Short answer
Yes, in the Hanafi school. An enema or a suppository inserted into the back passage breaks the fast, and you make up one day with no kaffarah. If you need it for illness, use it and make up the day. Some contemporary scholars outside the Hanafi school hold that a suppository does not break the fast.
Medicine or liquid inserted into the back passage (huqna), including a suppository, reaches inside through an open passage and breaks the fast, with qada and no kaffarah. A sick person who needs it is excused. Drops put into the male urethra do not break the fast according to Abu Hanifa.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- A liquid enema breaks the fast and the day is made up; a solid suppository does not, in the relied-upon view.
Explanation
The fast is broken by something that reaches inside the body through an open passage. The Hanafi school, like the classical texts of the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, counts the back passage as one of these. An enema, which puts liquid into the bowel, breaks the fast, and so does a suppository, which melts inside.
What you owe. One day of qada, with no kaffarah, because it is not eating or drinking in the usual way. If you needed it for illness, such as constipation, piles or fever, you are excused and simply make up the day.
Practical points:
- Use them after iftar or before dawn if your doctor agrees.
- Creams applied to the outside of the back passage for piles do not break the fast.
- Bowel preparation for a colonoscopy usually means drinking laxatives, which breaks the fast anyway. See medical tests.
- A dry finger or instrument that does not stay inside does not break the fast in the Hanafi texts, but one that is wet or carries gel does.
Contemporary views. Some contemporary scholars, mostly outside the Hanafi school, argue that a suppository does not break the fast because it gives no nourishment and does not reach the stomach. Hanafi muftis keep the classical ruling. Vaginal medicines are a related question with their own details. In every case, ask a mufti about your situation.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:184
أَيَّامًۭا مَّعْدُودَٰتٍۢ ۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُۥ فِدْيَةٌۭ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍۢ ۖ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًۭا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّهُۥ ۚ وَأَن تَصُومُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٨٤﴾
[Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew.
A patient who needs such treatment is excused and makes up the day.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what requires qada and kaffarah. Whoever has an enema breaks the fast with qada and no kaffarah; drops in the urethra do not break it according to Abu Hanifa.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what breaks the fast and what does not. A wet finger inserted into the back passage breaks the fast; a dry one does not.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Siyam. The Maliki ruling that a liquid enema requires a make-up day.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. 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.