Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamoalaikum burhan bhai and ramzan mubarak.

I just wanted to ask you if there is a possible remedy to counter bad breath during the days when one fasts.
I study at university and have to interact with people froma close distance and i feel very uncomfortable.
Normally i chew chewing gum but obvoiously during ramzan ul mubarak i can`t do that.

I was just wondering if there was a likely remedy.

Jazakallah khair

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Siwak bad breathi n Ramadhan fast

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Hadith Qudsi 10

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said that Allah Subhanah, Glorified and Exalted is He Says: “Fasting is Mine and it is I who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for My sake.” Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah's estimation than the smell of musk.

Beloved brother, if you make it a habit to brush your teeth thoroughly after your pre-dawn meal or ‘suhoor’, it will definitely help in decreasing the bad-breath for the rest of the fasting day. If it still persists, you may use the ‘siwak’ stick to clean your teeth while fasting.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.154 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Narrated Amir bin Rabi'a, "I saw the Prophet (saws) cleaning his teeth with Siwak while he was fasting so many times as I can't count." And narrated Abu Huraira, "The Prophet (saws) said, 'But for my fear that it would be hard for my followers, I would have ordered them to clean their teeth with Siwak on every performance of ablution.' " The Prophet (saws) did not differentiate between a fasting and a non-fasting person in this respect (using Siwak).

Aisha said, "The Prophet (saws) said, 'It (i.e. Siwak) is a purification for the mouth and it is a way of seeking Allah's pleasure.' Ata' and Qatada said, "There is no harm if a fasting person swallows the resultant saliva on using the ‘siwak’ as it does not invalidate their fast in any way."

The usage of a fresh ‘siwak’ will markedly reduce one’s bad-breath while fasting, if not totally eliminate it.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan