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Fatwa CenterFasting and needs to spit while performing prayer
Question
Occasionally in the Rukoo' or Sajadah during the Fajr prayer in congregation, I get a burp which leads to some fluids coming into the mouth from the stomach, because of the position of the body in those two postures. Since I am in the Jamaat prayer, do I have to break my prayer and spit it out so that it doesn't effect my (1) fasting and (2) prayer?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
If a praying person needs to spit while performing the prayer, he should not break his prayer, rather he is permitted to spit while performing his prayer; this does not invalidate his prayer. The evidence about this is the Prophetic narration in which the Prophet 
said: ''Whenever anyone of you stands to perform the prayer, he should not spit in front of him as he is silently invoking his Lord during his prayer, and he should not spit to his right hand side as there is an angel on his right hand side, rather he should spit to his left hand side or under his feet so that he would scrape it off with his feet [bury it].'' [Al-Bukhari].
Therefore, if something comes out of the stomach of a praying person to his mouth when he is fasting, he should not swallow it otherwise he breaks his fasting, and even his prayer according to some jurists
. Besides, he should not interrupt his prayer; he should spit what is in his mouth to a handkerchief and the like. If he has no handkerchief or the like and he could not hold what is in his mouth, then he may spit it to his clothes- to his sleeves for instance- as this is better than abandoning the prayer or swallowing what he has in his mouth and consequently rendering his fast void. The rest of the above Prophetic narration reads: ''And if he can no longer hold his spit then he may spit it to his clothes- and he put his mouth on his sleeves and rubbed it to demonstrate this.'' [Abu Daawood]. Imaam An-Nawawi
said: ''Rather he should spit on his left hand side of his clothes, like his sleeves or the like.''
Allaah knows best.
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