What are the disliked (makruh) acts of fasting?
● Excessive rinsing of the mouth and nose (during ablution), as it may lead to swallowing water.
● Tasting food or doing anything that may risk breaking the fast.
● Engaging in idle talk, and it is even more emphasized to avoid lying, backbiting, and gossiping.
What is the ruling on using snuff, inhaled vapor, or menthol rub (Vicks) during the day in Ramadan?
Using snuff, inhaled vapor, or menthol rub (Vicks) invalidates the fast because these substances enter the lungs through inhalation, and the lungs are considered part of the body cavity (jauf).
Whoever uses them must refrain from eating and drinking for the rest of the day out of respect for the sacred month and make up for that day after Ramadan.
However, if it is merely a scent and none of its substance reaches the body cavity, it does not break the fast.
How many rak‘ahs are there in Tarawih prayer?
The most complete form of Tarawih prayer consists of twenty rak‘ahs, excluding Shaf‘ and Witr. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, both past and present, and it is the practiced tradition in the two Holy Mosques.
However, Tarawih is valid with any even number of rak‘ahs, even two rak‘ahs, as long as it is performed with the intention of Qiyam al-Ramadan.
Is a woman sinful if she fasts out of shyness from her family while menstruating or in postnatal bleeding?
It is forbidden for a woman who is menstruating or in postnatal bleeding to abstain from food and drink with the intention of fasting. If she fasts out of shyness, she is sinful, as her fast is not valid.
However, if she refrains from eating and drinking without intending to fast, it is not forbidden, but she unnecessarily burdens herself without need.
