وقد نقل تصحيحه أيضاً في التاترخانية عن العتابية؛ وقيل إذا ظهرت رمضانيته لا يجزيه، وبه جزم في السراج وتبعه في الشرنبلالية………..
رد المختار ٣/٣٦٥.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Muftiyah Shireen Mangera-Badat
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
