A person suffering from gallbladder inflammation and gallstones who experiences severe pain episodes that are not relieved by painkiller injections, necessitating the use of suppositories
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The questioner : He says: May the Shaykh be respected, a person is suffering from gallbladder inflammation and gallstones and experiences severe pain episodes that are not relieved by painkiller injections, so he is forced to use suppositories. What is the ruling on using these painkiller suppositories during the day in Ramadan? Likewise, what about painkiller injections that are not nutritional, such as insulin for diabetic patients?
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : insulin for diabetic patients?
The Shaykh : We see that this does not break the fast, neither the suppositories inserted from below nor the diabetes injections, because they are not nutritional and thus do not equate to eating and drinking. I will give you a rule specifically for students of knowledge: "When there is a conflict between the view that something breaks the fast and the view that it does not, which is stronger? That it does not break the fast." This is because it is not permissible for us to invalidate a legislated act of worship except with scriptural evidence, because if we invalidated the fast, we would be causing harm to this fasting person by invalidating his fast. And we would be saying about Allah what we do not know. This is a rule to understand in everything. Whenever two matters conflict regarding obligation or non-obligation, the default is non-obligation; regarding prohibition or non-prohibition, the default is non-prohibition; regarding invalidation or non-invalidation, the default is non-invalidation, and so on.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : insulin for diabetic patients?
The Shaykh : We see that this does not break the fast, neither the suppositories inserted from below nor the diabetes injections, because they are not nutritional and thus do not equate to eating and drinking. I will give you a rule specifically for students of knowledge: "When there is a conflict between the view that something breaks the fast and the view that it does not, which is stronger? That it does not break the fast." This is because it is not permissible for us to invalidate a legislated act of worship except with scriptural evidence, because if we invalidated the fast, we would be causing harm to this fasting person by invalidating his fast. And we would be saying about Allah what we do not know. This is a rule to understand in everything. Whenever two matters conflict regarding obligation or non-obligation, the default is non-obligation; regarding prohibition or non-prohibition, the default is non-prohibition; regarding invalidation or non-invalidation, the default is non-invalidation, and so on.