Breaking the Fast (Iftar)

The Glorified and Praised One has said: "... And eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, then complete the fast till nighttime" (Holy Qur’an, 2:187).

The Exalted and Omniscient has clarified in this glorious verse the time to start the fast which is when the white thread can be distinguished from the black one at the time of daybreak, and the time of breaking the fast, at the end of the fast during the entire daytime till the approach of the night. Since fast in Islam is not merely abstention from eating and drinking, but rather a transformation from a physical state to a spiritual height whereby the Muslim pleases his Maker, Islam has set certain rules for breaking the fast which are derived from the Sunnah of His greatest Prophet and his Progeny, peace and blessings be upon them, which may be enumerated thus: 1) the invocations related to the breaking of the fast which take us from the physical state, through our fast, to a spiritual height; 2) sharing our food with the poor and the indigent, and Muslims breaking their fast with one another; and 3) foods recommended for breaking the fast.

Invocations at the time of breaking the fast

Relying on the authority of Imam al-Sadiq (as), Shaikh al-Saduq, in his work Al-Misbah, quotes the Imam (as) citing his forefathers saying that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to say the following whenever he broke his fast: "O Almighty God! For You have we fasted, and with Your sustenance have we broken our fast; so, accept it from us. Thirst has dissipated; the veins have become wet, and the reward has been secured by the Will of Allah." He (pbuh) is also quoted as saying that if anyone says the following invocation at the time of breaking his fast, he will come out of his sins and face the world as he faced it the first time upon his birth:

"O Great One! O Great One! You are Allah; there is no god but You! Forgive my great sins for none forgives the great sins but You, O Great One!" The book AI-Iqbal, relying on the authority of Imam Zainul-’Abidin, peace be upon him, states that whoever recites the Qadr chapter at the time of breaking his fast and at the time of his last meal before daybreak (i.e., suhoon) will be regarded by the Almighty as one who sheds his own blood (i.e. becomes a martyr) for the cause of Allah. The Prophet (pbuh) has said the following to Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (as): "O father of al-Hassan! The month of Ramadhan is approaching; so, recite your invocation before you break your fast for Gabriel has informed me that the Almighty has said that He would accept the prayers of whoever recited this invocation during the month of Ramadhan before breaking his fast, before-starting his fast, and before saying his prayers, and He will answer ten of his pleas, forgive his sins, remove the cause of his distress, eliminate the reason behind his agony, fulfil his worldly wishes, help him achieve his objective, count his good deeds among those of the prophets and the foremost to believe in them, and he will come on the Day of Resurrection with a face shining like the full moon." The invocation referred to above may be translated thus:

Lord! You are the Lord of the great light, of the lofty Throne, of the over-flowing sea, of the great intercession, of the dear light, of the Torah, of the Gospel, of the Psalms and of the great Our’an! You are the Lord of all those in the heavens and those on earth! There is no god in them other than You, and You are the Mighty One in the heavens and on earth; there is none mighty in them but You! And You are the King in the heavens and on earth; there is no king in them other than You! I beseech You by the greatness of Your great Name and the light of Your shining greatness, and by Your domain! O Living One, O Sustainer! I beseech You by the greatness of Your Name which shines upon the heavens and the earth, and by Your Name whereby the first generations achieved righteousness and so will the last ones! O Living One before there was anyone living, and O Living One after everyone else is no longer alive! There is no god but You! I beseech You to send blessings unto Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and to forgive my sins and ease my affair and grant me a speedy recovery and keep my feet firm on the path of the religion of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and make my deeds acceptable and grant me the like of what You granted Your sincere servants and devotees! I am a sincere believer in You, and upon You do I rely and to You do I entrust my fate! I beseech You to grant me, my family and offspring, all goodness, and to keep away from us all-evil! You are the Compassionate, the ever-Giving, the Creator of the heavens and the earth! You bestow goodness upon whomsoever You will and You withhold it from whomsoever You please! Bless me with Your mercy, for You are the most Merciful of the merciful ones.

The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (as), used to say the following whenever he was about to break his fast:

"In the Name of Allah! Lord! To You have we fasted, and with Your sustenance have we broken our fast! Lord! Accept our deeds, for You hear, and you know." Imam al-Sadiq (as) has recommended that you say the following every night during the month of Ramadhan at the time of breaking the fast: "All praise is due to Allah Who enabled us to fast and provided us with sustenance so that we may break our fast (therewith). Lord! Accept our deeds, help us fast, protect us during it, accept it from us an easy acceptance, and grant us good health and well being.

All praise is due to Allah Who has enabled us to fast a day of the month of Ramadhan." According to the author of Al-Iqbal, who relies on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abu Qurrah, in a chapter dealing with recommended deeds during the month of Ramadhan, through the authority of Imam al-Kathim who quotes his father who quotes his grandfather who quotes Imam al-Hassan ibn All, peace be upon all of these Imams, the invocation of everyone who fasts during the month of Ramadhan is accepted as soon as he breaks his fast; so, upon eating the first morsel, he used to say, "In the Name of Allah! O You Who expands forgiveness, forgive me!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

O You Who expands forgiveness! I implore You to forgive me!" Whoever says so upon breaking his fast will be forgiven. Quoting his forefathers, peace be upon him and them, Imam al-Kathim (as) says, "If you enter the evening after having fasted, and you say the following as soon as you break your fast: ‘Lord! To You have I fasted, and with Your sustenance have I broken my fast! Upon You have I relied and depended,’ you will receive a reward equal to that of all those who fasted that day."

It is recommended that you ought to perform your prayers before finishing the iftar except when there is someone else waiting to eat, or if you are more inclined to eat first. In his AI-Tahtheeb, Shaikh al-Saduq quotes Imam al-Baqir (as) saying, "During the month of Ramadhan, you should perform your prayers, then break your fast, except if you are with others who are waiting to break theirs; so, do not do something which they would not be doing but break your fast with them then perform your prayers; otherwise, perform your prayers first.’ So I asked him why it was so; he answered: ‘You have to select one of two options: breaking the fast or performing the prayers, and you should choose the best of them, and the best option is performing the prayers.’ Then he added, ‘If you perform your obligatory prayers while still fasting, and your prayers conclude your fast, it is surely better for you."

- In Mizan al-Hikma, the Prophet (pbuh) is quoted saying: "The plea of anyone who fasts is answered when he breaks his fast."

- It is reported in al-Majlisi’s Bihar al-Anwar that Imam al-Sadiq (as) has said that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to say the following whenever he ate with others: "May those fasting break their fast with you, and may your food feed those who are devoted to Allah."

- Both al-Tirniithi and Ibn Majah have quoted the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saying, "The supplications of three types of persons will never be rejected: those who fast till they break their fast, a fair Imam, and one who is wronged."

On p. 53 of his Aniali (or Majalis), the faqih and mentor Abu Ja’fer Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husain ibn Musa ibn Babawayh al-Qummi quotes his father saying that Sa’d ibn Abdullah quotes Ahmed ibn al-Husain quoting Muhammad ibn Jumhoor, and also Muhammad ibn Ziyad, citing Muhammad ibn Muslim al-Thaqafi saying that he heard Imam Abu Ja’fer al-Baqir (as) saying, "The Almighty and Exalted One has angels who are charged with those who perform the fast. They seek forgiveness for them during each day of the month of Ramadhan till its end. Every night, they call upon those who fast, when they break their fast, ‘O servants of Allah! Receive the glad tidings! You have felt hungry for a short while, so you shall be fed for quite a long period of time! Blessed are you and yours!’ In the last night of the month of Ramadhan, they call upon them saying, ‘O servants of Allah! Receive the glad tidings! Allah has indeed forgiven your sins and accepted your repentance! So see how you shall fare from now on!"

The month of Repentance

The month of Ramadhan is known as the month of repentance and forgiveness. What is repentance? Does it suffice to say, "I regret and repent and hope Allah will forgive me" to be forgiven? How does the Almighty expect His sinning servants to seek repentance, and what assurances, if any, can they receive from Him of His acceptance of their repentance? What are the consequences if one’s repentance is rejected? If you have not wondered about these questions, and if you have not sought the answers for them, what is your chance of saving your skin from the fire of Hell? One is tempted even to go beyond all of this to ask: What does hell look like, and what are the other situations, starting from the moment of death, of which one should be apprehensive and for which he/she should prepare himself/herself? These are very serious questions, and to answer all of them requires a book by itself especially if their healing benefits are included. Verse 82 of Surat al-Israa refers to such healing when the Almighty says, and most surely what He says is the truth, "And We reveal of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers." Numerous ahadith of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) and his Aid al-Bayt (as) have explained which verses heal what ailments. We need your prayers, dear reader, to enable us to publish a book containing such precious and useful knowledge for our believing brethren.

Qur’anic verses referring to repentance are numerous. Repentance is so importance that the Almighty dedicated an entire Chapter in His Book (the Holy Qur’an) to iL: Surat al-Tawbah, Chapter of repentance (No. 9). Other references to repentance can be found in Chapters such as these: al-Baqarah, al-Maaida, al-An’am, Hud, al-Furqan, al-Qasas, al-Mujadila, al-Muzzammil, Aali ‘Imran, al-Nisa, al-A’raf, al-NahI, al-Noor, Ghafir, al-Ahqaf, al-Tahrim, alHujurat, al-Furqan, al-Ahzab, al-Buruj, al-Shura, al-Tahrim, al-Nasr, al-Ra’d, al-Furqan, and many others. As a matter of fact, Qur’anic verses referring to repentance, death and the life hereafter outnumber all verses dealing with Islamic obligations combined. This is how important repentance is.

Nobody is exempted from having to seek Allah’s forgiveness and to repent for his faults and shortcomings, not even the Prophets and Messengers of Allah, including the very greatest of all of them, our Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) who used to seek forgiveness at least a hundred times a day without having committed a sin.

On p. 407, Vol. 2, of al-Kulayni’sAl-Kafi, Imam Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq (as) is quoted saying that once a servant of Allah truly repents, that is, regrets having done something wrong and ceases to repeat doing it, Allah will love him and grants him a covering in the life of this world and in the hereafter.

Mu’awiya ibn Wahab asked the Imam (as) what kind of covering he was talking about, whereupon the Imam (as) said, "He (Allah) will order the angels recording his deeds to wipe out the record of his sins, then He inspires his senses to hide his sins, then He inspires the regions of the earth to hide whatever sins that man committed in them; so, he will meet the Almighty without carrying the burden of any sin, and there will be none to testify against him [on the Day of Judgment]." The Almighty has even assigned angels to pray Him to forgive those on earth and in the heavens as these verses from Surat al-Mu’min testify:

Those who bear the ‘Arsh, and those around it, glorify and praise their Lord; they believe in Him and implore His forgiveness for those who believe (saying): Lord! Your Mercy has encompassed everything, and so has Your Knowledge; so forgive those who turn (to You) in repentance and follow Your Path, and protect them from the torment of the blazing fire! And grant them, O Lord, admission into the Garden of Eternity which You have promised them and the righteous among their fathers, wives, and posterity, for You are the One Exalted in Might, the all-Knowing. (Qur’an, 40:7-9)

And the Almighty never tires of forgiving His servants and accepting their repentance. Muhammad ibn Yahya quotes Ahmed ibn Muhammad quoting Ibn Mahbub quoting al-’Alaa quoting Muhammad ibn Muslim quoting Imam Abu [father of] Ja’fer al-Baqir (as) saying the following to Muhammad: "O Muhammad ibn Muslim! A sinner’s sins are forgiven when he repents them; so, let believers do good deeds following his repentance and [Allah’s] forgiveness. By Allah! This applies only to those of deep conviction." Muhammad asked the Imam (as), "What if he goes back to committing those sins after having repented and sought forgiveness for them, then he repents again?"

The Imam (as) said, "O Muhammad ibn Muslim! Do you think that a servant of Allah regrets having committed a sin, then seeks forgiveness for it and repents, that Allah does not accept his repentance?" Muhammad said, "But he has done so repeatedly: he commits a sin then repents and seeks [Allah’s] forgiveness [and so on]..." He (as) said, "Whenever a believer returns to Allah and seeks His forgiveness and the acceptance of his own repentance, Allah will return to him forgiving, and Allah is most Forgiving, most Merciful; He accepts repentance and overlooks the sins; therefore, beware of letting any believer lose hope of achieving Allah’s mercy." This dialogue is recorded on p. 409, Vol. 1, of al-Kulayni’s AI-Kafi.

But nobody should ever take the Almighty for granted. A man in the company of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Au (as) once said: ‘Astaghfirullah." The Imam (as) said to him, "May your mother lose you! Do you really know what forgiveness is? Forgiveness is the degree of ‘Jlliyyeen (see verses 18 and 19 of Surat al-Mutaffifun), and it is a proper noun incorporating six meanings: 1) regret about the past; 2) the determination never to go back to doing t again; 3) that you should pay people what they owe you till you neet Allah without having any burden to bear; 4) that you should rake up for any religious obligation and meet its requirements; 5) hat you should approach your flesh that grew out of consuming what s unlawful and make it dissolve through your grief till your skin ouches your bones and new flesh grows between them; and 6) that iou make your body taste of the pain of obedience [to Allah’s commanndments] just as you made it taste the sweetness of disobedimee. I