Breaking A Fast At The Time Of Sunset And Not At The Time Of The Adhaan

· 6 Shawwal 1445 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

A person is keeping the 60 Kaffaarah fasts. Unintentionally he broke a fast at the time of sunset maghrib time, he was at work so he could not hear the masjid azaan and followed a timetable downloaded from Internet . My question is should he start the 60 fasts again ?

Answer

In principle, the actual time for the termination of a fast is sunset. If the person therefore broke his fast as per the sunset time as indicated on a timetable, and at the time of breaking the fast and he had a dominant presumption (dominant feeling) that the sun has set, then his fast is valid even if he broke his fast before the commencement of the Maghrib Azhaan. If this is what occurred then he will not be required to recommence the sixty fast of Kaffaarah.

However, in future, as a matter of precaution, one should break one’s fast a few minutes after the actual sunset time (which is generally the time when the Maghrib Azhaan starts).

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

و يستحب السحور و تاخيره وتعجيل الفطر الدر المختار

اى الا فى يوم غيم، ولا يفطر ما لم يغلب على ظنه غروب الشمس، و ان أذ ن المؤذن. بحر عن البزازية. وفيه عن شرح الجامع لقاضى خان: التعجيل المستحب قبل اشتباك النجوم. قال فى الفيض: ومن كان على مكان مرتفع كمنارة اسكندرية، لا يفطر ما لم تغرب الشمس عنده، ولاهل البلدة الفطر ان غربت عندهم قبله.

رد المحتار (419 / 420 – 2 )

والمراد بالغروب: زمان غيبوبة جرم الشمس بحيث تظهر الظلمة فى جهة الشرق، قال صلي الله عليه وسلم ))اذا اقبل اليل من ههنا فقد افطر الصائم(( اى اذا وجدت الظلمة حسا في جهة المشرق فقد ظهر وقت الفطر…اه .

رد المحتار (371 / 2 )

Approved by
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

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