In your answer in the previous session regarding the disbeliever who attends the iftar meal in one of the mosques, what is its ruling?
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The questioner : May Allah reward the honorableThe Shaykh : In your answer in the previous session regarding the disbeliever who attends the iftar meal in one of the mosques, what is its ruling? Since that was ambiguous and you mentioned that a Muslim who is not fasting does not have the right to attend that iftar, if the Muslim does not have the right to attend, is the disbeliever not even more so? I ask for your guidance, may Allah guide you? And does this prohibition include those who are in charge of preparing that food, because they are present to take the statistics and other matters? So, are they allowed to break their fast with it or not?
The Shaykh : As for the disbeliever who attends to eat with the fasting people, we permit him to do so for the sake of reconciliation and uniting hearts toward Islam, which is a requirement prescribed by the Shari'ah. Indeed, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has allocated a share of zakah for them. As for the Muslim who is not fasting, if we know that this food is specifically for the fasting people, and he is not fasting, then he does not deserve it. The Muslim does not need us to reconcile his heart; he is a Muslim. This is the difference between the non-fasting Muslim and the disbeliever.
But someone might say that those who provide the iftar in the mosques do not care whether the one eating it is fasting or not, and that the matter is broader than that. This statement is valid in reality, because if you asked those who donated for this iftar, "Do you agree that a non-fasting Muslim eats from it to relieve his hunger?" they would say, "Yes" or "No"? They would say, "Yes." Everyone loves to feed people in this blessed month, whether they are fasting or not. The rest of the question.
The questioner : And as for those who are in charge of preparing it.
The Shaykh : And as for those who are in charge of preparing this food and counting the non-fasters, they are certainly allowed to eat from it, because the least we can say about them is that they resemble those who work on collecting zakah, and Allah has given those who work on collecting zakah a share of it. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the disbeliever who attends to eat with the fasting people, we permit him to do so for the sake of reconciliation and uniting hearts toward Islam, which is a requirement prescribed by the Shari'ah. Indeed, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has allocated a share of zakah for them. As for the Muslim who is not fasting, if we know that this food is specifically for the fasting people, and he is not fasting, then he does not deserve it. The Muslim does not need us to reconcile his heart; he is a Muslim. This is the difference between the non-fasting Muslim and the disbeliever.
But someone might say that those who provide the iftar in the mosques do not care whether the one eating it is fasting or not, and that the matter is broader than that. This statement is valid in reality, because if you asked those who donated for this iftar, "Do you agree that a non-fasting Muslim eats from it to relieve his hunger?" they would say, "Yes" or "No"? They would say, "Yes." Everyone loves to feed people in this blessed month, whether they are fasting or not. The rest of the question.
The questioner : And as for those who are in charge of preparing it.
The Shaykh : And as for those who are in charge of preparing this food and counting the non-fasters, they are certainly allowed to eat from it, because the least we can say about them is that they resemble those who work on collecting zakah, and Allah has given those who work on collecting zakah a share of it. Yes.