WHAT INVALIDATES FASTING RELATED TO BODY CAVITIES – Part 2

.بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Abstract

Muslim jurists take a broad and more general interpretation from the verse of the Qur’ān which commands abstention from eating and drinking when fasting. The purpose of fasting is to abstain from that which satisfies thirst and hunger generally. This is seen as anything which is taken via the conventional way through the mouth to reach the jawf, i.e. throat, stomach, including the intestine, regardless of it having nutritional value or not. If any substance is to enter any other additional cavities, then they must serve the purpose of restoring strength in the body (ṣalāḥ al-badan). The blood circulation system is the essential cavity which the digestive tract is dependent on to achieve its role of providing strength to rest of the body. Without this the digestive tract does not achieve its purpose of providing these nutrients to strengthen the body. If the blood circulation is to receive nutrients or medication through other routes other than the digestive tract then it also achieves the role of restoring and strengthening the body independent of the digestive tract. This paper provides four simple principles indicated by classical Muslim jurists which allow us to determine which cavities qualify as those, whereby if any substance was to enter them, would invalidate the fast. These principles will allow us to apply rulings to new modern medical procedures to determine when the fast will be invalidated. 

Introduction 

It is essential for Muslims to be aware of Islamic rulings related to those acts, interventions and procedures which invalidate the fast, so that they can refrain from such acts whilst fasting. Muslim scholars, health care professionals and general Muslim public need to be aware of what acts, procedures or interventions invalidate the fast especially those related to medical procedures and interventions. Some of these interventions are quite straight forward and obvious that they invalidate the fast, yet there are other interventions that can be quite complicated and require one to grasp current medical understandings of human biology, medicine as well as some detail of medical procedures and interventions to be able to come to a sound conclusion. Muslim scholars refer to classical fiqh texts as their source to deduce new rulings related to modern issues. This requires them to contextualise the classical fiqh text, deduce principles and apply to new cases. For this reason, with the permission of Allah swt, and through the requests of many, I have attempted to provide a comprehensive paper related to this, “Part 2- What invalidates fasting related to body cavities”. “Part 1- What invalidates fasting related to the throat”, was received well, and many have provided me some great feedback and expressed how beneficial it was for them, from an academic perspective, Islamic and medical, as well as its practical use. What is important is that we are able to define principles deduced by our classical Muslim jurists and apply them to modern knowledge. The paper has been put together to provide the following:

1. Basic principles that will support and guide Muslims – Recognising that some questions can be quite complicated and there is a need to present a simple toolkit which can guide those who require a simple approach to such queries.
2. Discussion and reference to medical issues related to anatomy, physiology which is relevant and appropriate to the discussion– This will address the complexity and confusion that arises.  
3. Details and explanation around some of the areas of confusion and differences amongst the different Sunnī schools– This will allow Muslims from any of the Sunnī schools to use this document and appreciate where there are agreements and differences. 
4. The Fiqh sources from classical fiqh text – These have been put together in quite an exhaustive way as a form of reference and evidence for the conclusions drawn. They are in Arabic as per the original source, because they are more appropriate for Muslim scholars rather than general public.

As a final note, recognising that medicine is advancing at fast pace and new issues will inevitably arise in the near future. I am hopeful that that these principles should address future interventions and hence provide enough detail for one to apply to new cases. Having said that, this is a working document and may require amendments and updating over time and I humbly request those who can add to this, not to hesitate to contact the author.

It is also important to note that for specific complex issues it is best advised for one to approach a qualified Muslim scholar who is well read in this area. 

I pray that you benefit in this effort and that Allah (swt) makes this a means of useful resource for all and reward.

الله أعلم بالصواب

والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Rafaqat Rashid
Academic Director, Al Balagh Academy
[email protected]

Attested by Mufti Saiful Islam (JKN Fatawa Department, Bradford, UK)
www.jknfatawa.co.uk

Related Article