لقد امتنَّ اللهُ جلَّ جلالُهُ على عبادِهِ بمواسمِ الخيراتِ، ففيها تُضاعفُ الحسناتُ، وتُمحى السيئاتُ وتُرفعُ الدرجاتُ ويُعتِقُ اللهُ كُلَّ ليلةٍ فيهِ مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ شَاءَ مِنْ عبادِهِ المسلمينَ العُصَاةِ. فَجِدُّوا في الطاعَاتِ عَلَّكُمْ تَكونُوا مِنْ عُتَقَاءِ هَذَا الشهرِ المبارَكِ.
Indeed, Allah – Exalted is His majesty – has bestowed upon His slaves by giving them the season of goodness. During that time, the good deeds are multiplied, the bad deeds are erased, and the ranks are elevated. And every night, Allah frees whomever He willed among His sinful Muslim slaves. So be diligent to do the obedience so that you can be among the emancipated in this blessed month.
واعلَمُوا أَنَّهُ يُستحبُّ في الصيامِ أشياءُ منها: تعجيلُ الفطرِ إذا تحقَّقَ غروبُ الشمسِ وذلكَ لحديثِ البخاريِّ ومسلمٍ عن سهلِ بنِ سعدٍ رضيَ اللهُ عنهُ أنَّ رسولَ اللهِ صلى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ قالَ: "لا يزالُ الناسُ بخيرٍ ما عجّلوا الفِطر”. ومعنى الحديثِ أنَّهُ لا يزالُ أمرُ الأمةِ مُنتظمًا وهو بخيرٍ ما داموا محافظينَ على هذه السنَّةِ، ولحديثِ الترمذيِّ مِنْ حديثِ أبي هريرةَ رضيَ اللهُ عنهُ عنِ النبيِّ صلى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ قالَ اللهُ عزَّ وجلَّ: “أَحبُّ عبادي إليَّ أعجلُهم فِطرًا".
And know that there are things that are recommended while fasting. Among them is rushing to break the fast when the sunset is confirmed. That is due to the hadith of Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim from the route of Sahl Ibn Sa^d - may Allah accept his deeds - that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The people will be in goodness as long as they rush to break the fast.” The meaning of the hadith is that the affair of the nation will be in order as long as the people preserve this sunnah. There is also the hadith of At-Tirmidhiyy from Abu Hurayrah - may Allah accept his deeds - that the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah said: “The most accepted of My slaves to Me are those who are the quickest to break the fast.”
وغروبُ الشمسِ يُعرفُ بمغيبِ قرصِ الشمسِ كلِّهِ فإن لم يستطعْ رؤيةَ غروبِ الشمسِ فلينظرْ إلى المشرقِ، فإنْ أقبلَ الظلامُ مِنَ المشرقِ عَرَفَ بذلكَ دخولَ وقتِ المغربِ. فقد قالَ الرسولُ صلى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ قالَ: "إذا غربتِ الشمسُ مِنْ ههنا _يعني مِنَ المغربِ_ وأقبلَ الظلامُ مِنْ ههنا _يعني مِنَ المشرقِ_ فقد أفطرَ الصائمُ" معناهُ ما دامَ قرصُ الشمسِ قد غابَ حلَّ الإفطارُ وإنْ كانَ يظهرُ مِنْ جهةِ المشرقِ أثرُ الشمسِ هذا لا يمنعُ الأكلَ والشربَ.
The sunset is known by the complete disappearance of the sun’s disc. If one is unable to see the sunset, he looks towards the east. If the darkness came from the east, then by that he knows that the time of sunset entered. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When the sun sets from here,” and he meant the west - “and the darkness comes from here,” and he meant the east - “then the fasting person breaks his fast.” Its meaning is that as long as the sun’s disc has set, then breaking the fast is permissible. If there appears in the east the traces of the sun, this does not prevent the permission to eat and drink.
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بنِ أَبِي أَوْفَى رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي سَفَرٍ وَهُوَ صَائِمٌ فَلَمَّا غَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ قَالَ لِبَعْضِ القَوْمِ: «يَا فُلاَنُ قُمْ فَاجْدَحْ لَنَا» فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَوْ أَمْسَيْتَ؟ قَالَ: «انْزِلْ فَاجْدَحْ لَنَا» قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، فَلَوْ أَمْسَيْتَ؟ قَالَ: «انْزِلْ فَاجْدَحْ لَنَا»، قَالَ: إِنَّ عَلَيْكَ نَهَارًا-هذا الرجلُ كان ينظرُ إلى أثرِ الشعاعِ منْ جهةِ المغربِ- قَالَ: «انْزِلْ فَاجْدَحْ لَنَا»، معناه اخلِطْ لنا هذا السَّوِيقَ بالماءِ لنُفطرَ بهِ، السَّويقُ هو الشعيرُ يُحَمَّصُ ثم يُطْحَنُ، هذا يُتخذُ زادًا، أما في السفرِ فيُبلُّ بالماءِ ويُشربُ، فهذا يُبَرِّدُ ويُذهبُ العطشَ ويكسِرُ الجوعَ. فَنَزَلَ فَجَدَحَ لَهُمْ، فَشَرِبَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: « إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ اللَّيْلَ قَدْ أَقْبَلَ مِنْ هَا هُنَا، فَقَدْ أَفْطَرَ الصَّائِمُ ». معناهُ الآنَ جاءَ الظلامُ مِنَ المشرقِ فلا تنظُرْ إلى أثرِ ضوءِ الشمسِ الذي بقيَ، هذا لا يمنعُ حِلَّ الإفطارِ، فمتى تحقّق غروب الشّمس حلَّ الفطرُ.
^Abdullah Ibn Abi Awfa - may Allah accept his deeds - said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah traveling and he was fasting. When the sun set, he said to someone: “O So-and-so, get up and make the mush meal for us!” That one said, “O Messenger of Allah, when the night falls?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said “Get down and make the mush meal for us!”. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, when the night falls?” He said: “Get down and make the mush meal for us.” The man said, “The daytime is still upon you!” He was looking at the remaining sunrays in the west. The Prophet said: “Get down and make the mush meal for us.” The meaning is: “Add water to this mix for us, so that we can break our fast with it.” This mush is from the barley dry fried, and then crushed. This is a type of food taken as supply. When traveling, it is mixed with water and then drank. It is a food that cools the body, quenches the thirst, and breaks the hunger. So, the man got down and made the mush meal for them. Then the Prophet ﷺ drank and said: “If you saw that the night has come from this direction, then the fasting person breaks his fast.” Its meaning is that now the darkness has come from the east, so do not look at the remaining traces of sunlight; those remaining sunrays do not prevent the permission to break the fast. Whenever the sunset is verified, breaking the fast is permissible.
وبهذا نعلمُ أنَّ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ الفِطرَ على أشياءَ خفيفةٍ لا تؤذي المعدةَ، خلاف ما قد يفعلُهُ بعضُ الناسِ اليومَ مِنْ مَلءِ المعدةِ عندَ الإفطارِ بأطعمةٍ ثقيلةٍ تُتْعِبُها ولا يمتصُّها الجسمُ بسرعةٍ. وأما الرُّطَبُ أو التمرُ فهو سريعُ الهضمِ سريعُ الامتصاصِ، لِما يَشتمِلُ عليهِ منَ الموادِ السكريةِ، فهو سهلٌ على المعدةِ ويمتصُّهُ الجسمُ سريعًا فيُشعِرُهُ بنوعٍ مِنَ الامتلاءِ فلا يَهجمُ على الطعامِ بشدةٍ ويُعوِّضُهُ سريعًا عما افتقدَهُ منَ السكرياتِ بسببِ الصيامِ.
And from this it is known that it is sunnah to break the fast with something light that does not upset the stomach, which is different from today; how some people might fill their stomachs when breaking the fast with heavy foods that exhaust the stomach, and the body does not digest it swiftly. That gives the person a feeling of being bloated. One would not not pounce on the food strongly but rather rapidly replenish what he lost of sugars because of fasting.
والإفطارُ هو أن يتناولَ الصائمُ شيئًا كالأكلِ والشرابِ ويسمى الفُطورَ لأنهُ في صحيحِ ابنِ حبانَ من حديثِ ابنِ عباسٍ رضيَ اللهُ عنهُ قالَ: قالَ رسولُ الله صلّى الله عليه و سلّم "إنَّا معشرَ الأنبياءِ أُمرنا بتأخيرِ السُّحورِ وتعجيلِ الفُطورِ وأن نضربَ أيمانَنا على شمائِلنا في الصلاةِ" رواهُ الإمامُ أحمدُ في مسندِه فتعجيلُ الإفطارِ فيهِ ثوابٌ وإنْ أخَّرَ ذلكَ فقد خالفَ السنةَ.
Iftar is for the fasting person to have food or drink and it is also called “futur,” because in the book Sahih Ibn Hibban, from the hadith of Ibn ^Abbas - may accept his deeds - he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Surely, we, the Prophets, were commanded with delaying the pre-dawn meal, rushing the iftar, and putting our right hands over our left in the prayer.” Also, Ahmad narrated that in his Musnad. Rushing to break the fast has a reward, and if one delayed that, he has opposed the sunnah.
ولمشروعيةِ تعجيلِ الفطرِ حِكَمٌ مُتعدِّدةٌ منها: المبادرةُ لطاعةِ اللهِ تعالى بالفطرِ كما حصلَتْ طاعتُه بالصومِ، كما أنَّ الأخذَ برخصةِ اللهِ تعالى والتمتُّعَ بما في شريعتهِ من التيسيرِ والتسهيلِ حيثُ لم يُلْزمِ اللهُ تعالى العبادَ بمُواصَلةِ الصيامِ، ولا بزيادةِ وقتهِ عن غروبِ الشمسِ.كذلك التعجيلُ أرفقُ بالصائمِ وأقوى لهُ على مواصَلةِ العبادةِ.
In the religious practice of rushing to break the fast there are numerous wisdoms. Among them is rushing to obey Allah by breaking the fast, just as one was obedient by engaging in the fast. Also, taking by the permission that Allah granted and enjoying the rules of the religion is a matter of easiness and facility, as Allah did not obligate the slaves to continually fast without breaking in between and did not require fasting for longer than sunset. As well, rushing to break the fast gives the fasting person strength to continuously worship.
فأوصيكُمْ ونَفْسيَ بِطاعةِ اللهِ العليِّ العظيمِ، ومِنْ طاعَةِ اللهِ أنْ نلْتَزِمَ بما جاءَ عَنْ رسولِ اللهِ صلى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ في السُّنَّةِ المطَهَّرَةِ في الحديثِ الشريفِ. فإنَّ الذي لا يبذُلُ جُهدَهُ في طاعةِ اللهِ في حياتهِ فقد فاتَهُ الخيرُ ويبقى معَهُ الندمُ.
Thus, I advise myself and you with the obedience of Allah, Al-^Aliyyu-l-^Adhim, (the Majestically High and Great) and among what is counted as obedience of Allah is our adhering to what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came with in the pure Sunnah and in the noble hadiths. Certainly, whoever does not exert himself in the obedience of Allah during his life, then the goodness has passed him by, and what will remain with him is regret!
اللهُمَّ مصرّفَ القلوبِ صرّفْ قلوبَنا إلى طاعتِك.
O Allah, Changer of the hearts! Direct our hearts toward Your obedience!