This is the position adopted by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, his student Ibn al-Qayyim, and other authoritative researchers—may Allah bestow mercy upon them all.

Points of benefit:

1. The scholars are unanimously agreed that eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse break the fast. They disagreed, however, about cupping, the application of kohl, ejaculation without intercourse, pre-ejaculatory fluid, and similar issues, the details of which have already been mentioned.

2. We have seen that extracting a large quantity of blood nullifies the fast, just like cupping—according to the preponderant view. If, therefore, a patient’s life depends on receiving blood before sunset, it becomes permissible for the intended donor to break his fast by having blood drawn in order to save a protected life.

3. When an act of worship is performed in the manner prescribed by the Sharīʿah, anyone who alleges that it is corrupt or invalid must provide proof; otherwise, his claim is not accepted. A ritual that outwardly conforms to the legal requirements is presumed sound until evidence establishes its defect or invalidity.

4. Whenever the Lawgiver institutes an act of devotion, He clarifies its pillars, conditions, and obligations—as the scholars of uṣūl phrase it—and likewise specifies what nullifies or vitiates it; for a matter is not complete without knowing both what perfects it and what invalidates it.

Accordingly, no one has the right to declare people’s acts of worship invalid or deficient on the basis of personal conjecture or a self-imposed ruling, for that constitutes an aggression against the servants in their worship and an encroachment upon the Creator in His law.