Recite Sura Qadr highly recommended by Imam Zainul abideen(as)
اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ صُمْتُ وَ عَلَى رِزْقِكَ أَفْطَرْتُ وَ عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ
Say when the first morsel of food is taken
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) used to say the following :
Iftar Duas From Iqbal Aamal Sayyed Ibn Tawus)
يَا عَظيمُ يَا عَظيمُ أَنْتَ إِلٰهي لَا إِلٰهَ لِي غَيْرُك، اِغْفِرْ لِيَ اَلذَّنْبَ الْعَظيم، إِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ الْعَظِيمَ إِلَّا الْعَظِيم
“There is no fasting servant who says this at Iftaar except that he is cleansed from sin like the day he was born.”-Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)
The Prophet (as) – may the best peace be on him – has been narrated as saying, “All the past sins of whoever eats food and says the following will be forgiven,
The following supplications to be said at the time of eating is narrated through a chain of documents to Al-Tabarsi, narrated on the authority of the Divine Leaders – may the best peace and blessings be bestowed upon them.
The following is narrated through a chain of documents to Harun ibn Musa al-Talakbari, on the authority of Abi Basir, on the authority of Abi Abdullah (as): “Whenever you want to break your fast after a day of fasting during the month of Ramadhan say,
It has been narrated that Musa ibn Ja‟far al-Kazim (as) said the following on the authority of his forefathers (as): “When at the time of breaking your fast in the evening say the following so that the reward for all who fasted on that day is recorded for You.
Al-Sayyid Yahya ibn al-Hussein ibn Harun al-Husseini has narrated the following in his book Al-Amali using a chain of documents: “The Prophet (as) said the following after eating each bite of food,
Ayatollah Karahi Suggests this Amal At The Time Of Iftar to Connect With Imam Mahdi(ajtfs)- 1) Recite Sura Fatiha for Lady Nargis Khatoon mother of Imam Zaman(ajtfs) ,2) Say a Salam to Imam Mahdi ( ajtfs) "Assalmao Alayka Ya Sahib Asr wal zaman " & Dua Hujjah- Allhumma Kunle 3) Say a salam to Imam Hussain ( as) "Asalaamo alayka Ya Aba Abdillah"
Sayyid ibn Tawus and al-Kaf`ami have narrated the following supplication:
It is recommended to say the following at the first bite of the food with which the fasting is broken:
Forgiveness of Almighty Allah is the reward of saying this supplication.
The following is narrated through a chain of documents to Mufaz‟zal ibn Umar – may God have mercy on him – on the authority of As-Sadiq (as) that God‟s Prophet (as) told the Commander of the Faithful Ali (as): “O‟ Abal Hassan! This is the month of Ramadhan that has come. First say supplications before breaking your fast as Gabriel descended to me and said, „O‟ Muhammad (as)! God the Sublime would fulfill the prayers of whoever recites these supplications before breaking his fast in the month of Ramadhan, and would accept his fasting and praying, would fulfill ten of his prayers, forgive his sins, remove his sorrows, relieve his destitution, fulfill his needs, recompense his debts, raise his deeds up along with the deeds of the Prophets (as) and the truthful ones, and make his face shining white like the moon of the fourteenth night.‟
” I asked, “O‟ Gabriel! What are they?” Gabriel replied this Dua Noor
1.The following narrations quoted on the authority of the Immaculate Divine Leaders (as) based on a chain of documents to Abi Abdullah Ja‟far ibn Muhammad (as), on the authority of his forefathers (as), on the authority of God‟s Prophet (as) and it seems to be for after breaking the fast.
2.The following is narrated through a chain of documents to Al-Tabarsi – may God have mercy on him – who narrated the following supplications for when you finish eating food on the authority of the Divine Leaders (as):
3.It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Ja‟far (as) that when Ali (as) ate his meal to break the fast, he (as) stayed at the tablecloth until the tablecloth was picked up and then said the following,
O my God! I ask You by Your Mercy which overtakes Your Wrath, and by Your Mercy with which You noted me while I was not noteworthy, and by Your Mercy with which You nurtured me, and brought me up during childhood and adulthood. And I ask You by the Mercy with which You delivered me from the loins of my father onto the womb of my mother since the time of Adam (as).You provided my father and mother with most important needs including food and clothing and rescued them from the hardships and calamities that destroyed previous nations. I ask You by the Mercy with which You directed me to Yourself; by the Mercy with which You honored me to Your Obedience and Proximity. I ask You by the Mercy with which You established me to be amongst the followers of Your most honored Prophets (as) and by the Mercy with which You showed forebearance whenever I acted impolitely in front of You. I ask You by the Mercy and Nobility that You know best about and their acceptance and completion. I ask You by what is befitting You to bestow Your Blessings on Muhammad and his Progeny (as) and purify us from faults and sins by granting well-being and pardoning so that I may attain the qualifications for attending Your Presence and sitting at the table of Your Party. I ask You to purify our food, drinks and all the benefits of Your Mercy that I use from any pollution, filth, or other people‟s rights, and from the forbidden and the doubtful and pay back their equivalent value to their rightful owners whether dead or alive. I ask You to make them pure and clean, as means of improving our religion as medication for our bodies, purification for our thoughts and appearance, and as illumination for our intellect and illumination for our souls, as means of strengthening us to serve You, and as a cause of being attentive to You. Please let us be amongst those who are needless of talking when relying upon Your Knowledge and are needless of questioning due to Your Generosity by Your Mercy – O‟ the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.”
ETTIQUETTES
A hadith reads, “Almighty Allah releases from Hellfire one million persons at the last hour of every day in Ramadan; therefore, pray to Allah swt to include you with these released ones.”
It is recommended to begin breaking the fast with legally gotten food (halal earnings), especially dates and water. This act doubles the reward of the prayer to four hundred folds.
It is recommended to give alms at the time of breaking the fast and to offer food to the other fasters even if with a single date and a drink of water. Concerning this, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is reported to have said,
“Verily, any one who offers food for a fasting person in the month of Ramadan will have the same reward that is decided for the fasting person without having any amount of his reward reduced and will have the same reward of acting good deeds according to the power of that food.”
Section 1 On How to Stop Fasting and Breaking the Fast - Iqbal Aamal
Everyone who fasts makes a deal with God and he should consider this as a duty before he starts to fast during the day, when he breaks his fast and later at night until the next dawn. You should observe purity of heart from what your Master detests and employ your organs in doing what attains His Pleasure. This is desirable for you to do all the time during your life in the world. However, the main point in the month of Ramadhan is to note that you are in the presence of the Almighty God, and are following His Decrees by fasting, breaking it in the evening, whether in private and public. You should perceive that fasting is a prosperous form of obedience and your breaking of the fast by the order of God the Almighty is another form of worship. Ending the fast should be based on the decree on breaking the fast in obeying the Almighty God‟s orders to His Will. You should feel superiority and joy from the fact that the King of the world and the Hereafter has admitted you to stand at His Threshold, grab His Servitude, become associated with His Dominant Government, given the chance for the acceptance of your deeds and kept you safe from the danger of being turned down. The one who fasts should not think that with breaking the fast he can stop the demand from his heart to purify and do good deeds during the rest of the night knowing that the Almighty God has only allowed him to break his fast to continue to grant him His Kindness and to face him with His Mercy. Considering this state, how could the worshipper take the attention of the God who is present and who does good to him lightly?
In many narrations on the authority of the Divine Leaders – may the noblest blessings be upon them – we read: “It is better for one to pray before breaking the fast during the month of Ramadhan. And this could help the acceptance of your acts of worship more.”
The following is narrated through a chain of documents to Ali ibn Fazzal from his book Al-Siam, on the authority of Abi Abdullah As-Sadiq (as): “It is recommended for one who fasts to pray before breaking his fast if he can.” However, if you are with people who cannot wait for you to pray and then break their fast, then eat before praying, and you should break your fast with them in order to please the Almighty God, exalt His Commands, and complete the deeds of worshipping.
This way, by obeying the Will of the God who is the Owner of your life and death and with this intention, you should first break your fast and then pray while exalting Divine Glory. However, if breaking the fast with them you are held back from Your Lord and this creates a distance between you and the noble commands which God has wanted you to follow, then you should honor them by feeding them and please them with yourself and then present some excuses to justify that you are not participating in breaking the fast with them, apologize to them and be careful about the excuses you present since God is informed of what is in the hearts and the minds. Moreover, if you fear them and cannot pray before breaking the fast with them, and this form of concealment of faith pleases God who is the Owner of the living and the dead, then you should act upon what pleased God. You should not try to justify yourself in obedience to Satan or to follow your own selfish desires.
It has been narrated on the authority of Abi Ali al-Fazl ibn al-Hassan ibn al-Fazl al-Tabarsi in his book Al-Adab al-Diniya, on the authority of our grandfather Al-Hassan al-Sabt who suffered from calamities brought on him by the Ummayad‟s rulers – may God‟s blessings be upon his great high soul, who quoted on the authority of Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (as): “There are twelve table manners that each Muslim should know about. Four of them are obligatory, four are traditions and four are etiquette. The obligatory table manners are: Recognition of God, being pleased, mentioning God‟s name and being grateful to Him. The traditions are: making ritual ablutions before eating, sitting on the left side, eating with three fingers, and cleaning the fingers at the end. The etiquette are: eating the portion that is in front of you, taking small bites of food, chewing it thoroughly and minimal looking at other people‟s faces.
Another etiquette regarding drinking water and eating food include consideration of the favors that the Almighty God has had with him by honoring him and freeing him from the burdens of preparing all his needed food and drink from the time they are created until they appear on his dining table. Indeed the Almighty God has appointed angels to be in charge of the heavens and the earths. He has also appointed Prophets (as), Trustees (as) and their successors to take care of the people‟s needs, and He has appointed Kings and their successors and their troops to safeguard the territories of Islam. All of these are involved in the preparation of this food that is now on your table.
God has also appointed many other people who work hard for the preparation of this food including farmers, carpenters, those who collect wood to make fire, the bread makers, the cooks, and many others who could not be mentioned in writing or verbally. Thus it is not proper for one to not mention his Master who has saved him from all these troubles and pains, prepared his meal for him while he is relieved of all this hardship and not thank Him a little or a lot. This would be as if his heart and mind are dead, and he is blind to see all these blessings.
The Intention of the Evening Meal to Break the Fast
Having the evening meal (Iftary) to break the fast is one of the acts of worshipping that the angels who are commissioned to record deeds record in one‟s book of worship. It is an affair which makes man succeed in gaining prosperities. Thus, one‟s intention must be in accordance with these goals. One of the most important intentions of one who fasts from eating the evening meal (Iftary) to break the fast is to end his worship and fasting at the Threshold of God who is Aware of the secrets. His intention should be to obey the Almighty God‟s Command since the food that he eats protects his life when he fasts in obedience to God who is the Owner of Goodnesses and the Source of his Happiness
A hadith reads, “Almighty Allah releases from Hellfire one million persons at the last hour of every day in Ramadan; therefore, pray to Allah swt to include you with these released ones.”
It is recommended to begin breaking the fast with legally gotten food (halal earnings), especially dates and water. This act doubles the reward of the prayer to four hundred folds.
It is recommended to give alms at the time of breaking the fast and to offer food to the other fasters even if with a single date and a drink of water. Concerning this, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is reported to have said,
“Verily, any one who offers food for a fasting person in the month of Ramadan will have the same reward that is decided for the fasting person without having any amount of his reward reduced and will have the same reward of acting good deeds according to the power of that food.”
Section 1 On How to Stop Fasting and Breaking the Fast - Iqbal Aamal
Everyone who fasts makes a deal with God and he should consider this as a duty before he starts to fast during the day, when he breaks his fast and later at night until the next dawn. You should observe purity of heart from what your Master detests and employ your organs in doing what attains His Pleasure. This is desirable for you to do all the time during your life in the world. However, the main point in the month of Ramadhan is to note that you are in the presence of the Almighty God, and are following His Decrees by fasting, breaking it in the evening, whether in private and public. You should perceive that fasting is a prosperous form of obedience and your breaking of the fast by the order of God the Almighty is another form of worship. Ending the fast should be based on the decree on breaking the fast in obeying the Almighty God‟s orders to His Will. You should feel superiority and joy from the fact that the King of the world and the Hereafter has admitted you to stand at His Threshold, grab His Servitude, become associated with His Dominant Government, given the chance for the acceptance of your deeds and kept you safe from the danger of being turned down. The one who fasts should not think that with breaking the fast he can stop the demand from his heart to purify and do good deeds during the rest of the night knowing that the Almighty God has only allowed him to break his fast to continue to grant him His Kindness and to face him with His Mercy. Considering this state, how could the worshipper take the attention of the God who is present and who does good to him lightly?
In many narrations on the authority of the Divine Leaders – may the noblest blessings be upon them – we read: “It is better for one to pray before breaking the fast during the month of Ramadhan. And this could help the acceptance of your acts of worship more.”
The following is narrated through a chain of documents to Ali ibn Fazzal from his book Al-Siam, on the authority of Abi Abdullah As-Sadiq (as): “It is recommended for one who fasts to pray before breaking his fast if he can.” However, if you are with people who cannot wait for you to pray and then break their fast, then eat before praying, and you should break your fast with them in order to please the Almighty God, exalt His Commands, and complete the deeds of worshipping.
This way, by obeying the Will of the God who is the Owner of your life and death and with this intention, you should first break your fast and then pray while exalting Divine Glory. However, if breaking the fast with them you are held back from Your Lord and this creates a distance between you and the noble commands which God has wanted you to follow, then you should honor them by feeding them and please them with yourself and then present some excuses to justify that you are not participating in breaking the fast with them, apologize to them and be careful about the excuses you present since God is informed of what is in the hearts and the minds. Moreover, if you fear them and cannot pray before breaking the fast with them, and this form of concealment of faith pleases God who is the Owner of the living and the dead, then you should act upon what pleased God. You should not try to justify yourself in obedience to Satan or to follow your own selfish desires.
It has been narrated on the authority of Abi Ali al-Fazl ibn al-Hassan ibn al-Fazl al-Tabarsi in his book Al-Adab al-Diniya, on the authority of our grandfather Al-Hassan al-Sabt who suffered from calamities brought on him by the Ummayad‟s rulers – may God‟s blessings be upon his great high soul, who quoted on the authority of Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (as): “There are twelve table manners that each Muslim should know about. Four of them are obligatory, four are traditions and four are etiquette. The obligatory table manners are: Recognition of God, being pleased, mentioning God‟s name and being grateful to Him. The traditions are: making ritual ablutions before eating, sitting on the left side, eating with three fingers, and cleaning the fingers at the end. The etiquette are: eating the portion that is in front of you, taking small bites of food, chewing it thoroughly and minimal looking at other people‟s faces.
Another etiquette regarding drinking water and eating food include consideration of the favors that the Almighty God has had with him by honoring him and freeing him from the burdens of preparing all his needed food and drink from the time they are created until they appear on his dining table. Indeed the Almighty God has appointed angels to be in charge of the heavens and the earths. He has also appointed Prophets (as), Trustees (as) and their successors to take care of the people‟s needs, and He has appointed Kings and their successors and their troops to safeguard the territories of Islam. All of these are involved in the preparation of this food that is now on your table.
God has also appointed many other people who work hard for the preparation of this food including farmers, carpenters, those who collect wood to make fire, the bread makers, the cooks, and many others who could not be mentioned in writing or verbally. Thus it is not proper for one to not mention his Master who has saved him from all these troubles and pains, prepared his meal for him while he is relieved of all this hardship and not thank Him a little or a lot. This would be as if his heart and mind are dead, and he is blind to see all these blessings.
The Intention of the Evening Meal to Break the Fast
Having the evening meal (Iftary) to break the fast is one of the acts of worshipping that the angels who are commissioned to record deeds record in one‟s book of worship. It is an affair which makes man succeed in gaining prosperities. Thus, one‟s intention must be in accordance with these goals. One of the most important intentions of one who fasts from eating the evening meal (Iftary) to break the fast is to end his worship and fasting at the Threshold of God who is Aware of the secrets. His intention should be to obey the Almighty God‟s Command since the food that he eats protects his life when he fasts in obedience to God who is the Owner of Goodnesses and the Source of his Happiness