Does taking medicine or injections invalidate the fast?

Injections that act as nourishment (replacing food/drink) invalidate the fast, while medicinal injections (intravenous or intramuscular) do not. Oral medicine that must be taken during the day permits a person to break their fast due to sickness, provided the illness causes hardship. Days missed due to temporary sickness must be made up, while chronic incurable sickness requires feeding a poor person for each day.

Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.


The ruling on taking medicine while fasting depends on the nature of the medicine (injection vs. oral) and the condition of the sick person. Here is the detailed breakdown:


1. Rulings on Injections

Scholars have divided injections during Ramadan into two categories:

  • Nutritious Injections: If the injection provides nourishment that takes the place of food and drink (such as IV fluids/glucose), this invalidates the fast because it serves the same purpose as eating and drinking.

  • Medical Injections: If the injection is for medication (penicillin, insulin, painkillers, vaccinations) and is not nutritious, this does not break the fast, regardless of whether it is given into a vein (intravenous) or a muscle (intramuscular).

However, if it is possible to delay the injection until night time, that is preferable and safer for the fast to avoid scholarly dispute.


Shaykh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (رحمة الله عليه) was asked about a person who had intravenous and intramuscular injections during the day in Ramadan. He replied:

His fast is valid, because an injection into a vein is not like eating or drinking; this applies more so in the case of an intramuscular injection. But if he makes it up in order to be on the safe side, that is better. If it can be delayed until nighttime, if he needs to have it, that is better too.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz 15/257

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (رحمة الله عليه) stated:

There is nothing wrong with having injections into a vein, muscle or buttock, and that does not break the fast... What does affect the fast is when a sick person is given an injection of something that takes the place of food and drink.
Fataawa al-Siyaam p. 220

2. Rulings on Oral Medicine & Sickness


It is not permissible to swallow pills or liquid medicine while fasting, as this enters the stomach and invalidates the fast. The timing depends on the necessity:

  • If the medicine can be taken at Suhur (before dawn) and Iftar (after sunset), then you must do so, and it is not permissible to break the fast.

  • If the medicine must be taken during the day, and the sickness causes intense hardship or there is fear that fasting will worsen the illness or delay recovery, then it is permissible not to fast.

3. Making up the Missed Fasts


If a person breaks their fast due to sickness (to take medicine or because the illness is severe), the ruling on making up the days depends on the type of sickness:


Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “...but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days.” (Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:184)

  • Temporary Sickness (Hope of Recovery): You must wait until Allah heals you, and then make up the specific number of days you missed. It is not permissible to pay money or feed the poor instead.

  • Chronic Sickness (No Hope of Recovery): If trustworthy doctors confirm there is no hope of recovery, you do not have to make up the fasts. Instead, you must feed one poor person for every day missed. Giving money instead of food does not count; it must be food.

And Allah knows best.