Does an eye drop affect fasting?
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The questioner : The questioner asks whether an eye drop affects fasting.
The Shaykh : No, an eye drop does not affect fasting, even if one tastes it in his throat, because the eye is not a passage for food, whether eaten or drunk. As the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned, they said: If a fasting person were to tread on a *hanzalah* fruit—and what do you know about the *hanzalah*? Do you know it? Who knows it? Do you know it? What is the *hanzalah*?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, very good. It is a very, very bitter fruit. They say that if a person were to tread on a *hanzalah* and it burst under his foot, and he felt its taste in his throat—and this is a real occurrence, not a hypothetical case—he would not break his fast. Why? Because the foot is not a proper passage. The foot has pores in the skin through which the taste can reach the throat, but it is not a passage. Similarly, the eye is not a customary passage. So, if one drops something in it, and even if he finds its taste in his throat, he does not break his fast. Likewise, what is dropped in the ear does not break the fast, even if a person finds its taste in his throat. Yes.
The Shaykh : No, an eye drop does not affect fasting, even if one tastes it in his throat, because the eye is not a passage for food, whether eaten or drunk. As the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned, they said: If a fasting person were to tread on a *hanzalah* fruit—and what do you know about the *hanzalah*? Do you know it? Who knows it? Do you know it? What is the *hanzalah*?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, very good. It is a very, very bitter fruit. They say that if a person were to tread on a *hanzalah* and it burst under his foot, and he felt its taste in his throat—and this is a real occurrence, not a hypothetical case—he would not break his fast. Why? Because the foot is not a proper passage. The foot has pores in the skin through which the taste can reach the throat, but it is not a passage. Similarly, the eye is not a customary passage. So, if one drops something in it, and even if he finds its taste in his throat, he does not break his fast. Likewise, what is dropped in the ear does not break the fast, even if a person finds its taste in his throat. Yes.