The recommended practices of fasting and the etiquettes of the pre-dawn meal.

The Shaykh : Then know, my brother, that fasting has recommended practices. Among them is that a person should eat the pre-dawn meal; that a person should eat the pre-dawn meal. What is the meaning of the pre-dawn meal? The pre-dawn meal is when a person takes food in the last part of the night to eat, to help him with his fasting. When is the pre-dawn meal? In the middle of the night? Yes? In the last part of the night. Delaying the pre-dawn meal is better, such that when you finish it, the call to Fajr prayer is made. Do not say, "I will eat the pre-dawn meal early and sleep until the dawn appears." No, sleep first, then eat the pre-dawn meal. So that when you finish the pre-dawn meal, the dawn has already been called for, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): . Ibn Umm Maktum was a blind man who did not call to prayer until he was told, "It is morning, it is morning." When he was told, "It is morning," meaning the morning had appeared, he would go and call to prayer. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to eat and drink until we hear [the call]. He ordered his companions; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered his companions to eat and drink until they heard the call of Ibn Umm Maktum. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: or . Blessing. Where are the blessings? First: eating the pre-dawn meal has a blessing in it, because it is assistance in obeying Allah, because it is compliance with the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). "Eat the pre-dawn meal," because it is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). For he used to eat the pre-dawn meal. Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: . How many benefits is this? Three. It has a blessing, because it is a distinction between us and the fasting of the People of the Book. The People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, fast, but they do not eat the pre-dawn meal. The Muslim community eats the pre-dawn meal, so their pre-dawn meal is a distinction between the fasting of Muslims and the fasting of Jews and Christians. So it has a blessing. And among the etiquettes of fasting is hastening to break the fast, rushing to break the fast from the time the sun sets. So if you see the disk of the sun has disappeared, break your fast and do not delay, even if the sky is clear and the light is very bright, as long as you see the disk of the sun has disappeared, break your fast. Okay, what if you did not hear the call to prayer? And if you did not hear the call to prayer? And if you did not hear the call to prayer. So if you were in a high place and saw the sun had set, break your fast even if the people had not called to prayer. The evidence is the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): . And He did not say "until the call is made." He said "until the night." And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) , meaning it has become lawful for him to break his fast. - Pay attention -. Okay, what if the mu'adhdhin called to prayer and you are in a high place and you are watching the sun. Do you break your fast? No, you do not break your fast. But it is obligatory for you to alert those you can alert that the sun has not set. And it is obligatory for you also to inform the responsible authorities that the mu'adhdhins are calling to prayer before the sun sets, and to inform as many of the mu'adhdhins as you can so that they delay [the call]. Okay, what if a person ate and drank for the pre-dawn meal thinking that the night was still there. And when he went out, he found that the people had gone out from the prayer. Is it obligatory for him to make up the fast? O people? A man ate during the day, ate in the daytime, is it obligatory for him? We look. The correct view is that it is not obligatory for him to make up the fast. The correct view is that it is not obligatory for him to make up the fast. And the evidence for that is the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): . So Allah said: . And this man who ate, if he had known that the dawn had appeared, he would never have eaten. Okay, the opposite: a man thought that the sun had set. For example: the sky was cloudy, and he thought the sun had set, so he ate. Then the sun appeared. Is it obligatory for him to make up the fast? No. Why? Because of the saying of the Exalted: . So Allah said: . And because it is established in Sahih al-Bukhari from Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) that she said: . In the time of the Messenger, there were no clocks. The sky was covered with clouds, so they thought the sun had set, so they broke their fast. Then the sun appeared. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was among them, and he did not order them to make up the fast. And if making up the fast had been obligatory, he would have ordered them to do so. And if he had ordered them to do so, it would have been part of his legislation. And if it had been part of his legislation, it would have been preserved for his community. And it is not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ordered them to make up the fast. And this is based on the great principle that came from Allah, which is: . And praise be to Allah for the ease. When a person is weak, ignorant, and forgetful, Allah forgives ignorance and forgetfulness. Okay. And who forgot? A man ate while forgetting that he was fasting, then he remembered after he had eaten once that he was fasting. Huh? Is there no making up the fast for him? The evidence? . Praise be to Allah that you took this verse as a great principle. Rather, it is reported regarding forgetfulness the saying of him (peace and blessings be upon him): . The religion is easy, lenient. But some people make it difficult for themselves. It is said, or we are told when we are young: that a man bought grapes for his family while he was fasting. - Listen to the story -. I am telling this without a chain of narration, that a man bought grapes for his family while he was fasting and kept eating from the grapes as he walked. And when he arrived at his family's place, he found that only one grape was left on the bunch. So he issued a ruling for himself, saying: If the grapes I ate earlier did not break my fast, then this one does not break it. And if I have broken my fast, then this one follows [the previous ones]. What is your opinion now?
The student: He broke his fast with the single grape.

The Shaykh : He broke his fast with the single grape? Yes, because he did it intentionally; he was no longer forgetting. Okay. In any case, if a person breaks his fast while forgetting or being ignorant, from the beginning of the day or from the end of the day, then nothing is required of him. But it is obligatory for him to stop when the excuse is removed, even if he remembers and there is water in his mouth, it is obligatory for him to spit it out. And if he remembers and there is a mouthful of food in his mouth, it is obligatory for him to spit it out, because after knowledge, it is not permissible to put anything into the stomach.
Perhaps what we have mentioned is sufficient until we take some questions. Yes, unless you see that we should pray first and then take the questions after. Yes?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Good? Huh? Or do we continue and make it one session. Okay. And you, praise be to Allah, if you remain, you are still in prayer, you did not wait for the prayer. This is one thing. Also, it is better to delay 'Isha' prayer. Yes. So we will take one or two questions because I have work after. Yes. Yes? We will take what is facilitated.
The student: May Allah reward the honorable Shaykh with the best reward for these words we have heard, and benefit us with his knowledge, and make us among those who listen to the statement and follow the best of it.

The Shaykh : Amen.
The student: And now it is the time for questions. And the questions for this meeting, and the number of this meeting is forty-one, as we have noted that it was not mentioned.