Is incense among the things that break the fast?

Question : A questioner says: You mentioned, Honorable Shaykh, in the Friday sermon that incense is among the things that break the fast, and you stated that it has a substance that enters the body, even though you mentioned in the gatherings of the month of Ramadan a statement by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that the criterion for the ruling on things that break the fast is not everything that enters the body. Is incense in the same category as eating and drinking? Please inform us; may Allah reward you.

Answer : The prohibited incense is that which you inhale, not that which you use for fragrance. If you used it for fragrance and some of its smoke reached your nose unintentionally, it would not harm you. But if you place the incense burner under your nose and inhale until the smoke reaches your stomach, that is like water. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to al-Qayt ibn Shabrah: When he told him, "unless you are fasting," we investigated what the wisdom is in the one who is fasting not exaggerating. The wisdom is so that nothing of the water descends into his stomach. From this, it is known that anything from which one fears that a substance will descend into the stomach, or anything that descends into the stomach through the nose, is like what descends into it through the mouth.