May a fasting person use a toothbrush and toothpaste?
2026-10-13
F142 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
Preserve both parts of the answer: permissibility in principle and the scholar’s advice to defer toothpaste because of the risk of swallowing it. The start of fasting is actual dawn; the answer does not give unrestricted permission to eat through any adhan.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
فضيلة الشيخ، ما حكم ضرب الأسنان بالفرشاة والمعجون بعد أذان الفجر أو أثناء الأذان؟
الجواب
أثناء الأذان سبق في الأكل والشرب وهو أعظم من ضرب الفرشاة، أما بعد الأذان والأصلح أن نقول بعد طلوع الفجر سواء مباشرة أو في أثناء النهار- فلا بأس أن ينظف الإنسان أسنانه بالفرشاة والمعجون، لكن نظرا لقوة نفوذ المعجون ينبغي ألا يستعمله الإنسان في حال الصيام؛ لأنه ينفذ إلى الحلق والمعدة من غير أن يشعر الإنسان، وليس هناك ضرورة تدعو إليه، فليمسك حتى يفطر، ويكون عمله بهذا في الليل لا في النهار، لكنه في الأصل جائز ولا بأس به.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic answer. Not an official translation.
Original question
Esteemed Shaykh, what is the ruling on brushing the teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste after the Fajr adhan or during it?
Answer
Eating and drinking during the adhan have already been discussed, and that is more significant than brushing the teeth. As for after the adhan—and it is more appropriate to say after dawn has broken, whether immediately or during the day—there is no objection to cleaning the teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste. However, because toothpaste readily penetrates, a person should not use it while fasting: it may reach the throat and stomach without his noticing, and there is no necessity requiring it. He should refrain until he breaks his fast and do this at night rather than during the day. Nevertheless, it is permissible in principle and there is no objection to it.
Source and editorial notes
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt, 13th edition, 1441 AH, question 154, p.244
فقه العبادات
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt
Arabic transcribed and compared against the cited scan and adjacent context.