Do eye drops break the fast?
Short answer
The stronger view in the cited answer is that eye drops do not break the fast. Using them at night is more cautious. If a person tastes them in the throat, making up the day was recommended there as a precaution.
Evidence and explanation
The source explains that the eye is not a normal route for food and drink, while also acknowledging scholarly disagreement and the value of precaution.
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 قطرة العين للصائم — فتوى ٧٣٧٥- Question
«أختنا تسأل أيضًا وتقول: هل قطرة العين تؤثر على الصيام؟»
English translation (unreviewed): Our sister also asks, saying: Do eye drops affect the fast?
- From the text of the answer
«هذا فيه خلاف بين أهل العلم، منهم من يرى أنها تؤثر، ومنهم من لا يرى أنها لا تؤثر، والأقرب أنها لا تؤثر؛ لأن العين ليست منفذًا يعني: قويًّا، هو منفذ ضعيف، فليس مثل الأكل والشرب ونحو ذلك، فالأحوط جعلها في الليل جعل القطرة في الليل خروجًا من خلاف العلماء، فمن فعلها في النهار فصومه صحيح، لكن إذا وجد طعمها في حلقه فالأحوط له القضاء؛ خروجًا من الخلاف.»
English translation (unreviewed): There is a disagreement among the scholars on this. Some hold that it affects it, and some hold that it does not. The closer view is that it does not, because the eye is not a strong passage; it is a weak passage, so it is not like eating and drinking and the like. It is more cautious to put the drops in at night in order to avoid the scholars' disagreement. Whoever does it in the daytime, his fast is valid, but if he finds its taste in his throat, it is more cautious for him to make up the day, in order to avoid the disagreement.
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 using eye drops
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him