Ahmad said: "Whoever places a dirham or a dinar in his mouth while fasting, as long as he does not find its taste in his throat, there is no harm in it. But what he finds its taste in, I do not find pleasing." Abdullah said: "I asked my father about the fasting person who twists threads. He said: "I prefer that he spits."

Section: Ahmad said: "It is more beloved to me that he avoids tasting food, but if he does so, it does not harm him, and there is no harm in it." Ibn Abbas said: "There is no harm in tasting food, vinegar, or something one intends to purchase." Al-Hasan used to chew walnuts for his grandson while he was fasting, and Ibrahim granted a concession for this. Ibn Aqil said: "It is disliked without necessity, and there is no harm in it with necessity. If he does so and finds its taste in his throat, he breaks his fast; otherwise, he does not."

Section: Ahmad said: "There is no harm in the siwak (toothstick) for the fasting person." Amir ibn Rabi'a said: "I saw the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - more times than I could count, using the siwak while he was fasting." Al-Tirmidhi (44) said: "This is a hasan (good) hadith." Ziyad ibn Hudayr said: "I have never seen anyone more constant in using a moist siwak while fasting than Umar ibn al-Khattab, but it would be a dried-out stick." The people of knowledge saw no harm in using the siwak at the beginning of the day if the stick was dry. Ahmad and Ishaq considered it recommended to avoid the siwak in the evening. Ahmad said: The Messenger of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - said: "The smell of the fasting person's mouth is more pleasant to Allah than the scent of pure musk" (45). Because of that smell, I do not like for the fasting person to use the siwak in the evening. There is a difference in the narration from him regarding using a moist wood stick for the siwak; dislike (karaha) has been narrated from him. This is the position of Qatada, al-Sha'bi, al-Hakam (46), Ishaq, and Malik in one narration, because it puts his fast at risk due to the possibility that particles might dissolve from it into his throat and break his fast. It has also been narrated from him that it is not disliked. This is the position of al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, and Abu Hanifa, and it has been narrated from Ali, Ibn Umar, Urwa, and Mujahid, based on what we have narrated from the hadith of Umar and others among the Companions.