Nasai

English Translation:

The second Companion was Hazrat Abu Musa Ash‘ari radi Allahu anhu. Out of caution, he would delay breaking the fast (iftar) and hasten the pre-dawn meal (suhoor), but caution should not be so excessive that it alters the Sunnah practice. Caution is only a matter of a few minutes. However, this hadith does not mean that one should hastily break the fast without being certain that the sun has set, or that one should make it a habit to continue eating suhoor even during the call to Fajr prayer. Because in this way, the fast can be invalidated.

Some hasty individuals, relying on inaccurate calendars, break their fasts down to the very second, whereas it is necessary that the calendar be verified by the meteorological department and experts from observatories, or that the calendar be authenticated by direct observation of the sun. The timings in calendars for different cities are not always consistent; for example, the difference between Lahore and Faisalabad is listed as ten minutes in some calendars, nine in others, eight, six, or five minutes in others. Therefore, those who break their fasts according to the calendar should not risk invalidating their fasts by using substandard calendars. One should not break the fast until certain of sunset. Certainty means seeing the sun set exactly at the horizon with one’s own eyes, provided the sky is clear, or else acting upon the latest calendar time. In this way, a delay of three or four minutes will not cause the earliest time for iftar to pass.

The delay (which is disliked) refers to waiting for the appearance of stars, as the Jews do, not to waiting for certainty of sunset. Regrettably, nowadays there is competition in calling the adhan, with people rushing to call it so that the adhan of a particular mosque is not before or at the same time as another. In this way, people’s fasts are ruined, which is certainly a sin and is done out of eagerness. And Allah is the One whose help is sought.