Farts in Religion and Mythology
Few human universals are so broadly documented and so rarely discussed as the religious significance of the fart. From Islamic purity rules to the fart-wielding devil of the Middle Ages to the Hindu teaching of Apana Vayu — virtually every religious tradition has developed a stance on flatulence. Sometimes sacred, often unclean, always physically real.
Islam: Farting Breaks the Prayer
In Islamic law (Fiqh), passing wind is considered hadath — a ritual loss of purity. Anyone who farts automatically loses wudu (ritual cleanliness) and must wash again before the next prayer. This rule is found in all four major Sunni legal schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) and is considered settled consensus. Interestingly, Islamic law makes a precise distinction: only actual release of wind (flatus) breaks ritual purity — not merely the sound or smell if no actual gas escapes. There are extensive scholarly discussions about what to do in cases of doubt (did one fart or not?): in case of doubt, purity is considered maintained as long as one is not certain. A fart in the middle of Friday prayers was historically a serious social problem.
Christianity: The Devil and His Fart
In medieval Christianity, the devil was closely associated with bodily gases. Depictions of the devil frequently show him with an oversized backside from which flames or gas stream. Martin Luther wrote extensively about the devil and farting in his Table Talk — his strategy against diabolical temptations was literally to drive the devil away with a fart: 'One should answer the devil with a fart,' he is said to have proclaimed. This association was not merely metaphorical: in the folk theology of the Middle Ages, flatulence was considered the exit of evil spirits from the body. Exorcism and farting were treated as related phenomena in some traditions.
Hinduism: Apana Vayu — the Sacred Breath
In Ayurvedic and yogic thought, farting is not unclean but rather a natural and important aspect of bodily physiology. The concept of the five vayus (types of life breath) includes 'Apana Vayu' — the downward-directed life breath responsible for excretion, menstruation, birth, and also flatulence. A blocked Apana Vayu is considered a cause of illness in Ayurveda. Yoga poses such as Pawanmuktasana (literally: 'wind-releasing pose') explicitly aim to regulate Apana Vayu and loosen intestinal wind. Here the fart is not taboo but a medical goal.
Judaism and Antiquity: Humour and Holiness
The Talmud contains a passage (tractate Berakhot 24b) discussing whether someone may hold their breath until they have found a quiet place to relieve themselves — a rabbinical discussion about balancing bodily health and social dignity. In antiquity, attitudes toward farting were considerably more relaxed: Plutarch reports that Emperor Claudius considered officially permitting farting at banquets, after hearing of a man who had developed a serious illness from holding it in. Greek comedy (Aristophanes) regularly used flatulence as a means of social criticism.
Did you know?
- In Islam, a fart breaks ritual purity (wudu) — one must wash again before the next prayer.
- Martin Luther recommended driving the devil away with a fart — and he meant it literally.
- In Ayurveda, farting is not unclean but a sign of healthy Apana Vayu — the downward-directed life breath.
- The Talmud discusses whether one may hold one's breath to find a quiet place — and reaches a nuanced answer.
Fun Fact
In medieval Europe, stories circulated about saints who could deploy farts as miracles — in one Irish tradition, a saint supposedly drove away a horde of dragons with a single mighty fart. These stories were removed as 'obscene' from hagiographies in the 19th century, but survive in earlier manuscripts.
Sources
- Elias, N. (1969). Über den Prozeß der Zivilisation. Suhrkamp.
- Ibn Qudama, M. (ca. 1185). Al-Mughni (Islamic legal work). Cairo.
- Bakhtin, M. (1984). Rabelais and His World. Indiana University Press.
- Olivelle, P. (2005). Manu's Code of Law. Oxford University Press.