Does a chest inhaler with a mint scent break the fast, given that I need it?
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The questioner : The questioner says, honorableThe Shaykh : This is a chest inhaler, and I am compelled to use it; it has a mint scent. Does using it break the fast? And what should I do since I need it?
The Shaykh : Let us look at it first. ... This does not break the fast. Based on how I used it just now, it does not break the fast, because it contains something like gas, which does not last long before it disappears.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : I am afraid your hand is itchy, perhaps.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Okay ... this is weak, very weak. It has a color, but it is weak. In any case, if we assume it has a substance, he should not swallow the substance; he should not swallow it. The scent is sufficient for him. And this cold air may open the airways, meaning the airways: meaning the breath, yes.
The questioner : He says: Do I find its taste in the throat itself?
The Shaykh : Yes, the arrival of a substance at the throat does not break the fast of the one who is fasting. What breaks the fast of the one who is fasting is what reaches the stomach, as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said.
Yes.
The questioner : The questioner says, honorableThe Shaykh :
The Shaykh : But no one should bring up against me, or against the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, that smoke, meaning tobacco, is said to reach the lungs and not the stomach, because this is not correct. It reaches the stomach without a doubt, and a large part of it reaches the lungs. That is why the effect of smoke is found in the intestines of the smoker. So it reaches the stomach without a doubt. Then what is it called? It is called drinking. It is said: "smoking." It falls under His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:187]. It falls under that in the sense that it breaks the fast of the one who is fasting, not in the sense that it is commanded. Rather, it is prohibited. And smoking is forbidden, because it is harm to the body, destruction of wealth, waste of time, a cause of distress when it is lacking, a cause of difficulty in obedience for the person, and a cause for the person to dislike sitting with the people of good, because he cannot smoke in front of them, so you find he dislikes sitting. And if he is craving a cigarette, and then a good, beloved man comes to talk to him about good, you find it heavier for him than Mount Uhud. Why? Because he wants to smoke, and what is this after he has lit the cigarette, and all that remains is striking the match, and this man comes and sleeps on his head. So he dislikes this, so it is evil.
And the wonder is that some of the disbelieving countries now prohibit it strictly. And the ignorant among us smoke it in the markets, in the gatherings, and everywhere.
We ask Allah for guidance for us and for them. Yes.
The Shaykh : Let us look at it first. ... This does not break the fast. Based on how I used it just now, it does not break the fast, because it contains something like gas, which does not last long before it disappears.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : I am afraid your hand is itchy, perhaps.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Okay ... this is weak, very weak. It has a color, but it is weak. In any case, if we assume it has a substance, he should not swallow the substance; he should not swallow it. The scent is sufficient for him. And this cold air may open the airways, meaning the airways: meaning the breath, yes.
The questioner : He says: Do I find its taste in the throat itself?
The Shaykh : Yes, the arrival of a substance at the throat does not break the fast of the one who is fasting. What breaks the fast of the one who is fasting is what reaches the stomach, as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said.
Yes.
The questioner : The questioner says, honorableThe Shaykh :
The Shaykh : But no one should bring up against me, or against the words of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, that smoke, meaning tobacco, is said to reach the lungs and not the stomach, because this is not correct. It reaches the stomach without a doubt, and a large part of it reaches the lungs. That is why the effect of smoke is found in the intestines of the smoker. So it reaches the stomach without a doubt. Then what is it called? It is called drinking. It is said: "smoking." It falls under His saying:
And eat and drink until the white thread
كلوا واشربوا حتى يتبين لكم الخيطAnd the wonder is that some of the disbelieving countries now prohibit it strictly. And the ignorant among us smoke it in the markets, in the gatherings, and everywhere.
We ask Allah for guidance for us and for them. Yes.