Ramadan Day 13: Can a Muslim who is fasting during Ramadan take injection?
Editor's note: In this Ramadan lecture,we look at the tricky question of whether Muslims are allowed to either take injection or blood transfusion during Ramadan.
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
The month of Ramadan is nearly getting to the middle and Muslims across the world are getting used to waking up before sunrise to offer supplication to Allah and engage in Sahur while also abstaining from eating or drinking before sunset.
The core aspect of Ramadan is the abstinence from eating or drinking during the day which is why when a person deliberately breaks the fast, the individual is expected to pay back by fasting for 60 consecutive days or feeding a poor person for 60 days.
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Can a person who is fasting during Ramadan take injection?
Taking injection during Ramadan for medical reasons in permissible in Islam in that the essence is to address a particular medical need. It is however not permissible to take injection if its essence is for nourishment as that is also akin to eating or drinking.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (10/252):
It is permissible to be given medicine via injection into the muscles or veins when fasting during the day in Ramadaan. But it is not permissible for the fasting person to be given nutrients during the day in Ramadaan, because that comes under the same rulings as consuming food and drink, and this injection is regarded as a means of breaking the fast in Ramadaan. If it is possible to give the injection into a muscle or vein during the night, that is preferable.
As long as the injection is not a substitute for food, it does not invalidate the fast
Blood transfusion
As blood is the ultimate form of nourishment, it invalidates the fast. AMuslims who is very ill up to the point where he requires blood transfusion is excuse from fasting and he should pay it back after Ramadan.
Allah knows best
Watch a NAIJ.com TV video below of how Ramadan is affecting the price of goods in the market