TO HAVE THE IFTAR EARLY It is sunna [1] to make haste for the iftar and to have the sahur

late providing that it is before the fajr dawns. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was very solicitous about these two sunnats. It is written in Durer: The meal eaten a t the time of sahar is called sahur. The time of sahar is the final one-sixth of the night, [i. e. , (of the time) from shari sunset to the time of imsak.] It has been made a sunna to make haste for the iftar and to have the sahur late perhap s because it shows that man is weak and needy. As a matter of fact, worships are intended for showing weakness and need. Sharnblali (rahmatullahi taala alaih), wr ote in the book Nur-ul-idhah. It is mustahab to have the iftar early on cloudless nights. While explaining the book, he wrote, On cloudy nights one must be careful in order to protect ones fast from being broken, [that is, one must delay the if tar a little]. One who eats the iftar before the stars are seen has done it earl y enough. Tahtawi says in his commentary to the book, It is mustahab [2] to break fast before performing the evening prayer. As written in the book Bahr [and also in Ibni Abidin], to make haste for the iftar means to have the iftar before the stars are seen. Also it is mustahab to perform the evening prayer at that time, that is, to perform it early. When it is well understood that the sun has set, f irst the iftar is eaten with dates, water, olives or salt. That is, the fast is broken. Then the evening prayer is performed in jamaat in a mosque or at home. Th en the supper is had. Because it will take a long time to eat the food at the ta ble, especially during Ramadan, the iftar must be made with a little food and th e supper must be had after the evening prayer so that the evening prayer will be performed early and the meal will be eaten with ease and without haste. Thus, t he fast will be broken early and the prayer will be performed early. GLOSSARY [1] sunnat: i) act, thing that was, though not commanded by Allahu taala, done an d liked by the Prophet (alaihi s-salam) as an ibada (there is thawab if done, but n o sin if omitted, yet it causes sin if continually omitted and disbelief if disl iked; the Sunna; i) (with fard) all the sunnas as a whole; ii) (with the Book or Quran al-karim) the Hadith ash-sharif; iii) (alone) fiqh, Islam. [2] mustahab: (act, thing) deserving thawab if done but no sin if omitted, nor d isbelief if disliked.