Maghrib? She said: 'Who is the one who hastens the iftar and hastens the Maghrib prayer?' He said: 'Abdullah (12).' She said: 'That is how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do.' Recorded by Muslim (13). From Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'Allah the Exalted says: "The most beloved of My servants to Me are the swiftest of them to break their fast."' Al-Tirmidhi (14) said: This is a hasan gharib hadith. Anas said: 'I did not see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) perform prayer until he had broken his fast, even if only with a sip of water.' Recorded by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (15).
The second matter is what one breaks the fast with. It is recommended to break the fast with fresh dates (rutab), and if none are available, then with dried dates, and if none are available, then with water, because of what Anas reported, saying: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to break his fast with fresh dates before praying, and if there were none, then with dried dates, and if there were no dried dates, he would take sips (16) of (17) water.' Recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Athram, and al-Tirmidhi (18), who said: A hasan gharib hadith. From Salman (19) ibn 'Amir, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'When one of you breaks his fast, let him break it with dates; if he does not find any, let him break it with water, for it is pure.'
(12) Meaning Ibn Mas'ud. (13) In: The Chapter on the Merit of the Suhur..., from the Book of Fasting. Sahih Muslim 2/771, 772. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on What Is Recommended Regarding Hastening the Iftar, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/550. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding Hastening the Iftar, from the Chapters of Fasting. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/220. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the Amount of Time Between the Suhur and the Morning Prayer, from the Book of Fasting. Al-Mujtaba 4/117, 118. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/48, 173. (14) In: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding Hastening the Iftar, from the Chapters of Fasting. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/219. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/329. (15) See al-Haythami, in: The Chapter on Hastening the Iftar and Delaying the Suhur, from the Book of Fasting. Majma' al-Zawa'id 3/155. He attributed it to Abu Ya'la, al-Bazzar, and al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat. (16) Meaning drinking three times. Ibn al-Athir said: Al-haswah, with a damma, is a gulp of a drink, as much as one consumes in one go. Al-haswah, with a fatha, refers to the single occurrence. See: 'Awn al-Ma'bud 2/278. (17) Omitted from M. (18) Recorded by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on What One Breaks the Fast With, from the Book of Fasting. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/550. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding What It Is Recommended to Break the Fast With, from the Chapters of Fasting. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/214. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 3/164. (19) In the manuscripts: "Sulayman". He is al-Dabbi. See: Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 4/137.
