to be upon goodness so long as they hasten to break the fast. As long as people rush to uphold the Sunnah and vie with one another in acts of righteousness, they remain in a state of goodness—unceasingly so. But when they drag their feet and fail to break the fast promptly, that is the very opposite of good. Hence the Rāfiḍah, who oppose the Messenger’s ﷺ Sunnah, delay ifṭār and do not eat until the stars have become clearly visible. By doing so they rob themselves of reward, forgo the merit of promptly granting their bodies a share of food and drink, and subject themselves to suffering in this world before the next. When a thirsty or hungry person postpones eating and drinking, his pain only intensifies; thus they torment themselves by delaying ifṭār, violate the Sunnah, and forfeit its reward.

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—then mentions that the best practice is to break the fast with fresh dates; if none are available, then with dry dates; and if those too are lacking, with water. The Prophet ﷺ would break his fast with a few fresh dates, never consuming a large quantity, for it is unwise to overeat at ifṭār. The stomach is empty, and overfilling it causes harm; give it nourishment gradually and sparingly. For this reason sound medical advice does not recommend that one sit down to a full dinner immediately after ifṭār, as some people do. Medicine dictates offering the empty stomach only a small amount. Accordingly, the Prophet ﷺ would break his fast with a few fresh dates; if none were on hand, then with a few dry dates; and if those were unavailable, he would take several sips of water. Thus one should begin with fresh dates, then dry dates, and finally water.

Today—praise be to Allah—fresh dates are available even outside the summer months. People store them in refrigerators and they last for some time, so the preferable course is to break the fast with fresh dates. If you do not have any, then use dry dates.