a means by which water reaches the stomach, and this invalidates the fast. Accordingly, we say: whatever reaches the stomach by way of the nose or the mouth breaks the fast.

“Or he administers an enema, …”

His statement, “or he administers an enema”: an enema is the introduction of medication through the anus. It is well known and is still practiced. If he administers an enema, his fast is invalidated thereby, because the effective cause is that something reaches the interior of the body, and the enema reaches the interior—that is, it reaches a hollow part within the person. It reaches the intestines and thus breaks the fast. Therefore, if anything reaches the interior through the mouth, the nose, or any other opening, it breaks the fast. This is the well-known position in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad (1), and it is the view of most scholars.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: An enema does not break the fast, because neither linguistically nor customarily is it termed eating or drinking. Moreover, there is no evidence in the Quran or Sunnah that the basis of the ruling is merely that something reaches the interior of the body. If it were, we would say that whatever reaches the interior through any opening breaks the fast. Rather, the Quran and Sunnah indicate something specific: eating and drinking.

Some contemporary scholars have said: If an enema reaches the intestines, the body absorbs it through the small intestine; and once it absorbs it, it benefits from it. Thus, what reaches this small intestine is like what reaches the stomach in that it provides nourishment. From this perspective, this view may be strong.