Is my fast invalid if I am fasting with severe pain due to a wisdom tooth? Is it permissible to break my fast because of this severe dental pain and the need for medication to relieve the pain?
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1 Answer
Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.
Ayatollah Khamenei (may God protect him):
If someone knows that fasting will harm them, or has a reasonable suspicion that it will harm them (i.e., fears harm), then they are not obligated to fast, and in some cases, it is even forbidden. This applies whether they are certain or have a reasonable fear based on personal experience, the advice of a trustworthy doctor, or other rational grounds. If they fasted, their fast is invalid unless they did so with the intention of drawing closer to God, and it later turns out that it was not harmful. If someone believes that fasting will not harm them, but then realizes after sunset that it did harm them, their fast is invalid, and they must make it up.
Ayatollah Sistani (may God protect him):
A sick person (including one with eye pain) cannot fast if it causes them harm due to the severity of their condition, the length of their recovery, or the intensity of their pain, all to a significant extent that is not customary to endure. There is no difference between certainty and doubt or reasonable fear based on rational grounds. Likewise, a healthy person cannot fast if they fear becoming ill, let alone if they know they will. However, if a sick person does not suffer harm from fasting, they must fast, and their fast is valid.
If they fasted believing it would not harm them and it turns out otherwise, there is a question about the validity of their fast, even if the harm is at a level that is not forbidden to endure with knowledge of it. It is advisable to observe caution in such cases. If they fasted believing it would harm them or fearing it, their fast is invalid unless they had the intention of drawing closer to God, in which case it is considered valid if it later turns out that it was not harmful.
Source: Minhaj al-Salihin, Vol. 1, Conditions for the Validity of Fasting, Articles 1029 + 1031
May you be successful in all good.