Do ear and nose drops break the fast?
Yes, ear and nose drops break the fast because both the nose and ears are open passages to the body cavity.
What is the ruling on someone who intends to travel to Jeddah for two days — must he enter iḥrām from his place of residence [i.e., before passing the mīqāt]?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Whoever is firmly resolved in his intention to perform ‘Umrah before setting out on his journey, it is unlawful for him to pass beyond his country's mīqāt (the designated boundary point for entering the state of iḥrām) without entering iḥrām. If he does so, he must return to the mīqāt to enter iḥrām from there, provided he has not yet begun performing the rites of the pilgrimage — in which case nothing further is required of him. However, if he does not return, he must offer a sacrifice (sheep/goat), to be distributed among the poor of the Ḥaram.
It is stated in at-Tanbīh fī al-Fiqh ash-Shāfi‘ī (p. 71): "Whoever, intending to perform the rites [of ‘Umrah or Ḥajj], passes beyond the mīqāt and enters iḥrām only after it, must offer a sacrifice. However, if he returns to the mīqāt before beginning any of the rites, the sacrifice is waived from him."
Accordingly: whoever is firmly resolved in his intention to perform ‘Umrah before setting out on his journey must enter iḥrām at the mīqāt of his country through which he passes. Whoever fails to do so, passing beyond the mīqāt without entering iḥrām, and does not return, has sinned, and must repent to Allah, the Exalted; and he must offer a sacrifice, to be distributed among the poor of the Ḥaram. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
Is "Bismillāhir-Raḥmānir-Raḥīm" a verse (āyah) of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The basmalah ("Bismillāhir-Raḥmānir-Raḥīm") is, without question, a verse (āyah) of the Noble Qur'an, and according to the Shāfi‘ī school, it constitutes a verse of Sūrat al-Fātiḥah itself. Al-Fātiḥah is a pillar of the prayer, and it consists of seven verses, of which the basmalah is one. The prayer is not valid without reciting it, nor if any of the Fātiḥah's verses, letters, or shaddahs (consonant doublings) are omitted or altered.
It is stated in Bushrā al-Karīm (Vol.1/p.202), from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "The basmalah is a complete verse of it [i.e., of al-Fātiḥah] in practice — and it suffices, for this to be established, that there be strong probability (ẓann), especially given that this has come very close to certainty (yaqīn), due to the consensus (ijmā‘) of the Companions on its inclusion in the muṣ-ḥaf [the written text of the Qur'an] in its script, despite their extreme diligence in excluding from it anything that did not genuinely belong to it — to the point that they even [carefully regulated] its diacritical dots and vowel markings." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
What is the ruling on reciting the Noble Qur’an during menstruation?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is impermissible for a woman in menses, a woman in postnatal bleeding, or a person in a state of major ritual impurity to recite any part of the Noble Qur’an with the intention of recitation, even from a mobile phone or a computer, and even if the recitation is from memory. It is narrated on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) “was not prevented, or he said kept back, from the Qur’an by anything except janābah (major ritual impurity).” It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī, who said: “Ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.”
Janābah and menstruation are one and the same in that both constitute a major ritual impurity. Just as a woman is commanded by Allah Almighty to pray, fast, and recite the Noble Qur’an during her period of purity, she is likewise commanded to refrain from these during the period of her excuse.
For further reference, see the fatwas: (Fatwas of Shaykh Nūḥ, Fatwa no. 27) and (
248). And Allah Almighty knows best.
