Does using an asthma inhaler break the fast?
Short answer
According to the cited ruling, using an asthma inhaler when needed does not break the fast because it is not comparable to eating or drinking, and a patient may use it when necessary.
Evidence and explanation
The source explains that an inhaler is not comparable to food and drink and compares the matter to blood drawn for testing and non-nutritive injections.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
حكم استعمال مريض الربو البخاخ وهو صائم — فتوى ١١٨٢٠- Question
«ما حكم استعمال البخاخ في الفم للصائم نهارًا لمريض الربو ونحوه؟»
English translation (unreviewed): What is the ruling on using an inhaler spray in the mouth during the day for a fasting person who has asthma or the like?
- From the text of the answer
«حكمه الإباحة إذا اضطر إلى ذلك؛ لقول الله : وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُم مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلاَّ مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ [الأنعام:١١٩] ولأنه لا يشبه الأكل والشرب فأشبه سحب الدم للتحليل والإبر غير المغذية [١] . نشر في كتاب (تحفة الإخوان) لسماحته ص ١٨١، وفي (جريدة البلاد) العدد ١٥٥٢٣ بتاريخ ١٧/٩/١٤١٩هـ، وفي (جريدة الندوة) العدد ١٢٢٢٤ بتاريخ ٢٤/٩/١٤١٩هـ، (مجموع فتاوى ومقالات الشيخ ابن باز ١٥/ ٢٦٥).»
English translation (unreviewed): Its ruling is permissibility if he is compelled to it, because of the saying of Allah: “He has explained to you what He has forbidden you, except what you are compelled to” [al-An'am: 119], and because it does not resemble eating and drinking, so it resembles drawing blood for analysis and non-nutritive injections [1]. Published in the book Tuhfat al-Ikhwan by his eminence, p. 181, and in the newspaper al-Bilad, issue 15523, dated 17/9/1419 AH, and in the newspaper al-Nadwah, issue 12224, dated 24/9/1419 AH (Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat al-Shaykh Ibn Baz 15/265).
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
Ruling on a fasting person with asthma using an inhaler
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him