Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Do sublingual medications (those that are placed under the tongue to dissolve and be absorbed by the body) break the fast?

There is a type of pill which is used by some heart patients. The pill
is placed under the tongue and is not swallowed, and is absorbed by
the body. Does this pill break the fast?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The sublingual area – according to doctors – is the area of the body
whichmost rapidly absorbs medicine. Hence the quickest treatment for
some heart problems (angina) is a pill which is placed under the
tongue, where it is absorbed directly and quickly, and the bloodstream
carries it to the heart where it stopsthe angina attack.
This kind of medication does not break the fast because it is absorbed
in the mouth and none of it enters the stomach. The one who uses it
must be careful and make sure thathe does not swallow any of it after
it dissolves in the mouth and before it is absorbed.
It says in a statement of the Islamic Fiqh Council:
The following things are not regarded as breaking the fast: medicines
that are placed under the tongue to treat angina pectoris and other
problems, so long as one avoids swallowing anything that reaches the
throat. End quote.
See: Majallat Majma' al-Fiqh al-Islami (10/2/96, 454); Muftiraat
al-Siyaam al-Mu'aasirah, by Dr. Ahmad al-Khaleel, p. 38, 39.

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