Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
No, vomiting does not break the fast. This is explicitly mentioned in a sound Hadith in Abi Dawood.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ ذَرَعَهُ قَيْءٌ، وَهُوَ صَائِمٌ، فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ قَضَاءٌ، وَإِنْ اسْتَقَاءَ فَلْيَقْضِ
(Sayidina) Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Whoever is overcome by vomit, whilst fasting, is not required to make up the fast. But whoever induced the vomit must make it (the fast) up.’ (Abu Dawood, 2380).
The Hadith above is explicit regarding the fact that vomiting does not break the fast. Despite this issue being dealt with so explicitly in the Hadith many people misunderstand it. They believe vomiting does nullify the fast. This is a result of relying upon hearsay and conjecture. Such reliance is truly disastrous when it comes to religious issues, it can lead to major errors in one’s belief or practice. Rather one is obliged to study the religion and base religious believes and actions upon knowledge and not conjecture. The Hanafi scholars explained this issue in their works:
قَاءَ وَعَادَ لَمْ يُفْطِرْ. (كنز الدقائق)
If he vomits and it is swallowed then his fast is not nullified. (Imam Abu al-Barakaat al-Nasafi, Kanz al-Daqaiq).
(قَوْلُهُ أَوْ قَاءَ وَعَادَ لَمْ يُفْطِرْ)
لِحَدِيثِ السُّنَنِ «مَنْ ذَرَعَهُ الْقَيْءُ، وَهُوَ صَائِمٌ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَضَاءُ، وَإِنْ اسْتَقَاءَ فَلْيَقْضِ» وَإِنَّمَا ذَكَرَ الْعَوْدَ لِيُفِيدَ أَنَّ مُجَرَّدَ الْقَيْءِ بِلَا عَوْدٍ لَا يُفْطِرُ بِالْأَوْلَى وَأَطْلَقَهُ فَشَمِلَ مَا إذَا مَلَأ الْفَمَ أَوْ لَا. (البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق)
If he vomits and it is swallowed then his fast is not nullified. This is due to the Hadith ‘Whoever is overcome by vomit, whilst fasting, is not required to make up the fast. But whoever induced the vomit must make it (the fast) up.’ He mentioned swallowing to allude to the fact that vomiting alone does not nullify a fortiori. And he was generic (in his statement) so it includes (the vomit) filling the mouth or not. (Imam Zayn al-Deen Ibn Nujaym, al-Bahr al-Raiq Sharh Kanz al-Daqaiq).
One of the reasons some people misunderstand this issue, may be due to the ruling related to Wudu. With regards to Wudu, vomiting a mouthful does nullify the Wudu. However this is not the case with fasting. Vomiting does not break the fast even if it is a mouthful unless it was induced.
What has been mentioned above once again emphasises the importance of studying the Deen and not relying upon hearsay. There are many people who have nullified fasts after vomiting due to this misconception, and there are many other major mistakes people make due to their neglect in studying Islam. Although studying Islam is obligatory upon every Muslim.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
-Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (06.04.2022)
See also:
Hadith about vomiting not nullifying the fast
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