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Ramaḍān

The du‘ā for breaking the fast (ifṭār)

The du‘ā the Sabīl library gives for breaking the fast, shown from a card of the Pocket Companion and a row of the Ramaḍān poster, with its Arabic, its meaning, and the source and grade the library gives it.

Written by AI · scholarly review pending

The words of this article were written by AI from the Sabīl library and its sources, and checked by AI against them. No scholar has reviewed it yet. The Arabic texts, their meanings and their sources are the library’s and the Qur’ān’s own, shown exactly as they stand there. For a ruling on your own circumstances, ask a qualified scholar.

Published 3 October 20266 min read

This page gathers the du‘ā the Sabīl library gives for breaking the fast (ifṭār). The du‘ā is quoted here from two places: a card of the Pocket Companion, and a row of the Ramaḍān poster. The poster's row before that one is shown as well. Each entry is shown from the library, with its Arabic, its meaning, and the source and grade the library gives it.

It gives no ruling about the fast, and it sets no time, number or promise of its own: where an entry mentions one, the words are the entry's. For a ruling, or for a question about your own fast, ask a scholar.

The Ramaḍān card of the Pocket Companion

The Hijri Companion set of the Pocket Companion has a card headed "Ramaḍān". It has three parts, each under a label.

The first, "The month", is one line that names the fast, tarāwīḥ, seeking Laylat al-Qadr, i‘tikāf and Zakāt al-Fiṭr. The line also says when each falls; those words are the card's, shown with the card below, and this page does not repeat them. The library cites the line to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.

The second, "Breaking the fast", is the du‘ā this page is about: one short sentence, with a transliteration and a meaning. The library cites it to Abū Dāwūd and grades it ḥasan. The same source line ends with the words "break on dates, or water". This page adds nothing to the card's label about when, how or how many times the du‘ā is said.

The third, "Laylat al-Qadr", is another du‘ā. The library cites it to at-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and its source line ends with the words "taught to ‘Ā’ishah for that night". It is shown here because it is on the card; for that night, see the article on the last ten nights and Laylat al-Qadr.

04Ramaḍān
The month
Fast dawn to sunset · Tarāwīḥ after ‘Ishā’ · seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten · i‘tikāf in the last ten · Zakāt al-Fiṭr before the ‘Eid prayer.
Bukhārī, Muslim · ṣaḥīḥ
Breaking the fast
ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الْأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ
Dhahabaẓ-ẓama’u wabtallatil-‘urūqu wa thabatal-ajru in shā’allāh
Thirst is gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is certain, if Allah wills.
Abū Dāwūd · ḥasan — break on dates, or water.
Laylat al-Qadr
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
Allāhumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuḥibbul-‘afwa fa‘fu ‘annī
O Allah, You are Most Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me.
Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah · ṣaḥīḥ — taught to ‘Ā’ishah for that night.
From Pocket Companion · Open the full title

The Maghrib row of the Ramaḍān poster

The Ramaḍān poster sets the day out in numbered rows. Its row 04 is headed "Maghrib — break the fast at once".

The row carries the du‘ā too, with its meaning. After the meaning it has two more sentences. The first reads "Fresh dates, or dried, or water." The second is about the supplication of the one who is fasting; it is shown with the row below, and this page does not restate it.

The row's source line gives two citations, Abū Dāwūd and at-Tirmidhī, each with the grade ḥasan. This page does not say which sentence of the row each citation is for.

The words "break the fast at once" are the poster's heading, quoted here as the poster has them. Exactly when a fast is broken is a ruling: this page does not give one, and the question is one for a scholar.

04Maghrib — break the fast at once
ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ، وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ، وَثَبَتَ الْأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ
Dhahabaẓ-ẓama’, wa-btallatil-‘urūq, wa thabatal-ajru in shā’allāh
The thirst is gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is certain, if Allah wills. Fresh dates, or dried, or water. The supplication of the fasting one at breaking is not turned back.
Abū Dāwūd · ḥasan; Tirmidhī · ḥasan

Lines with a dotted edge give the sound of the Arabic, worked out by rule from its vowel marks. They are not from the print titles and have not been reviewed: where one differs from the Arabic, the Arabic is right.

From Ramaḍān · Open the full title

The row before it: through the day

The poster's row 03 is headed "Through the day — guard the tongue". Its line begins "If someone abuses you or picks a quarrel", gives a short phrase to say, with the meaning "I am fasting", and ends with a sentence about false speech. The library cites the row to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.

03Through the day — guard the tongue
إِنِّي صَائِمٌ
Innī ṣā’im
If someone abuses you or picks a quarrel, say innī ṣā’im — I am fasting. Whoever does not leave false speech, Allah has no need of his leaving food and drink.
Bukhārī · ṣaḥīḥ

Lines with a dotted edge give the sound of the Arabic, worked out by rule from its vowel marks. They are not from the print titles and have not been reviewed: where one differs from the Arabic, the Arabic is right.

From Ramaḍān · Open the full title

What this page does not quote, and does not answer

The library's Ramaḍān cards also have a card headed "Suḥūr & ifṭār". The library's own checking has not settled a question about one of its lines, so the card is linked here and not quoted.

This page does not say what breaks a fast, how the intention is made, when eating stops, or exactly when the fast is broken. Those are rulings: ask a scholar.

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