Does Smoking or Vaping Invalidate Your Fast? An Islamic Perspective
Yes, both smoking cigarettes and using e-cigarettes are considered to break the fast in Islam. Islamic scholars generally agree that these actions invalidate fasting because they involve the deliberate intake of substances into the body, which is treated in the same category as eating or drinking.
Why Smoking and Vaping Break the Fast
From an Islamic legal standpoint, fasting requires abstaining from anything that intentionally enters the body through recognized pathways. Smoking and vaping do not meet this requirement for several key reasons.
First, smoking involves conscious and purposeful inhalation. The smoker actively draws smoke or vapor into the body, making it an intentional act rather than an accidental exposure.
Second, classical and contemporary scholars describe smoking using the Arabic term syurbud dukhan, which literally means “drinking smoke.” This terminology reflects the understanding that smoke or vapor is a consumable substance, not merely air, and therefore nullifies the fast.
Third, smoking and vaping differ fundamentally from unavoidable scents. Smelling food while cooking or encountering perfume in the air is passive and unavoidable, whereas smoking requires direct action and introduces a tangible substance into the body.
Summary of the Ruling
In Islamic jurisprudence, any deliberate intake of a substance—whether solid, liquid, or vapor—invalidates fasting. Because smoking and vaping involve intentional consumption, both actions are widely regarded as breaking the fast during Ramadan or other obligatory fasts.
Fasting in Islam refers to abstaining from eating, drinking, and other specific activities from dawn until sunset. A common question that arises during Ramadan is whether inhaling smoke or vapor falls under these prohibitions. According to Ustaz Muhammad Nashirudin, a lecturer at IAIN Surakarta, the ruling is clear.
Why Smoking and Vaping Invalidate the Fast
Ustaz Nashirudin explains that in Arabic, smoking is referred to as syurbud dukhan, which literally translates to “drinking smoke” or sucking in smoke. Since fasting requires refraining from inserting any substance (Ain) into the body, the intentional inhalation of smoke or vapor breaches this rule.
He references the works of Nusantara scholar Ihsan al-Jampasi from Kediri, who distinguished cigarette smoke from other types of smoke. While unintentionally inhaling the aroma of food or perfume does not break a fast, smoking is a deliberate act of consumption.
| Activity | Effect on Fasting | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Smoking / Vaping | Invalidates Fast | Intentional intake of a substance (“drinking smoke”). |
| Smelling Perfume | Does Not Invalidate | Passive inhalation, not consumption. |
| Smelling Cooking | Does Not Invalidate | Passive inhalation, not consumption. |
Therefore, both traditional smoking and the use of electric cigarettes (vapes) are considered to break the fast and should be avoided during fasting hours.
