Is it Permissible to Delay Breaking of Fast for Few Minutes after Sunset? - Dr Zakir Naik

Is it Permissible to Delay Breaking of Fast for Few Minutes after Sunset? - Dr Zakir Naik

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Yusuf Chambers: Dr. Zakir, in difference to what you said there are some people who delay the breaking of the fast and the Magrib prayer on the premise that they don’t believe the sun is completely set and on the basis that they believe its always better to be on the safer side, is this the correct logic?

Dr. Zakir: There are a large number of Muslims who, they want to be safe and they delay their breaking of the fast, even though the sun has set they say that lets wait for about 3 or 4 minutes you know then we’ll break because they want to be careful because there is a Hadith of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) , its mentioned in

Sahih Al Targheeb (Vol no. 1 Book of Fasting) Hadith no. 991 where the Prophet, he speaks about his dream that

“He had a dream and he is taken up and there he hears the sound of people howling and he asks that who are these people. These are the people in hell fire then he is taken to another corner and he sees that people are hung from the hamstring and the corner of their mouths are torn and there is blood dripping so he asks that who are these people? So the reply is these are the people who broke their fast early.”

So based on this Hadith that if a person breaks the fast early he will be hung from the hamstring and his mouth will be torn and there will be dripping of blood. People go out of their way to take a precaution and they delay by 4 or 5 minutes. Now this is against the Sunnah. Breaking early is wrong but delaying it is also wrong. Because as I mentioned earlier its clrearly mentioned in the Quran in

Surah Baqarah ch. no. 2 verse no. 187 that

“Keep the fast until night falls”

And as I mentioned earlier in my earlier answer it’s mentioned in

Sahih Bukhari Vol. no. 3 in the Book of Fasting Hadith no. 1954 where the beloved Prophet Muhammad, (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) said that

“When nightfalls from this side and the day vanish from this side and when the sun sets, you break your fast.”

And there are various other Hadith which I quoted earlier including Sahih Bukhari Vol. no. 3 in the Book of Fasting Hadith no. 1957, our beloved Prophet said that

“My people will be on the straight path till they time they hasten in breaking the fast”

Its also mentioned in Sahih Ibn Hibbaan Vol. no. 8 Hadith no. 3510 that the beloved Prophet Muhammad, (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) , said that

“My people will be on the Sunnah till the time they don’t wait to see the stars to break the fast”

And its also mentioned in Sahih Ibn Hibbaan Vol no. 8 (Book of Fasting) Hadith no. 3509 that our beloved Prophet Muhammad, (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) , said that

“My religion will be seen till the time my people hasten in breaking the fast and not do like the Ahle Kitaab, the Jews and Christians”

So here there are various Ahadith talking about you should hasten in breaking the fast. But natural it should be after the sun has set. We cannot break the fast before the sun sets. But the moment it’s confirmed that the sun has set with your own eyes or nowadays there are watches that you can easily time yourself. So there is not need for waiting for 5 minutes and taking a precaution. If you do that that’s what the Prophet said that my Ummah will be on the straight path. So to be on the Sunnah, on the right track, the moment the sun sets you should break the fast immediately.