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Do weight loss injections invalidate the fast?

19-03-2024

Question 449483

Is it permissible to take injections for weight loss half an hour before Iftar, knowing that they are administered either in the stomach, thigh, or arm, and they release a hormone in the body that helps to increase insulin levels; to enhance the metabolic rate, assist in eating a smaller quantity of food, and to suppress appetite?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

Weight loss injections, which are one of the therapeutic techniques that help reduce weight, rely on injecting the body with the substance liraglutide, a protein similar to carbohydrates that affects neural receptors in the brain, working to suppress appetite and reduce sugar intake.

Saxenda injections work to lower blood sugar levels by preventing the body from secreting the hormone glucagon, which affects sensory receptors in the brain, thereby reducing appetite for food and increasing the feeling of fullness. Consequently, the rate of fat burning in the body increases, and it is converted into the energy needed by the body. End quote.

Secondly:

These injections are neither food nor drink, nor do they serve as a substitute for them, meaning they are not nutritious, and therefore they have no effect on fasting.

Since they help suppress appetite, they are not considered the same as nutritious injections.

It is stated in "Fatawa Al-Lajnah Ad-Da'imah" (10/252):

"It is permissible for a fasting person to be treated with injections in the muscle or vein during the daytime in Ramadan.

However, it is not permissible for a fasting person to take nutritional injections during the daytime in Ramadan; because it is similar to consuming food and drink, and taking such injections is considered a trick to break the fast in Ramadan. If it is possible to take injections in the muscle or vein at night, it is preferable." End quote.

However, if the injection is administered into the stomach, then it invalidates the fast even if it is not for nutrition, as previously explained in the answer to question number: (287500 ).

And Allah knows best.

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