✅ Answer: The nullifiers and prohibitions during fasting have been mentioned in various narrations in Shi'a jurisprudence. Since nutritional IVs did not exist during the time of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), we do not have a specific narration on whether they are prohibited or not while fasting. On the other hand, these IVs transfer a type of food and strength to the person's body, and here the matter becomes ambiguous for us as to whether they nullify the fast or not. And from another perspective, it is the time of occultation, and we do not have access to the Imam (peace be upon him). Therefore, for this issue, we apply the general narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them):

1 عَنْ عُنْوَانَ الْبَصْرِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ يَقُولُ فِيهِ سَلِ الْعُلَمَاءَ مَا جَهِلْتَ وَ إِيَّاكَ أَنْ تَسْأَلَهُمْ تَعَنُّتاً وَ تَجْرِبَةً وَ إِيَّاكَ أَنْ تَعْمَلَ بِرَأْيِكَ شَيْئاً وَ خُذْ بِالاحْتِيَاطِ فِي جَمِيعِ أُمُورِكَ مَا تَجِدُ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا وَ اهْرُبْ مِنَ الْفُتْيَا هَرَبَكَ مِنَ الْأَسَدِ وَ لَا تَجْعَلْ رَقَبَتَكَ عَتَبَةً لِلنَّاسِ.

📚 Wasa'il, Vol. 27, p. 172

📚 Bihar, Vol. 1, p. 226

Translation: In the famous hadith of Unwan al-Basri, Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'Ask the scholars about what you are ignorant of, and do not ask them to trouble and test them. And be cautious of acting upon any of your own opinion, and in all matters, take and act upon caution in what you have a way to it. And flee from giving a fatwa like fleeing from a lion, and do not make your neck a doorstep for people.'

2 عَنْ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ عَنْ أَحَدِهِمَا قَالَ فِي حَدِيثٍ الْوُقُوفُ عِنْدَ الشُّبْهَةِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الِاقْتِحَامِ فِي الْهَلَكَةِ.

📚 Al-Zuhd, p. 19

Translation: Imam Sadiq or Imam Baqir (peace be upon them both) said: 'Stopping at an ambiguity is better than suddenly falling into destruction.'

3 عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ حَنْظَلَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فِي حَدِيثٍ قَالَ: وَ إِنَّمَا الْأُمُورُ ثَلَاثَةٌ أَمْرٌ بَيِّنٌ رُشْدُهُ فَيُتَّبَعُ وَ أَمْرٌ بَيِّنٌ غَيُّهُ فَيُجْتَنَبُ وَ أَمْرٌ مُشْكِلٌ يُرَدُّ عِلْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ (وَ إِلَى رَسُولِهِ) قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ حَلَالٌ بَيِّنٌ وَ حَرَامٌ بَيِّنٌ وَ شُبُهَاتٌ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ فَمَنْ تَرَكَ الشُّبُهَاتِ نَجَا مِنَ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ وَ مَنْ أَخَذَ بِالشُّبُهَاتِ ارْتَكَبَ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ وَ هَلَكَ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُ

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 1, p. 68

Translation: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: 'And indeed, matters are of three kinds: a matter whose guidance is clear, which is to be followed; a matter whose misguidance is clear, which is to be avoided; and a difficult matter whose knowledge is referred to God (and His Messenger). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'There is a clear lawful thing and a clear unlawful thing, and there are ambiguities between these two. So whoever leaves the ambiguities will be saved from the unlawful things, and whoever takes and acts upon the ambiguities will commit the unlawful things and will be destroyed from where he is not aware and does not know.'

✅ There are numerous narrations in Shi'a narrational books about caution in religion and stopping at ambiguities, which are very useful for the followers of the two weighty things (Quran and Ahl al-Bayt) due to our being in the time of the occultation of the Master of the Command (peace be upon him) and the emergence of new and contemporary issues. The issue of using a nutritional IV while fasting is one of the instances of these ambiguities, for which we act with caution and abandon it to be saved and protected from the unlawful and from falling into destruction, so that, God willing, with the swift advent of our master Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), the matter will become completely clear to us.

✅ Caution and stopping at ambiguities are important and widely used principles of the jurisprudence of the hadith scholars, which have various applications. The use of this principle, like other principles of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), requires sufficient precision and knowledge.

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