10 Things Invalidate the Fast – The Fifth is the Most Sinful

If you list the things that break the fast, there are approximately 10 different things and you can categorize them in 2 categories.

The first category that breaks the fast when we take it inside the body. There are 4 things:

1- Eating and drinking

2- Anything that falls in the same category as eating or drinking

3- Taking medicines, pills, injections which are in the form of nourishment including blood transfusions

4- Something similar to kidney dialysis, where the blood is taken out and purified then put back in the body.

The second category that which comes out from the body. There are 6 things:

5- Sexual intercourse

6- Masturbation

7- Menstruation

8- Post natal bleeding

9- Deliberately vomiting

10- Letting out blood like cupping or similar to that.

So in all, there are 10 things which invalidate the fast.

Which one is considered to be the most serious and sinful act?

The act which is the most sinful and most serious is sexual intercourse. When you have sexual intercourse and when two private parts meet, then your fast is invalidated whether ejaculation takes place or not and you have to repent for that.

You have to complete the fast for that day and make it up later and you have to pay a penalty. A man came to the Prophet and said:

“I’m ruined”

Prophet Muhammad said:

“What’s the matter?”

The man said: “I had sex with my wife while I was fasting.”

So the Prophet asked:

“Can you free a slave?”

The man said: “No I can’t”

Then the Prophet asked:

“Can you fast consecutively for 2 months?”

The man said: “No I can’t”

The Prophet asked:

“Can you feed 60 poor people?”

The man said: “No I can’t” (Al-Bukhari)

And the hadith continues…

In short, we conclude from this hadith that if any person does a sexual intercourse, it is one of the major sins, it’s the most serious and sinful amongst all things that break the fast.

The person who does this sin should immediately repent to Allah and ask for forgiveness. He should complete his fast for that day and make up for that fast later on after Ramadan and he has to pay a penalty as mentioned in the hadith.