Does the Use of a Nasal Spray Make the Fast Invalid?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I have had a dry nose, and I used nose drops (Sesame oil) while fasting. I was spraying this in my nose. I later found out that nose oil invalidates the fast. However, I didn’t know this while using the nose oil. My question is, do I have to make up the fasts? And if so, how many, as this was done unknowingly from my side?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are well.

The use of a nasal spray will invalidate your fast. It will necessitate a make up (qada) only, not an expiation. [Tahtawi, Hashiya al-Tahtawi ’ala Maraqi al-Falah]

If you don’t know how many days you used the nasal spray, you can estimate how many days you did and adjust your make up (qada) accordingly.

Related:
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.