Tasting Blood While Fasting

Question: Does the taste of blood from licking one’s cracked lips break the fast? Is it permissible for one to rinse their mouth while fasting?

Answer: 

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

If it is the outer part of the lip that is bleeding and one ingests the blood the fast breaks. If, however, it is the inner part of the lip that is bleeding then the following rulings apply:

Tasting Blood From the Inner Part of the Lip

Simply tasting blood with your tongue does not break your fast. If, however, the blood itself (not just the taste) enters your mouth then the fast breaks.

Swallowing Blood From the Inner Part of the Lip

Swallowing blood breaks the fast if (a) the blood reaches the throat and (b) the blood is greater or equal to the saliva it mixes with [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar].

However, there is a big difference between tasting blood and swallowing blood itself.

Rinsing the Mouth

If blood does enter your mouth, spitting one time is sufficient to purify the mouth. You may also rinse your mouth with water if you wish and after spitting the water out spit once; swallowing the wetness that remains in your mouth thereafter does not break you fast [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar].

Hope this helps.

Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a graduate from Tarim; a student of Habib Umar and other luminaries; and authorized teachers of the Qur’an and the Islamic sciences