Short answer
Yes. Showering, bathing and swimming are allowed while fasting, and cooling off with water is not disliked in the Hanafi school. But if water goes down your throat by accident, the Hanafi school counts the fast as broken and you make up one day, so avoid diving and swimming underwater. Water in the ears does not break the fast.
Bathing, showering, swimming and pouring water over oneself to cool down are permitted and not makruh, according to Abu Yusuf, whose view is the fatwa. Water that reaches the throat by mistake while you know you are fasting breaks the fast with qada only. In wudu and ghusl, rinse the mouth without gargling and do not sniff water deep into the nose.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Water that slips down the throat during an ordinary rinse in wudu, without overdoing it, does not break the fast.
- Hanbali
- Water that slips down by accident during the rinsing of wudu does not break the fast.
Explanation
A companion reported seeing the Prophet ﷺ pour water over his head while fasting because of thirst or heat. So using water to cool down on a long, hot day is fine, and there is nothing disliked about a shower or a bath.
The Hanafi difference between forgetting and a mistake. If you forget you are fasting and drink, the fast is still valid. But if you remember you are fasting and water slips down your throat by accident, the Hanafi school treats this as a mistake, not forgetfulness, and the fast is broken. You make up one day, with no kaffarah. That is why swimming needs care.
- Swimming on the surface with your head up: allowed.
- Diving, jumping in or swimming underwater: best avoided, as water easily enters the nose and throat.
- A nose clip helps if you do swim.
- Water in the ears from showering or swimming: does not break the fast.
If you need ghusl during the day, after a wet dream for example, do it normally but rinse the mouth gently and draw water only into the soft part of the nose. See how to do ghusl and what if you eat or drink by accident.
The evidence
Sunan Abi Dawud 2365
Graded sahih... يصب على رأسه الماء وهو صائم من العطش أو من الحر ...
"He was pouring water over his head while fasting, because of thirst or because of the heat."
Cooling the body with water does not harm the fast.
Sunan Abi Dawud 142
Graded sahih... وبالغ في الاستنشاق إلا أن تكون صائما ...
"Sniff the water deep into your nose, unless you are fasting."
The fasting person should be careful that water does not go down through the nose.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what is disliked for the fasting person. Bathing and wrapping oneself in a wet cloth to cool down are not disliked according to Abu Yusuf, and the fatwa is on his view.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what requires qada and kaffarah. A fasting person who rinses the mouth and water enters the throat by mistake has broken the fast and owes qada.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Siyam. The Hanbali view that water slipping down during wudu without excess does not break the fast.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.