Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter: What is said upon sighting the crescent moon.
On the authority of Talhah Ibn ‘Ubayd Allah, may Allah be pleased with him:
That when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw the crescent moon, he would say:
"O Allah, bring it over us with security, faith, safety, and Islam."
"My Lord and your Lord is Allah."
"A crescent of guidance and goodness."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Security and safety are attained through faith in Allah as Lord,
In Muhammad as Messenger,
And in Islam as a religion.
For if faith is lost,
There is neither security nor safety.
Security and safety are a blessing from Allah the Exalted that must be acknowledged with gratitude,
And by praying to Allah that they remain and are renewed.
It is recommended to recite this supplication upon sighting the crescent moon of every month.
Chapter: The virtue of the pre-dawn meal (suhur) and delaying it, provided one does not fear the break of dawn.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Eat the suhur, for there is blessing in the suhur."
Agreed upon.
From the benefits of the hadith:
One should not miss the suhur, for it contains goodness and blessing,
And because it provides strength for fasting.
On the authority of Zayd Ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"We ate the suhur with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,"
"Then we stood up for prayer."
It was asked: "How much time was between them?"
He replied: "The time it takes to recite fifty verses."
Agreed upon.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Measuring time by physical actions.
The Arabs used to measure time by actions,
Such as saying: "The time it takes to milk a ewe,"
Or "the time it takes to slaughter a camel."
Zayd Ibn Thabit shifted from that to measuring by recitation,
Indicating that this time
Was a time of worship through recitation and reflection.
It is recommended to delay the suhur until just before dawn,
As it is more effective for the intended purpose.
The leader keeping his companions company by eating with them.
The permissibility of gathering for the suhur.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had
Two callers to prayer:
Bilal and Ibn Umm Maktum.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Bilal calls the adhan at night,"
"So eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum calls the adhan."
He said:
"There was no time between them"
"Except for one to descend and the other to ascend."
Agreed upon.
From the benefits of the hadith:
There are two types of dawn:
The false dawn,
Which does not make the morning prayer permissible,
Nor does it forbid food for the fasting person.
And the true dawn,
Which is what forbids food for the fasting person,
And makes the dawn prayer permissible.
This is why the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had
Two callers to prayer:
Bilal and Ibn Umm Maktum.
The false dawn
Is the elongated, bright, ascending whiteness,
Like the tail of a wolf.
The true dawn
Is the reddish light that spreads horizontally across the peaks of mountain passes and mountains,
Spreading into roads, paths, and houses.
This is the one to which the rulings of fasting and prayer are attached.
On the authority of ‘Amr Ibn al-‘As, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"The distinction between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book"
"Is the pre-dawn meal."
Narrated by Muslim.
"Distinction" means the difference.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Allah has obligated fasting upon us,
Just as He obligated it upon those before us from the People of the Book.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commanded the suhur
To differentiate between our fast and the fast of the People of the Book.
Opposing the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians,
Is one of the objectives of the Shari'ah,
And a goal of the Prophetic mission,
To distinguish this Ummah of Islam.
Chapter: The virtue of hastening to break the fast,
What to break the fast with,
And what to say after breaking it.
On the authority of Sahl Ibn Sa‘d, may Allah be pleased with him:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"People will remain in goodness as long as they hasten to break the fast."
Agreed upon.
From the benefits of the hadith:
One should not add the night to the day,
Because it is easier for the fasting person,
And strengthens them for worship.
On the authority of Abu ‘Atiyyah, who said:
"Masruq and I entered upon ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her,"
"And Masruq said to her:"
"'Two men from the companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,'"
"'Neither of whom falls short in goodness,'"
"'One of them hastens the Maghrib prayer and the breaking of the fast,'"
"'And the other delays the Maghrib prayer and the breaking of the fast.'"
She asked: "Who is the one who hastens the Maghrib prayer and the breaking of the fast?"
He replied: "‘Abdullah," meaning Ibn Mas‘ud.
She said: "That is how the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to do."
Narrated by Muslim.
His phrase "does not fall short"
Means he does not neglect goodness.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The recommendation to ask the people of knowledge
If a matter becomes obscure to the seeker,
Or a question is difficult for them,
Or the evidences appear equal to them.
The eagerness of the companions of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for goodness,
And their competition in acts of righteousness and piety,
And their observance of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Sunnah is to delay the suhur and hasten the breaking of the fast,
And the hadiths regarding this are abundant and reach the level of mutawatir.
A merit for ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him,
And his carefulness to follow the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Sunnah may be hidden from some of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Allah the Almighty says:"
"'The most beloved of My servants to Me'"
"'Are those who are quickest to break their fast.'"
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
On the authority of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"When the night approaches from here,"
"And the day departs from here,"
"And the sun sets,"
"Then the fasting person has broken their fast."
Agreed upon.
"The night approaches from here,"
Meaning it comes from the direction of the east.
"The day departs from here,"
Meaning it leaves from the direction of the west.
"Then the fasting person has broken their fast,"
Meaning in terms of the ruling,
Not in terms of the reality,
Because the time for breaking the fast has entered.
From the benefits of the hadith:
There must be remnants of darkness when breaking the fast.
Breaking the fast is realized by three conditions:
The approach of the night and the departure of the day,
And the setting of the sun's disk.
The principle regarding these three is that they are concurrent,
Even if it appears to the eye that they are not.
On the authority of Abu Ibrahim,
‘Abdullah Ibn Abi Awfa, may Allah be pleased with them both,
Who said:
"We were traveling with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,"
"While he was fasting."
"When the sun set,"
"He said to some of the people:"
"'O so-and-so,'"
"'Get down and mix some sawiq (barley meal) for us.'"
He said:
"'O Messenger of Allah,'"
"'If only you would wait until evening.'"
He said:
"'Get down and mix some sawiq for us.'"
He said:
"'But there is still daylight upon you.'"
He said:
"'Get down and mix some sawiq for us.'"
He said:
"So he got down and mixed it for them."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, drank,
Then said:
"'When you see the night has approached from here,'"
"'Then the fasting person has broken their fast,'"
And he pointed with his hand toward the east.
Agreed upon.
His phrase "mix" (ijdaḥ),
Means to mix the sawiq with water.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The permissibility of inquiring about appearances,
Due to the possibility that the intended meaning is not to take them at face value.
From this, we derive his, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, approval of the Companion for not immediately complying.
The recommendation to hasten the breaking of the fast.
It is not absolutely obligatory to abstain for a portion of the night.
Rather, once the setting of the sun is confirmed,
Breaking the fast becomes permissible.
The permissibility of reminding a scholar of something they might have forgotten,
And stopping the questioning after three times.
On the authority of Salman Ibn ‘Amir al-Dabbi, the Companion, may Allah be pleased with him,
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"When one of you breaks his fast,"
"Let him break it with dates,"
"For if he does not find any,"
"Let him break it with water,"
"For it is purifying."
Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would break his fast with fresh dates before praying.
If there were no fresh dates, he would use dried dates.
If there were no dried dates,
he would take a few sips of water.
This was recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
"Hasa" means he drank.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
Breaking the fast should occur immediately after the adhan.
Or once the condition is met, before the prayer.
Because it invigorates the soul for performing the act of worship.
It is recommended to break the fast with fresh or dried dates.
If one cannot find those, then with water.
Chapter: The command for the fasting person to guard their tongue and limbs against violations, verbal abuse, and the like.
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"When any of you is fasting,
let him not use obscene language or act ignorantly.
If someone insults him or fights him,
let him say, 'I am fasting.'"
Agreed upon.
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, also reported:
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it,
Allah has no need for him to abandon his food and drink."
Recorded by al-Bukhari.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
The true fasting person is one whose limbs refrain from sins.
Whose tongue refrains from lying, obscenity, and false speech.
Whose stomach refrains from food and drink.
And whose private parts refrain from sexual misconduct.
If the fasting person speaks,
he does not speak in a way that harms his fast.
And if he acts, he does not do what would invalidate his fast.
Many a fasting person gains nothing from his fast but hunger and thirst.
Riyad al-Salihin.