Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of using the permeating scents in Ramadan? ما حكم استعمال الروائح النفاذة في رمضان؟

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:     The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that oil which is used and has a scent like Vicks and similar things do not break fast, because these things are not food or drink nor do they have the ruling of food or drink. The  presence of scents on a person’s body or throat does not justify stating that he has broken his fast. This why some Hanafite and Shafi’te scholars stated that if a person uses medication and finds its taste in his throat, his fasting is not broken. Indeed there are other scholars who stated that if a person touches ice and senses its taste on his throat, his fast is not broken. This is similar to what was mentioned by the Hambalite scholars (may Allah have mercy on them). Those who said that the things which have a permeating scent break fast are the Malikite scholars. However, there is no proof for that. All differences of opinion should be decided by a principle which was stated by Allah and it is in the verse: “And in anything over which you disagree - its ruling is [to be referred] to Allah” [Surah ash-Shura 42: 10]. Thus the reference is what was revealed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and there is nothing in the Qur’an, Sunnah, the consensus of the predecessors of the ummah, or valid logical analogy which establishes that these things break fast.   Thus it is permissible to use these permeative oils like Vicks and similar oils, whether they are used in the nose, the hand, or in any place in the body which needs rubbing.