❖ Question: What is the Ruling on Delaying Iftar (Breaking the Fast)?
Source: Fatāwā Amaanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri
Delaying iftar is not permissible without a valid reason.
Hastening to break the fast at sunset is the Sunnah of the Prophets, a distinctive sign of Ahl al-Sunnah, and supported by mutawātir ahādīth and consensus of the Ummah.
In it lies the goodness and guidance for the Ummah.
﴿ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ﴾
“Then complete the fast until the night.”
(Surah al-Baqarah: 187)
The unanimous understanding of this verse is that the fast ends the moment the sun sets. This is further confirmed by numerous authentic ahādīth.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Fast as Allah has commanded, and break the fast when night begins.”
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/225 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
“When the night appears from this side (west), and the day disappears from that side (east), and the sun has set, then the fasting person has broken his fast.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1954, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1100
“I never saw the Prophet ﷺ delaying the Maghrib prayer without first breaking his fast, even if it was just with a sip of water.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 3504 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
“We Prophets have been commanded to delay suḥūr and hasten ifṭār, and to place the right hand over the left in prayer.”
Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī: 11/199 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
Imām Ibn Ḥibbān and Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī also graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
Tanwīr al-Ḥawālik: 1/133
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The people will continue to remain upon good as long as they hasten the ifṭār.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1957, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1098
“This hadith indicates that abandoning the Sunnah of hastening ifṭār leads to the ruin of religious and worldly matters.”
Ikmāl al-Muʿlim: 4/34
“Hastening ifṭār is in opposition to the Jews and Christians who wait for the stars to appear before breaking their fasts. This delay has now become a mark of innovation among certain groups.”
Al-Muyassar Sharḥ Miṣbāḥ al-Sunnah: 2/463, Al-Mirqāt: 4/1381
“Breaking the fast immediately upon certainty of sunset is unanimously considered mustaḥabb (recommended). This also refutes the Shīʿah, who delay until stars appear.”
Iḥkām al-Aḥkām: 2/26
“This hadith refutes the Shīʿah who delay ifṭār until stars appear, which is against the Sunnah.”
Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq: 1/343
“This refutes the Shīʿah who delay ifṭār till the stars rise.”
Al-Tawḍīḥ Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ: 13/400
“All the ahādīth on this subject are mutawātir and authentic.”
Al-Istidhkār: 3/345
“There is consensus among the jurists that delaying suḥūr and hastening ifṭār are from the Sunnah of fasting.”
Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/404
“Hastening ifṭār is Sunnah by consensus.”
Al-Shāfī fī Sharḥ Musnad al-Shāfiʿī: 3/198
In Ramadan, Ibn ʿAbbās would send his stepson to the rooftop. As soon as he confirmed the sun had set, he would start eating, and others would follow. After finishing the meal, the iqāmah would be called and they would perform Maghrib salah.
Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/12 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Hastening ifṭār at sunset is the established Sunnah
Delaying it without valid reason is against Sunnah, a practice of innovators, and resembles the ways of Ahl al-Bidʿah and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians).
The Ummah's good remains as long as it holds to this Sunnah.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
Source: Fatāwā Amaanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri❖ The Answer:
Delaying iftar is not permissible without a valid reason.
Hastening to break the fast at sunset is the Sunnah of the Prophets, a distinctive sign of Ahl al-Sunnah, and supported by mutawātir ahādīth and consensus of the Ummah. In it lies the goodness and guidance for the Ummah.❖ Qur'anic Evidence:
﴿ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ﴾
“Then complete the fast until the night.”
(Surah al-Baqarah: 187)
The unanimous understanding of this verse is that the fast ends the moment the sun sets. This is further confirmed by numerous authentic ahādīth.
❖ Authentic Ahādīth on Hastening Iftar:
❀ Bashīr ibn al-Khaṣāṣiyyah رضي الله عنه narrates:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Fast as Allah has commanded, and break the fast when night begins.”
Musnad Aḥmad: 5/225 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ❀ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه narrates:
“When the night appears from this side (west), and the day disappears from that side (east), and the sun has set, then the fasting person has broken his fast.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1954, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1100❀ Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه says:
“I never saw the Prophet ﷺ delaying the Maghrib prayer without first breaking his fast, even if it was just with a sip of water.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 3504 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ❀ Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما reports:
“We Prophets have been commanded to delay suḥūr and hasten ifṭār, and to place the right hand over the left in prayer.”
Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī: 11/199 – Chain is ṢaḥīḥImām Ibn Ḥibbān and Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī also graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
Tanwīr al-Ḥawālik: 1/133❀ Sahl ibn Saʿd رضي الله عنه narrates:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The people will continue to remain upon good as long as they hasten the ifṭār.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1957, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1098❖ Scholarly Commentary:
❖ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله (d. 544 AH):
“This hadith indicates that abandoning the Sunnah of hastening ifṭār leads to the ruin of religious and worldly matters.”
Ikmāl al-Muʿlim: 4/34❖ Imām al-Turubishtī رحمه الله (d. 661 AH):
“Hastening ifṭār is in opposition to the Jews and Christians who wait for the stars to appear before breaking their fasts. This delay has now become a mark of innovation among certain groups.”
Al-Muyassar Sharḥ Miṣbāḥ al-Sunnah: 2/463, Al-Mirqāt: 4/1381❖ Imām Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd رحمه الله (d. 702 AH):
“Breaking the fast immediately upon certainty of sunset is unanimously considered mustaḥabb (recommended). This also refutes the Shīʿah, who delay until stars appear.”
Iḥkām al-Aḥkām: 2/26❖ ʿAllāmah al-Zaylaʿī رحمه الله (d. 743 AH):
“This hadith refutes the Shīʿah who delay ifṭār until stars appear, which is against the Sunnah.”
Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq: 1/343❖ Imām Ibn al-Mulqin رحمه الله (d. 804 AH):
“This refutes the Shīʿah who delay ifṭār till the stars rise.”
Al-Tawḍīḥ Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ: 13/400❖ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (d. 463 AH):
“All the ahādīth on this subject are mutawātir and authentic.”
Al-Istidhkār: 3/345❖ Imām Ibn Rushd al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله (d. 595 AH):
“There is consensus among the jurists that delaying suḥūr and hastening ifṭār are from the Sunnah of fasting.”
Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/404❖ Imām Ibn al-Athīr رحمه الله (d. 606 AH):
“Hastening ifṭār is Sunnah by consensus.”
Al-Shāfī fī Sharḥ Musnad al-Shāfiʿī: 3/198❖ A Practical Example from Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
In Ramadan, Ibn ʿAbbās would send his stepson to the rooftop. As soon as he confirmed the sun had set, he would start eating, and others would follow. After finishing the meal, the iqāmah would be called and they would perform Maghrib salah.
Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 3/12 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ Conclusion:
✔ Hastening ifṭār at sunset is the established Sunnah
Delaying it without valid reason is against Sunnah, a practice of innovators, and resembles the ways of Ahl al-Bidʿah and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). The Ummah's good remains as long as it holds to this Sunnah.وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
