Ruling on doing Iftar by mistake before time

Darulifta Ahlesunnat

(Dawateislami)

Question

What do respected scholars of Islam and Muftis of Shari’ah say about the following issue: A person observed a Sawm(fast) but he made a mistake while looking at Iftar timing in the specified timetable. As a result, he broke his Sawm one minute earlier. Is his Sawm valid or not? And what should he do now?

بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

In the situation mentioned in the question, the Sawm(fast) of the person who broke it one minute earlier is not valid. It is obligatory for him to observe a Sawm as Qada. However, there is no Kaffarah (expiation). Therefore, he should observe one Sawm with the intention of Qada. A legendary scholar of Shari’ah, ‘Allamah Maulana Mufti Muhammad Amjad ‘Ali A’zami رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْه stated: If a disbeliever becomes a Muslim or a non-pubescent reaches the age of puberty or someone eats Sahari-meal thinking that it was night time whereas it was morning time [i.e. Subh-e-Sadiq had started] or anyone does Iftar thinking that the sun had set whereas it had not yet set; in all of these cases, it is Wajib to spend the remaining part of the day like a Sawm-observing person. And, for the non-pubescent who reaches the age of puberty or the disbeliever who becomes a Muslim, it is not Wajib to observe the Sawm of that day as Qada.Apart frome these, for all others [mentioned above], it is Wajib to observe its Qada.(Bahar-e-Shari’at, vol. 1, pp. 990)

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم

Answered by:Mufti Abu Muhammad Ali Asghar Attari