Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Does swallowing saliva affect fasting? هل يؤثر بلع الريق على الصوم؟

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say:   Swallowing saliva does not affect fasting and what has been stated that some scholars detest gathering saliva in the mouth and swallowing is because this action moistens the mouth and causes some people to have doubts about their fast.  However, this does not affect fasting. A person is not obligated to spit out his saliva, and this is a hardship which the Sharee’ah did not come with. If this action nullified fasting, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have stated so. This issue should not worry people and a person who does not become engrossed in such issues will use his time in better activities.