Q:

When I wear retainers and I rinse my mouth, even if I spit out water sometimes there is water that remains either under the retainers or in my mouth. Will swallowing that invalidate the fast because it’s impossible to get rid of it completely?

A:

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad.

Islam is the religion of ease. Rinsing one’s mouth is required for wudu (ritual ablution) and is generally permissible while fasting during Ramadan as long as one can control the water. Traces of water that may remain after the rinsing process do not affect one’s fasting, since one has already spitted out the water and it is quite impossible to make sure that one has spitted out every particle of it.  This applies to such traces of water that may be kept by retainers as well, as long as one has done his best to get rid of it. Allah (Exalted is He) says in the Quran what means, “Nor has He placed on you any [undue] strain in [your] religion.” (Al-Hajj 22:78)

Allah knows best.