25th April 2016
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Question. What is the ruling on smear test breaking the Fast?
الجواب حامداً و مصلياً
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer
During the process of a smear test, an instrument called a speculum is inserted to expand the walls of a woman’s vagina. A small soft brush is then inserted to extract some cells from the surface of the cervix for examination purpose.[1] Clearly, the purpose of this procedure is to collect a substance as opposed to inserting something inside e.g. medicine. The classical jurists understood the vaginal passage to be a valid channel (manfadh mu’tabirah) that assumingly leads to the intestine or stomach; a valid cavity which breaks the fast if anything reaches to either of the two places. For this reason, they ruled that inserting a finger into the vaginal area lubricated with a substance like water or oil breaks the fast due to the substance remaining inside the area.[2]
The classical jurists ruled as such then based on the available information at the time. Modern medical research has discovered that there is no connection between the vagina and the intestines, rather the vaginal tract connects to the uterus, separate from the intestine. Hence, a smear test should not break the fast irrespective of whether it is lubricated or not.
[Allãh Knows Best]
Written by (Mufti) Abdul Waheed
Answer Attested by Shaykh Mufti Saiful Islam
JKN Fatawa Department
[1] For more details visit http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cervical-screening-test/Pages/Introduction.aspx
[2] Fatawa Hindiyyah Kitāb Sawm Bāb Ma yufsidu Sawm wa ma la Yufsidu p. 204 vol 1
وَلَوْ أَدْخَلَ أُصْبُعَهُ فِي اسْتِهِ أَوْ الْمَرْأَةُ فِي فَرْجِهَا لَا يَفْسُدُ، وَهُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ إلَّا إذَا كَانَتْ مُبْتَلَّةً بِالْمَاءِ أَوْ الدُّهْنِ فَحِينَئِذٍ يَفْسُدُ لِوُصُولِ الْمَاءِ أَوْ الدُّهْنِ هَكَذَا فِي الظَّهِيرِيَّةِ.
Durrul Mukhtar wa Shāmi Kitāb Sawm Bāb Ma yufsidu Sawm wa ma la Yufsidu p. 397 vol 2
(أَوْ أَدْخَلَ أُصْبُعَهُ الْيَابِسَةَ فِيهِ) أَيْ دُبُرِهِ أَوْ فَرْجِهَا وَلَوْ مُبْتَلَّةً فَسَدَ
(قَوْلُهُ: وَلَوْ مُبْتَلَّةً فَسَدَ) لِبَقَاءِ شَيْءٍ مِنْ الْبِلَّةِ فِي الدَّاخِلِ وَهَذَا لَوْ أَدْخَلَ الْأُصْبُعَ إلَى مَوْضِعِ الْمِحْقَنَةِ كَمَا يُعْلَمُ مِمَّا بَعْدَهُ قَالَ وَمَحَلُّهُ إذَا كَانَ ذَاكِرًا لِلصَّوْمِ وَإِلَّا فَلَا فَسَادَ كَمَا فِي الْهِنْدِيَّةِ