Its recommended practices (sunan) are six: 1) to hasten in breaking the fast; 2) to delay the suḥūr1 (pre-dawn meal); 3) to increase one’s good works; 4) when insulted, to reply aloud, “I am fasting”2; 5) upon breaking the fast, to say: “O Allah, for You I have fasted and with the provision You have granted I break my fast. Glory and praise are Yours. O Allah, accept it from me; indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.”3; and 6) to break the fast with fresh dates, or, failing that, with dried dates, and if these are unavailable, then with water.

Section

It is unlawful4 for anyone who has no excuse to break the fast in Ramadan. Breaking the fast, however, is obligatory for a menstruating woman, a woman in post-partum bleeding, and for anyone who needs to eat or drink in order to save an innocent life from destruction. It is recommended for a traveler who is permitted to shorten the prayer, and for a sick person who fears5 harm, to break the fast.

It is permissible for a resident who sets out on a journey in the course of the day, and for a pregnant or nursing woman who fears for herself or for the child, to break the fast. If the two of them break the fast solely out of fear6 for the child, the child’s guardian must feed one needy person for each day missed.