The matter admits of no alternative interpretation, all the more so when it is supported by the plain sense of the Quran and by sound reports from the early generations—may Allah have mercy on them. From what has preceded, it is evident that the view which prohibits breaking the fast and obliges an expiation upon the one who does so has no footing in the Sacred Law. Hence, whoever sets himself up to rebut us and strives to weaken an authentic hadith in defense of his own school must first bring forth evidence that would convince even himself of the soundness of his position. Otherwise—and as we have already shown—his stance contradicts the manifest wording of the Quran and the explicit, authentic traditions, and that alone suffices to establish his error, even if in his estimation the hadith were weak.

Let the fair-minded among the followers of every school ponder this, and they will see, God willing, the correctness of what we have stated. Allah is the One who grants success.

It is also important to note that the commendable position adopted by Ibn al-ʿArabī and those who followed the hadith is the very attitude every Muslim should take toward this narration in particular and toward the other hadiths as well.