QUESTION:
What do the scholars of the Din and muftis of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: is it okay to use mouthwash whilst fasting?
Questioner: Abdullah from UK
ANSWER:
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب
It is permissible to use mouthwash whilst fasting, provided that one is confident that no traces of it will proceed below the throat but to use it without a valid reason is Makrooh because the mouthwash has flavour, and tasting anything whilst fasting is Makrooh, and it is Makrooh Tanzeehi; as it has been cited in Al-Durr al-Mukhtaar:
” وَكُرِهَ لَهُ ذَوْقُ شَيْءٍ وَكَذَا مَضْغُهُ بِلَا عُذْرٍ”
It is Makrooh for the fasting person to taste anything and likewise is the case of chewing on anything without a valid excuse.
[Al-Durr al-Mukhtaar with Radd al-Muhtaar Vol. 3, p. 453]
Interpreting the word (کُرِہَ i.e. Makrooh) in Al-Durr al-Mukhtaar, Allamah Shaami writes in Raddul Muhtaar that:
الظَّاهِرُ أَنَّ الْكَرَاهَةَ فِي هَذِهِ الْأَشْيَاءِ تَنْزِيهِيَّةٌ
It is obvious that the Karaahat in these aspects is restricted to Makrooh Tanzeehi. [ibid]
Tooth powder is also used instead of mouthwash. Sayyidi Ala Hazrat Imam Ahle Sunnat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan – may Allah be pleased with him – writes that:
منجن ناجائز وحرام نہیں بلکہ اطمینان کافی ہو کہ اس کا کوئی جزو حلق میں نہ جائے گا، مگر بے ضرورتِ صحیحہ کراہت ضرور ہے
The use of tooth powder is not impermissible or Haraam but if one is confident enough that none of its particles will proceed below the throat but it is Makrooh without a valid reason.
[Fatawa Ridawiyyah Vol. 10, p. 551]
But it is better to abstain from using tooth powder because there is a concern about it proceeding below the throat, and if any particle from it proceeds below the throat then the fast will become invalid.
واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری
Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadri
Translated by Musjidul Haq Research Department ( musjidulhaq.com )
Read the original answer in Urdu here – [Q-ID0493] Does using mouthwash nullify the Fast?
Also see:
[Q-ID0458] Will brushing my teeth break my Fast?
[Q-ID0533] What is the ruling on using mouthwash that contains alcohol?
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