Q209 :As a doctor, I would like to know whether
intramuscular or intravenous injections may be given to a fasting
person, in normal circumstances or in emergency. Can a person who
suffers from asthma use his aerosol inhaler while fasting? What is the
ruling regarding the case of ear, nasal and eye drops, suppository and
the drawing of blood for investigation during fasting?
A209 : Injections of both types may be given to a
fasting person in any situation. Similarly, samples of blood may be
taken from a person while he is fasting. Some people try to distinguish
between intramuscular and intravenous injections, approving of the
former and disapproving of the latter. There are certainly no grounds
for making such a distinction when neither method is used for feeding
purposes. Likewise, the use of aerosol inhalers by asthma patients, to
relieve their breathlessness, is permissible and does not invalidate
fasting. There are scholars who argue that the use of such inhalers
invalidates fasting. They advise the patients who may get an asthma
attack during the day not to continue fasting but to take necessary
medication. He should fast later instead, if he is able to. It is
perhaps more correct to advise patients to use the inhaler when the
need arises, and to continue their fasting. It is true that one uses
the inhaler through one’s mouth, but the aim is to get the medicine
into the lungs. Some fine particles may be left in the mouth, but this
is not food. I personally use my Ventolin inhaler when I need to [use
it] during the day of fasting, for I have a mild case of asthma. The
use of ear, nasal and eye drops as well as suppositories is, perhaps, a
little more controversial. In past generations, scholars ruled that all
these invalidate fasting, since they considered that they went through
the passages which lead to the “internal space” of the body. We have
now learned that this is not the case. Moreover, as Imam Ibh Hazm says
[that] people do not use these organs to get food inside them. Allah
has forbidden us to eat, drink and to have sex during the day of
fasting. When we take eye drops or nasal drops, we do not violate His
orders, because these are not food or drinks. Hence, they do not
invalidate our fasting. Perhaps I should add a word about illness and
fasting. When a person is ill, he is allowed not to fast, provided that
he netpensates by fasting a similar number of days later. Since Allah
has given sick people this concession, it is better if they use it. At
the same time I realize that there are certain conditions which may
require the use of nasal or eye drops, without the person being
considered sick enough to justify exemption from fasting.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )