- fasting, - Fasting lasts until the sun sets and is not assome of the Shi’ah say.

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 verse of Qur'aan which says that fasting is from the
time of the white thread until night, and itis 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
andwhich they have followed from the time of the Prophet (blessingsand
peace of Allah be upon him) and his Companions until the present day
is from the break of the true dawn until when the disk of the sun
disappears completely beneath the horizon. This is indicatedby the
Qur'aan and Sunnah and definitive consensus of the Muslims.
Allah says (interpretationof the meaning): "then complete your Sawm
(fast) till the nightfall [al-layl]" [al-Baqarah 2:187]. Al-layl
[translatedhere 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 starts when the sun sets. End quote.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his
commentary on this verse:
The words of Allah "thencomplete 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 prepositionindicates 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 the preposition ila ischosen to indicate
that one should hasten to break the fast when the sun sets, because
the preposition ila means that the 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
Ameer al-Mu'mineen 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with
him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: "When the night comes from here and the day departs
from here, and the sun sets, then it is time 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" meansfrom the east, and what
is meant is when darkness becomes discernible. In this hadeeth he
mentioned three things, because even though they are interconnected in
fact, they may appear not to be connected, and it may be thought that
night is coming from theeast 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 implies the other two
and is interconnected with them. Rather he mentioned them together
because a person may be in a valley and the like in such a way that he
cannot see the setting ofthe sun, so he relies on the coming of
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 thepeople: O So
and so, get up and make saweeq forus (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: OMessenger
of Allah, why not wait till the evening?He said: Dismount and make
saweeq for us. He said: It is still day. He said: Dismount and
makesaweeq for us. So he dismounted and made saweeq for them, and the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) drank it, thenhe
said: When you see that night has come from here, then let the fasting
person break his fast.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth indicates that it is mustahabb to hasten to break the
fast and that it is not permissible to refrain from eating and
drinking for any part of the night at all; rather assoon as it is
established that the sun has set, it is permissible to break the fast.
End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 4/197.
Moreover, the fact that there is consensus among the Muslims regarding
breaking the fast and eating as soon as one hears the muezzin give the
call to Maghrib prayer when the sun disappears is evidence that this
is the truth and the one who goes against that is following something
other than the way of the believers and has introduced something into
the religion for which he has no proof or reports from the scholars.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Maghrib comes immediately after the sun has set, and this is something
on which there is consensus. Something concerning this was narrated
from the Shi'ah to which no attention should be paidand which has no
basis. End quote.
Sharh Muslim, 5/136
In fact, in many of the books of the Shi'ah it mentions that on which
there is consensus among the Muslims concerning this matter. Some of
them narrated from Ja'far al-Saadiq (may Allah have mercy on him) that
he said: "When the sun sets, it becomes permissible to break the fast
and it becomes obligatory to offer the prayer." End quote.
Al-Baroojardi narrated from the author of al-Da'aa'im that he said: We
narrated from Ahl al-Bayt -- may the blessings of Allah be upon them
all -- that there was consensus concerning that which we learned from
the reports from them, that the onset of night whichmakes it
permissible for the fasting person to break the fast is the
disappearance of the sun beneath the westernhorizon without any
barrier which would prevent seeing it such asa mountain or wall and
the like. When the disk disappears beneath the horizon, then the night
has begun and it is permissible to break the fast. End quote.
Jaami' Ahaadeeth al-Shi'ah, 9/165
To sum up: what are some of the Shi'ah do now, of delaying Maghrib
prayer and the breaking of the fast untilsometime after the sun has
set is contrary to what is indicated by the Holy Qur'aan, the
saheehSunnah of the Prophet and the consensus of theMuslims.
Moreover it is contrary to what they themselves narrated from their Imams!
And Allah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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