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(5) Plunging

1- If a sa`im had plunged his head into water while his body was out, what is the ruling of his sawm?

A: It is haram for sa`im to do this and his sawm would be invalidated according to the obligatory caution.

2- If he introduced his head into water gradually until the entire head was in the water, was the strict meaning of plunging be applied here?

A: After the entire head was under the water, it will be counted as plunging.

3- If he plunged the right side of his head into water and then got it out to plunge the left side, would this act invalidate the sawm?

A: There is no objection to it and the ruling of plunging would not be applied here.

4- A fasting person was unaware that he was in the state of janabah [major ritual impurity - caused by discharged semen] until the time of the afternoon prayers. He then performed the major ablution via submerging the whole body in water [ghusl al-irtimasi]. Does this invalidate his fast? And if he realizes what he has done only after performing ghusl al-irtimasi, does he have to perform the qada of the fast?

A: If one performs ghusl al-irtimasi out of forgetfulness or unintentionally (to the fact that he is fasting), then both his fast and the major ablution [ghusl] are valid; thus, he does not have to perform qada of the fast.

5- What rule applies to someone who immerses himself in water wearing waterproof clothing such as a diving suit which does not allow the body to become wet?

A: If the clothing has close contact with his head, there is a problem in his fast being valid. Hence, as an obligatory caution he should perform its qada.

6- What are the boundaries of the head in the issue of plunging?

A: What is meant by the head, plunging of which while fasting is haram, is the entire head till the neck.

7- If one plunges the upper part of his head down to the ears, would this harm the correctness of his sawm?

A: Unless the entire head is plunged into the water, the sawm would not be harmed.

8- If a sa`im had plunged his head into water sparing his hair, what is the ruling of his sawm?

A: Plunging by sparing just the hair is considered haram and would invalidate fasting.

9- Plunging the head in adulterated water [mudaf], would it validate the sawm?

A: There is no objection in plunging the head in mudaf liquid. However, it is according to caution to avoid plunging of the head in rose-water.

10- If a sa`im had smeared his head with a substance that would prevent water reaching it and then plunged it into water, then what is the ruling about his sawm?

A: The standard is the actual plunging of the head into water even if one had smeared it with such a substance.

11- If one had plunged while he was putting his head in a bottle, then what is the ruling of his sawm?

A: If this was in such a way that it would not be applied correctly to the plunging of the head i.e. he put his head into a bottle and then plunged the bottle into the water, it would not harm his sawm.

12- If a sa`im had jumped into a water imagining that he would not plunge but plunging occurred, then what is the ruling?

A: If the water was not of the kind that which usually necessitates plunging or he was not aware that it would necessitate it, it would not harm the correctness of his sawm, but he is obliged to get his head out of the water immediately.

13- If a sa`im was in state of janabah and he could not perform his ghusl but by plunging, then what could he do?

A: If he could not perform sequential ghusl (tartibi) his duty will be diverted to tayammum and he is not allowed, as per obligatory caution, to plunge into water for ghusl.

14- What is the ruling if a sa`im plunges into water for ghusl in the following cases: a) The sawm is mustahabb or wajib [obligatory] but unspecified for a certain time;

b) The sawm is wajib but specified for a certain time.

A: In a mustahabb and unspecified wajib sawm, his ghusl is correct but the sawm is invalidated. While in a specified wajib sawm, if it is a sawm of the month of Ramadan, both ghusl and sawm are invalid; unless he repents after plunging and then intends to do ghusl even at the time he is getting out of the water. In this case, his ghusl is correct but his sawm is invalidated by the plunging.

Adopted from the book : "Questions & Answers About Fast Accroding to Ayatollah Khamenei's Fatwa"