26/06/2016
The reward of offering iftar!!
Zayd ibn-i Khalid al-Juhani narrates:
- The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
Whoever offers meal to his/her Muslim brother/sister at the time of iftar (the meal eaten by Muslims breaking their fast after sunset during the month of Ramadan), s/he receives as much reward as s/he has earned. Nothing becomes less of the reward of those s/he offered meal to. (Tirmidhî, Sawm: 82; Ibn-i Majah, Siyam: 40)
With the start of Ramadan, feasts and invitations of iftar increase. We invite our friends and relatives for iftar; we also attend their invitations and eat iftar together. This beautiful tradition enables people to get closer and revitalizes the feelings of helping one another and of generosity, as well.
However, when invitation is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the elaborateness and excellence of the meal. We sometimes get beguiled by this wrong idea and exceed our budget when we invite friends and incur debts above our finance.
That is possible for those with good financial state; however, for those with straitened circumstances, it is not appropriate. It is because such a preparation will not continue, and it will prevent visits to friends and relatives, which is fard (obligatory).
While the hadith encourages offering meal to the fasting person, as we learn from another hadith, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) states that it is possible to offer iftar even with a sip of water, a sip of milk or with a single date.