Q214 :I have read that a fasting woman is allowed to
taste the food that she cooks for her husband if he is of the type who
gets very angry if the taste is not right. If this is true, is it
permissible for a fasting mother to taste the food she prepares for her
infant?
A214 : Let us first be clear about what we are
talking about. Eating is different from tasting. You do not need to eat
a mouthful or a spoonful of something and swallow it in order to
determine its taste. If a woman takes a spoonful of her cooking, chews
it and swallows it, she spoils her fast. Whether she does it in order
to avoid a row with her husband who may be very difficult to please
when it netes to food, or for any other reason, the verdict remains the
same. What she does in this case is eating, which is forbidden during
fasting. However, it is not necessary for any person to swallow
something in order to find out its taste. It is with the front part of
one’s tongue that one finds out how something tastes. If a woman puts a
small piece of her cooking in her mouth in order to feel its taste with
her tongue, without allowing it to reach her throat, before bringing it
out, her fast remains valid. However, scholars agree that this should
be done only when there is real need for it, as in the case when a
woman’s husband can be very troublesome over his food. A woman should
try to make her husband more understanding when it netes to cooking
while fasting. The need to taste an infant’s food is less pressing,
since it is possible to feel the temperature of the food with the back
of one’s hand. It is also possible to determine how sweet or salty the
food is, by following the right recipe. But if the tasting is done as I
have explained, it does not invalidate fasting. The thing to watch out
for is whether the woman feels the taste in her throat. If she does,
she has invalidated her fast.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )