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Since the niyyah means intention, it is an
act performed by one's heart. It need not be pronounced
in words. However, it is also permissible to express this
intention in spoken words, but those who take it as
necessary to pronounce the words of "Niyyah" are not
correct acts nullifying the fast
Acts nullifying the fast are of two kinds.
In the first place there are some acts which not only
nullify the fast, but also make one liable to both qada'
and kaffarah. The number of these acts is only three,
namely:
Eating something.
Drinking something.
Having sexual intercourse.
These three acts are liable to Kaffarah when they committed
deliberately after one has started a fast, provided that the
person committing them knows that they render the fast
broken.
In such cases both qada' and kaffarah are
obligatory on him. Qada' means to keep another fast in
lieu of the broken one. And kaffarah means to perform an
act to expiate the sin of having broken the fast.
Kaffarah may be given in the following three ways
respectively:
Freeing a slave.
Fasting for two months constantly without a break.
Giving food to sixty persons. Since slavery has come to an end
in our days, only the latter two ways can be adopted today. But
the person who has strength enough to fast for two months
constantly has been bound to fast. He cannot adopt the third
way, i.e. giving food to sixty persons. If he is too weak to
fast for such a large number of days, he can give kaffarah by
giving food to sixty persons.
In the second place there are some acts which nullify the fast,
but do not make the relevant person liable to kaffarah. In such
cases only qada' is obligatory. These acts are:
(i) Eating or drinking unintentionally. For
example, while making wudu, if a drop of water slips into
the throat unintentionally, the fast stands broken, but
only the qada' will be enough to compensate for the
mistake.
(ii) Dropping medicine or anything else in
the nose or the ear.
(iii) Smoking.
(iv) Emission of semen while touching,
kissing or caressing a woman.
(v) Eating or drinking under the wrong
impression that the dawn has not yet broken, or the sun
has set, while otherwise was true.
(vi) If someone eats or drinks while he
does not remember that he is in a state of fasting, his
fast is not broken. He should continue with his fast
after he remembers. However, if he eats or drinks after
he remembers, his fast will stand broken, and if this
eating or drinking was due to his wrong impression that
his fast stood broken by his first eating or drinking, he
will be liable to qada' only.
Acts rendering the fast Makrooh:
The following acts do not nullify the fast,
but render it makrooh in the sense that they lessen the
reward of the fast. Hence it is not advisable to indulge
in any of the following acts when one is in the state of
fast:
(i) Chewing something or tasting it with
the tongue without eating it.
(ii) Using tooth paste or tooth powder.
However, cleaning teeth with a miswak or a brush (without
paste or powder) is allowed.
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