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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Fasting Sawm Section Six: Things That Must Be Avoided If a person who is fasting bleeds in the mouth, does it invalidate his fast? A: Bleeding in the mouth does not void fast. However, the blood should not be swallowed. Please, give your opinion concerning the use of snuff by a person who is fasting. A: If the use of snuff causes anything to go down the throat from the nose, then it will be forbidden for a person who is fasting.

Some people use ''Naas'', which is made up of tobacco and other constituents, and they put it under their tongues for a few minutes, then they spit it out. Does that void the fast? A: If they swallow the saliva mixed with Naas, then their fast will become void. There is a medicine for asthma patients, which is in the form of a spray containing a vapor-borne powder which enters the patient''s lungs through the mouth providing him relief.

At times, asthma patients need to use it several times a day. Is it permissible to fast while using such a spray? A: If what goes into their lungs through the mouth is only air, then their fast is not harmed. But if the air is mixed with medicine, be it in the shape of a powder or dust, the validity of the fast is problematic.

However, if fasting without it is difficult or harmful, using the medicine is permissible, but it is based on obligatory precaution not to use anything else which would break fasting and if one becomes able, later on, to fast without using this medicine, he should observe qada of these days. My gums often bleed and the blood gets mixed with saliva. At times I am not sure whether the saliva that enters my throat is mixed with blood or not.

Please tell me what I am supposed to do to overcome this problem? A: If the blood from your gums gets mixed with saliva in a way that it can no longer be distinguished, then the saliva is pure [tahir] and can be swallowed. if you are not sure whether the saliva is mixed with blood or not, it can still be swallowed without affecting the correctness of the fast. Once in the holy month of Ramadan, I forgot to brush my teeth, and some tiny bits of food remained in my mouth.

I swallowed the bits unintentionally. Do I have to perform the qada'' for that day''s fast? A: If you did not know that some bits of food remained in your mouth, or you did not know that they might be swallowed, and they were swallowed unknowingly and unintentionally, then you are not liable to anything in respect of your fast.