Does Ejaculation During Fasting Other Than by Intercourse Break the Fast?
Ejaculation during the fast by means other than sexual intercourse, such as kissing one’s wife, skin-to-skin contact, or masturbation, does it break the fast or not?
In fact, there is no clear evidence that the fast is broken by these acts, because the fast is originally valid and cannot become invalid unless a legally recognized invalidating factor is present. Since the Lawgiver (peace be upon him) did not declare these acts to be invalidating for the fast, the fast is not broken by them. Analogizing masturbation to intercourse is an analogy with a difference (qiyas ma’ al-farq), because intercourse is more serious than it. Moreover, the following report also supports this position.
Hadrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked, “What is lawful for a man with his wife while fasting?” She said: كل شيئ إلا الجماع “Everything is lawful except intercourse.”
[Sahih: Tamam al-Minnah: p. 419, Abd al-Razzaq: 8439, 190/4]
(Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him)) is also of this view.
[Al-Muhalla bil-Athar: 190/4]
(Amir al-San’ani (may Allah have mercy on him)) said: What is most apparent is that the make-up and expiation (qada and kaffarah) apply only to the one who had intercourse, and it is far-fetched to join to him the one who did not have intercourse.
[Tamam al-Minnah: p. 418]
(Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) and Albani (may Allah have mercy on him)) also prefer this view.
[Ibid.]
