What is the ruling on fasting in the following cases: swallowing phlegm from the back of the throat when one is able to expel it; a thin liquid flowing from the nose into the throat; feeling the taste of blood from a lip wound without seeing blood, then its increase; intentionally swallowing thick saliva resulting from intense crying; feeling a strange taste in the mouth after a small amount of blood comes from the gums while brushing teeth, without it being the taste of blood or leaving any trace in the saliva; a change in the taste of saliva after biting the lip; and a change in the taste of saliva and swallowing it after putting a finger in the mouth to remove food particles, or not being sure if something stuck between the molars was swallowed?
You are afflicted with waswasah (obsessive whispering), and your fast is not invalidated by what you mentioned, as long as you did not intentionally do anything that would break it. Swallowing phlegm does not invalidate the fast according to many scholars. There is no blame upon you in acting upon the lighter opinion as long as you are suffering from waswasah. The taste of blood you found in your throat does not invalidate your fast unless you intentionally swallow it. Swallowing saliva does not invalidate the fast. Your mention of a change in saliva is waswasah, and the default is that the fast is valid when in doubt.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/139264