Short answer
Vomiting that happens by itself does not break the fast, however much comes out. Making yourself vomit breaks it in the Hanafi school when it is a mouthful, and you make up one day with no kaffarah. The other three schools say deliberate vomiting breaks the fast whatever the amount.
Involuntary vomiting does not break the fast, unless you deliberately swallow back a mouthful of it. Deliberately vomiting a mouthful, meaning an amount you cannot easily hold in your mouth, breaks the fast and requires qada only. Deliberately vomiting less than a mouthful does not break it according to Abu Yusuf, whose view is relied upon here.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Deliberate vomiting breaks the fast whatever the amount; involuntary vomiting does not.
- Maliki
- Deliberate vomiting breaks the fast whatever the amount and requires qada; involuntary vomiting does not.
- Hanbali
- Deliberate vomiting breaks the fast whatever the amount; involuntary vomiting does not.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ made a clear distinction: vomiting that overcomes you does not cost you the fast, while vomiting you bring on yourself does. All four schools build on this hadith. They differ only on whether a small amount of deliberate vomiting counts, and the Hanafi school sets the limit at a mouthful.
When the fast stays valid:
- Morning sickness, travel sickness or a stomach bug that makes you vomit.
- Gagging while brushing your teeth or coughing.
- Vomit that rises into the mouth and goes back down by itself.
When the fast is broken: you put your fingers in your throat or did something else on purpose, and a mouthful came out; or you vomited involuntarily and then swallowed a mouthful of it back on purpose. In both cases you make up one day. There is no kaffarah, because vomiting is not eating or drinking for pleasure.
After vomiting, rinse your mouth carefully without gargling and spit out the water. If sickness is making fasting harmful, for example during pregnancy, see fasting while pregnant or breastfeeding and fasting while sick.
The evidence
Sunan Abi Dawud 2380
Graded sahih... من ذرعه قيء وهو صائم فليس عليه قضاء وإن استقاء فليقض ...
"Whoever is overcome by vomiting while fasting owes no make-up, and whoever makes himself vomit must make up the day."
It is the basis for separating involuntary from deliberate vomiting.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what requires qada and kaffarah. Involuntary vomiting does not break the fast; deliberate vomiting of a mouthful does, with qada only.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what breaks the fast and what does not. Less than a mouthful of deliberate vomiting does not break the fast according to Abu Yusuf.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Siyam. The Shafi'i view that any deliberate vomiting breaks 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.