Fasting means abstaining yourself from consuming anything. Any solid food is forbidden. Due to this, the body is detoxified and also at the same time, the system gets neutralized. To attain this state of the body, it is a must to strictly follow the fast. In most of the religious fasts its is even forbidden to brush your teeth. This is completely not true.
Fasting For Ramzan
Many people believe that while doing the fast on Ramzan, they shouldn’t brush their teeth also. There is no contradiction in observing a fast and cleaning your teeth. In fact it is specially suggested to brush your teeth, as while fasting due to the ketones, a very bad breath is formed. To avoid this, brushing your teeth is a must. Even during the Ramzan fast, it is permitted to brush your teeth anytime in the day.
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Were it not for the hardship that I would be placing upon my people, I would have ordered them to engage in siwâk for every prayer.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (887) and Sahîh Muslim (252)]
Here we have to truly understand what ‘siwak’ means. The word ‘siwak’ is derived from the word ‘sak’ , which means rub, brush, clean or polish. Therefore brushing of the teeth is always general, and in fact it is encouraged to brush you teeth. Only important aspect to remember is, you should not swallow or let any water go into your throat.
Fasting doesn’t mean that the external body care must be ignored. As there is less energy being supplied, it is all the more important to take care of the external body. This is necessary because, if we are keeping the outer body clean, the chances of you falling sick is minimized. This will help us in refreshing us and also keeps us active.
