❖ Ruling on Applying Kohl (Surmah) While Fasting ❖
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
It is narrated from ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
“The Prophet ﷺ applied kohl (surmah) during the month of Ramadan while he was fasting.”
➤ [Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1360 – Book of Fasting, Chapter: The Miswāk and Kohl for the Fasting Person; Ibn Mājah: 1678]
➤ Hāfiẓ al-Buṣayrī has declared this narration weak.
➤ [Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah: 2/13]
If the above narration is considered authentic, then it clearly permits the application of kohl while fasting. Even if the narration is weak, then based on the principle of original permissibility (البراءة الأصلية), the act of applying kohl remains permissible.
There is no authentic Hadith that proves applying kohl breaks the fast.
❖ Jumhūr (Majority) – including the Ḥanafīs and Shāfiʿīs – consider applying kohl permissible while fasting.
❖ Shawkānī رحمه الله also favors this opinion.
➤ [Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/177]
Some scholars like Imām Aḥmad, Isḥāq, Ibn al-Mubārak, and Thawrī consider applying kohl while fasting to be makrūh (disliked).
➤ [Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/481]
However, this view is not strong, because the Hadith they rely upon is weak, as stated in the narration:
“The fasting person should avoid applying kohl.”
➤ [Ḍaʿīf Abū Dāwūd: 514; Abū Dāwūd: 2377; Bayhaqī: 4/262]
Imām Abū Dāwūd himself commented:
“Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn told me: This ḥadīth is weak.”
Applying kohl (surmah) during fasting does not invalidate the fast, nor is there any authentic narration prohibiting it. The majority of scholars support its permissibility, and the evidences opposing it are weak.
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
✦ Applying Kohl (Surmah) During Fasting
It is narrated from ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
“The Prophet ﷺ applied kohl (surmah) during the month of Ramadan while he was fasting.”
➤ [Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1360 – Book of Fasting, Chapter: The Miswāk and Kohl for the Fasting Person; Ibn Mājah: 1678]
➤ Hāfiẓ al-Buṣayrī has declared this narration weak.
➤ [Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah: 2/13]
✔ Interpretation of the Ruling
If the above narration is considered authentic, then it clearly permits the application of kohl while fasting. Even if the narration is weak, then based on the principle of original permissibility (البراءة الأصلية), the act of applying kohl remains permissible.
There is no authentic Hadith that proves applying kohl breaks the fast.
✦ View of the Majority of Scholars
❖ Jumhūr (Majority) – including the Ḥanafīs and Shāfiʿīs – consider applying kohl permissible while fasting.
❖ Shawkānī رحمه الله also favors this opinion.
➤ [Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/177]
✦ View of Some Other Scholars
Some scholars like Imām Aḥmad, Isḥāq, Ibn al-Mubārak, and Thawrī consider applying kohl while fasting to be makrūh (disliked).
➤ [Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/481]
However, this view is not strong, because the Hadith they rely upon is weak, as stated in the narration:
“The fasting person should avoid applying kohl.”
➤ [Ḍaʿīf Abū Dāwūd: 514; Abū Dāwūd: 2377; Bayhaqī: 4/262]
Imām Abū Dāwūd himself commented:
“Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn told me: This ḥadīth is weak.”
Conclusion
Applying kohl (surmah) during fasting does not invalidate the fast, nor is there any authentic narration prohibiting it. The majority of scholars support its permissibility, and the evidences opposing it are weak.
