Does Swallowing Snot During Fasting Require a 60-Day Expiation?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
As a teenager, I mistakenly believed that only real food broke the fast, so I consumed my snot, thinking it was permissible. I don’t remember how many days I did this. Must I fast 60 days for each day, or just one day per missed fast?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
Consuming phlegm can occur in one of two scenarios:
- If by consuming your own phlegm you mean that phlegm from your throat came into your mouth and you swallowed it back down, this does not break the fast at all.
- If by consuming your own phlegm, you mean that phlegm, either from the throat or the nose, came out and you drew it from outside of your body into your mouth and down your throat, this does break the fast.
You are not, however, obliged to fast the 60-day expiation, unless you
- Enjoy consuming phlegm;
- You consumed it according to scenario two (above);
- You did so intentionally and knew that it would break the fast; and
- After having initiated the fast with an intention. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Note that this only applies to Ramadan fasts. [Ibid.]
Related
- Does Swallowing Phlegm Break Your Fast?
- Does Sniffing or Swallowing Mucus Nullify My Fasting or Prayer?
- Does Swallowing Phlegm and Saliva Invalidate the Prayer?
- Ramadan Reader: Your Essential Guide to Maximizing Ramadan
- Do I Have To Make a Qadha of Fasts During Which I Swallowed Phlegm?
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.
There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.
Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
