Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of what reaches the throat from the effects of fasting? ما حكم ما يصل إلى الجوف من آثار السواك؟

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions.   Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.   As to what follows:   In response to your question, we say:   What reaches the throat and is from the effects of gargling, or brushing the teeth with miswak is lawful because of the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in what was transmitted by the Shaykhain from the hadith of Abu Hurairah that  “Were it not that it would be too difficult for my ummah (nation), I would have commanded them to use the tooth stick (miswak) at every time of prayer.” [al-Bukhari (887) and Muslim (252)].  There is no problem with the things mentioned above because they cannot be avoided. However when a Muslim brushes with a wet miswak he should exercise caution so that nothing will enter his throat. However, if something enters unintentionally, his fast is valid. Allah the Exalted said, “And there is no sin on you if you make a mistake therein, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend.” [Al-Ahzab 33: 5]. Thus there is no harm for a fasting person in what reaches his throat unintentionally. Also in the case of food remnants; if a person needs to gargle with a mouthwash, toothpaste and so on; for all these things if something accidentally goes into the throat despite caution from the person then his fast is valid. This is a rule that I am stating to my brothers and it is: if there is an issue which causes your fast to be considered either valid or invalid, the principle is that your fast is valid. This why there should be an intention for breaking the fast for someone’s fasting to be broken. That is why if a person eats or drinks out of forgetfulness; the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, as is in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, “ If somebody eats or drinks forgetfully then he should complete his fast, for what he has eaten or drunk, has been given to him by Allah.” [al-Bukhari (1933) and  Muslim ( 1155)]