This excerpt is taken from the book of Fadhilat al-Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani, may Allah have mercy on him, Ahkam wa Masail Ramadan.
What is the ruling on breaking the fast by inhaling asthma medication through the nose?
Question:.
Asthma patients use medication by inhaling it through the nose. Does this break the fast or not?
Fatwa:.
The asthma medication that the patient inhales through the nose reaches the lungs via the airway and does not reach the stomach. The use of the medication in this way is neither eating nor drinking, but rather resembles a drop of medicine that is inserted into the genital organ, as well as the medicine applied to various wounds, such as kohl and injections, through which the medicine reaches the brain or body by means other than the mouth and nose. There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding whether the use of these items breaks the fast or not. Some have said that the use of any of these items does not break the fast, while others have said that some of them do break the fast and some do not. However, all scholars agree that none of these items can be classified as food or drink. Those who believe that the fast is broken by these items consider them to be in the category of eating and drinking because each of these items enters the stomach by one's own choice. The noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
بالغ فى الاستنشاق إلا أن تكون صائما
"Exaggerate in rinsing your nose except when you are fasting."
So, in this hadith, the fasting person is prohibited from exaggerating in rinsing the nose to ensure that water does not reach the throat or stomach, as this would invalidate the fast. It is understood that anything that enters the stomach by one's own choice breaks the fast. Among the scholars who hold the view that the use of these items does not invalidate the fast are Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and his followers. They state that it is not correct to compare these items to eating and drinking, and there is no evidence to suggest that anything that reaches the brain or body or enters the stomach through any bodily passage (pores) breaks the fast. The Sharia has not specified any ruling regarding any of these characteristics that would invalidate the fast. Similarly, it is not correct to equate the act of exaggerating in rinsing the nose with water reaching the throat or stomach, as there is a difference between the two situations; water is food, and when it reaches the throat or stomach, it invalidates the fast, whether it enters through the mouth or the nose, as both are pathways. This is why merely rinsing or putting water in the nose without exaggeration does not break the fast, and there is no prohibition against putting water in the mouth and nose. The mouth and nose are common pathways, and thus when water reaches the nose, the ruling is the same as when it reaches the mouth. Therefore, it appears that using this medication through the nose does not break the fast, as previously stated, because it is in no way considered to be in the category of eating and drinking.
