The Ramadan Series: What Time Is It?

Dear sisters,

Assalamoalaikum

What time is it sistas? Time to learn about some common mistakes! (joke no funny? ha?... ha?... okay, moving along...). Us desies loooove doing everything properly, at least in Ramadan. One of the things we don't compromise on is time; Time for sehri and iftaar. We'd do anything to stop someone from drinking water when suhur time is up (even if that means choking the poor creature to get every drop of water out of the throat). Likewise, we'd do anything to stop someone from breaking their fast before it's time (even if that means running and leaping across the room *imagine in slow motion* saying "Naaahhiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnn!" and finally rescuing the khajoor from their mouth).

But do we really know when to stop eating suhur and when to break our fast?

Desi from Toronto, Canada: "ppfft, of course we know! Stop eating 10 minutes before fajr, that's what it says on our masjid's Ramadan chart. Break your fast 1 minute after maghrib... just to be safe."
Desi from U.S.A: "Yea, what she said!"
Desi from Middle East: "Harrraaaam! We should eat until fajr time and break our fast as soon as the sun sets."
Desi from Pakistan/India: "No no no, Angraizon aur Arbion ki baat mutt sun na... just vait for the sehri siren owkkay? And turn on TV at aftaar time, all channels play maghrib azaan.. but vait for 2-3 minutes after that and then you eat... hum doosroon ki tarhaan besabray thori hain!"

With the exception of our desi sista from Middle East, the general trend seems to be: Hasten to finish suhur and delay breaking your fast. You'd be surprised to know that we are supposed to do the exact opposite!

Evidence for delaying suhur:

Allah (swt) says in the Quran:  "And eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night)" [al-Baqarah 2:187]

And the Prophet (pbuh) said: "….eat and drink until you hear the adhaan (azaan) of Ibn Umm Maktoom, for he does not give the adhaan until dawn comes." (Bukhari)

So we should eat suhur until the exact time of fajr. There's no need to stop 10 minutes before since our Prophet (saw) did not do so.

Evidence for breaking the fast exactly on time:

Aisha (ra) reports that the Prophet (saw) used to hasten to break his fast. He would break his fast when the adhaan started, right after the sunset. (Muslim)

The Prophet (saw) said: "The people will continue to do well so long as they hasten to break the fast." (Bukhaari, Muslim)

It is not difficult to know the exact time of sunset in our times (internet zindabaad!). There's no reason to wait even after the sun has set... we should put our trust in Allah (swt) and break our fast at the exact time. Just make sure you're following an accurate clock inshallah.

Sincerely,
D.M.

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