Short answer
Yes. In the Hanafi school, ejaculation caused by masturbation, touching or kissing while awake breaks the fast, and you make up one day with no kaffarah. Masturbation is also sinful in itself, so repent. A wet dream, or ejaculation from only looking or thinking, does not break the fast.
Masturbation that leads to ejaculation breaks the fast and requires one day of qada (make-up), with no kaffarah, in the relied-upon position. If there was no ejaculation, the fast is not broken. Masturbation is sinful, more so while fasting, and ghusl is required after ejaculation.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Deliberate ejaculation by masturbation in Ramadan requires both a make-up day and kaffarah.
Explanation
In a hadith qudsi, Allah describes the fasting person as one who leaves his food, his drink and his desire for My sake. Desire here includes sexual release. For this reason all four schools hold that deliberate ejaculation while awake breaks the fast, whether it comes from masturbation, touching or kissing.
What you owe. In the Hanafi school, one day of qada after Ramadan, with no kaffarah, because it is not intercourse. You also need ghusl before your next prayer. Keep away from food and drink for the rest of that day out of respect for Ramadan: see what to do after the fast breaks. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools say the same; the Maliki school adds kaffarah when it was done on purpose in Ramadan.
What does not break the fast:
- A wet dream, since it is not by choice. See wet dreams and fasting.
- Touching yourself or feeling aroused with no ejaculation. It is still disliked, and haram if it leads to sin.
- Ejaculation from only looking or thinking, in the Hanafi school. See watching porn while fasting.
- Pre-seminal fluid (madhi). See kissing while fasting.
If you struggle with the habit. Do not despair. Repent, make up the day and take practical steps: avoid triggers, keep busy and stay close to the masjid at night. The Prophet ﷺ advised young people who cannot yet marry to fast, because fasting is a shield for them. See how to repent.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Muminoon 23:5-6
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَٰفِظُونَ ﴿٥﴾ إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ ﴿٦﴾
And they who guard their private parts Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed -
Sexual release is lawful only with one's spouse.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1894
Sahih... يترك طعامه وشرابه وشهوته من أجلي ...
"He leaves his food, his drink and his desire for My sake."
Holding back from sexual release is part of the fast itself.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5065
Sahih... ومن لم يستطع فعليه بالصوم فإنه له وجاء ...
"Whoever cannot marry should fast, for it is a shield for him."
Fasting is meant to restrain desire, not to be broken by it.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what breaks the fast and what does not. Ejaculation by masturbation breaks the fast with qada and no kaffarah.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what requires qada and kaffarah. Ejaculation from kissing or touching requires qada without kaffarah.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Siyam. The Maliki requirement of kaffarah for deliberate ejaculation in Ramadan.
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.