When does the time for breaking the fast begin, and when must the fasting person abstain from food and drink?

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The questioner : When does the time for breaking the fast begin, and when must the fasting person abstain from food and drink?

The Shaykh : As for abstaining from food and drink, Allah the Exalted said:

So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]

فالآن باشروهن وابتغوا ما كتب الله لكم وكلوا واشربوا حتى يتبين لكم الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود من الفجر

[Al-Baqarah 2:187]

So when the dawn becomes clear on the horizon, and what is meant is the true dawn, which spreads horizontally, extending from north to south, when it becomes clear and distinct, abstention becomes obligatory, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:

And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]

وكلوا واشربوا حتى يتبين لكم الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود من الفجر

[Al-Baqarah 2:187]

So if the sky is clear and you can see the eastern horizon, and the day has not yet become clear, you may eat until it becomes clear.
As for sunset, Allah the Exalted said:

Then complete the fast until the sunset

ثم أتموا الصيام إلى الليل

[Al-Baqarah 2:187]

And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:

When the night approaches from here, and he pointed to the east, and the day departs from here, and he pointed to the west, and the sun sets, then the fasting person has broken his fast.

إذا أقبل الليل من هاهنا وأشار إلى المشرق وأدبر النهار من هاهنا وأشار إلى المغرب وغربت الشمس فقد أفطر الصائم

So when you see the disk of the sun has disappeared, it is permissible for you to break your fast. The best is to hasten to break the fast, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, in what he narrates from his Lord (Mighty and Majestic):

Those of My worshippers who are most beloved to me are the quickest to break their fast.

أحب عبادي إلي أعجلهم فطراً

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 700Da'if (Darussalam)

This applies when a person is able to see the horizon at the rise of dawn and the setting of the sun. However, if he is unable to see it, as is the case for most people in cities and villages, they follow the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) they trust. If the mu'adhdhin calls and says, "I do not call except when the dawn has risen," then they should abstain. And if the mu'adhdhin calls for the Maghrib prayer and they trust him, they should break their fast, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

Bilal announces Adhan during the night, so you eat and drink, till you hear the Adhan of Ibn Umm Maktum

إن بلالاً يؤذن بليل فكلوا واشربوا حتى تسمعوا أذان ابن أم مكتوم فإنه لا يؤذن حتى يطلع الفجر

Sahih Muslim 1092b

So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made abstention contingent upon hearing the adhan. This is for those who cannot see the dawn themselves. As for one who sees the dawn himself, his seeing it is considered valid. Similarly, one who sees the sun set and sees its disk disappear on the horizon may break his fast, even if he does not hear the adhan of the mu'adhdhin.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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