I am asking about the topic of fasting and breaking the fast. I was
speaking to my neighbours who follow the Shi'i madhhab, and they
recited to me a verseof Qur'aan which says thatfasting is from the
time ofthe white thread until night, and it is not until sunset only.
This is what they said to me. I hope that you can advise me, may Allah
reward you with the best of rewards.
Praise be to Allaah.
The time of fasting on which the Muslims are unanimously agreed and
which they have followedfrom the time of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) and his Companions until the present day
is from the break of the truedawn until when the disk of the sun
disappears completely beneath the horizon. This is indicated by the
Qur'aan and Sunnah and definitive consensus of the Muslims.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): "then complete your Sawm
(fast) till the nightfall [al-layl]" [al-Baqarah 2:187]. Al-layl
[translated here as nightfall] in the language of the Arabs starts
when the sun sets.
It says in al-Qamoos al-Muheet (1364): al-Layl: from the setting of
the sun until the break of the true dawn or sunrise. End quote.
It says in Lisaan al-'Arab (11/607): al-Layl: comes straight after the
end of al-Nahaar (day), and startswhen the sun sets. End quote.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy onhim) said in his
commentary on this verse:
The words of Allah "then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall"
imply that breaking the fast at the moment of sunset is a shar'i rule.
End quote.
Tafseer al-Qur'aan al-'Azeem, 1/517
In fact some commentators have pointed out that the use of the
preposition ila (till) in this verse also implies hastening, because
that preposition indicates reaching the end and achieving the goal.
Al-'Allaamah al-Taahir ibn 'Ashoor (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ila al-layl (till the nightfall) means until one achieves that goal
and reaches the night, and thepreposition ila is chosen to indicate
that one should hasten to break the fast when the sun sets, because
the preposition ila means thatthe purpose is achieved then, unlike the
preposition hatta (until). What is meant here is to indicate that the
fast is completed when the night begins. End quote.
Al-Tahreer wa'l-Tanweer, 1/181
All of that is supported by what is narrated in al-Saheehayn from
Ameeral-Mu'mineen 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with
him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peaceof Allah be
upon him) said: "When the night comes from here and the day departs
from here, and the sun sets, then it istime for the fasting person to
break his fast." Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1954) and Muslim (1100).
In this hadeeth the coming of night from the east and the
disappearance of the disk of the sun below the horizon are mentioned
together, which is something that is well known, because darkness
starts from the East as soon as the light of the sun disappears below
the horizon. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The phrase "when night comes from here" means from the east, and what
ismeant is when darkness becomes discernible. In this hadeeth he
mentioned three things, because even though theyare interconnected in
fact,they may appear not to be connected, and it may be thought that
night is coming from the east when it has not yet come,because
something is covering the light of the sun; the same is also true of
the departure of day. Hence it is clarified by the words "and the sun
sets", as an indication that it is essential to confirm that night has
come and day has gone, and that these events occur because of the
setting of the sun and not for any other reason. End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 4/196
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The scholars said: each of these three things impliesthe other two and
is interconnected with them. Rather he mentioned them togetherbecause
a person may be in a valley and the like in such a way that he
cannotsee the setting of the sun, so he relies on the comingof
darkness and the disappearing of daylight. End quote.
Sharh Muslim, 7/209
Al-Bukhaari (1955) and Muslim (1101) narrated that 'Abd-Allaah ibn Abi
Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were with the Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on a journey and
he was fasting. When the sun set, he said to one of the people: O So
and so, get up and make saweeq for us (mix it with water so that we
can drink it). He said O Messenger of Allah, why not wait till the
evening? He said: Dismount and make saweeq for us. He said: O
Messenger of Allah, why not wait till the evening? He said: :->
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