In general, the Ramadan fast is broken by intentionally allowing something into the body through a normal opening—such as eating, drinking, smoking, or taking oral medication—from true dawn until sunset. Sexual intercourse during fasting hours also breaks the fast. Allah permits eating and intimacy during the night until dawn, then commands completing the fast until nightfall. Common examples include:
- 1Intentional eating or drinking, even a small amount.
- 2Smoking or vaping, and deliberately inhaling substances that reach the throat.
- 3Oral medicines, nutritional drinks, or deliberate swallowing of food or liquid.
- 4Menstruation or postnatal bleeding—the fast is stopped and made up later.
- 5Deliberate vomiting; involuntary vomiting does not generally break the fast.
- 6Sexual intercourse during fasting hours; this requires repentance and making up the fast, and may also involve an expiation depending on the circumstances.
Things that generally do not break the fast include eating or drinking forgetfully, brushing the teeth while avoiding swallowing toothpaste, bathing, and becoming ritually impure during the night and performing ghusl after dawn. The Prophet ﷺ continued fasting after becoming junub (in a state requiring ritual bath) at dawn (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 1930). Inhalers, injections, eye or ear drops, blood tests, and similar medical treatments have scholarly differences, so a person with a medical need should ask a qualified local scholar and doctor.
