13. Are There Any Specific Duaas At Suhoor Time And Iftaar Time?

By Asma bint Shameem

QUESTION
Are there any specific Duaas at Suhoor time and iftaar time?

ANSWER

SUHOOR time

As for the duaa for Suhoor, there’s NO specific duaa to be said that’s proven from the authentic practice or teachings of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.

Remember, the intention is an action of the HEART.

We should resolve in our HEART that we are going to fast today.

That is ALL we need.

It is NOT from the Sharee’ah to say out loud, "I intend to fast", "I will fast tomorrow" etc as some people do.

Also, there is NO SPECIFIC DUAA to be recited at the time of starting the fast that’s proven from the Sunnah.

Some people say the following:

نـَوَيْتُ صَوْمَ غـَدٍ
وَبِصَوْمِ غَدٍ نَّوَيْتُ

BUT, there’s NO PROOF of this from the authentic Sunnah.
Rather it is BID’AH.

IFTAAR time

And as for a specific duaa to be said at the time of breaking the fast, then the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

ذهب الظمأ وابتلت العروق وثبت الأجر إن شاء الله

“Dhahaba al-‘zama’ wa abtallat al-‘urooq wa thabata al-ajr in sha Allaah

“the thirst is gone, the veins have been moistened and the reward is assured, if Allaah wills).”
(Abu Dawood, al-Bayhaqi; classed as hasan).

The hadeeth with the words
“Allaahumma laka sumtu wa ‘ala rizqika aftartu….

اللهم لك صمت وعلى رزقك أفطرت

This is a da’eef (weak) hadeeth, as stated by various scholars of hadeeth; and so it is better to avoid it and stay with the authentic duaa.

Also remember that it’s good to make your own duaa just before iftaar time.

That’s because our duaa is not rejected at that time.

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

"Three prayers are NOT REJECTED: the prayer of a parent, the prayer of a fasting person*, and the prayer of a traveler." (al-Bayhaqi, saheeh by al-Albaani).

When to make our duaa

Shaikh ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

“Duaa should be made BEFORE iftaar (breaking the fast), at Maghrib, because this combines weakness and humility, and because he is still fasting.

All of these are means of having one’s duaa’ answered.
After breaking the fast, one is relaxed and happy, and may become negligent.

But there is a hadeeth from the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam which, if it is saheeh, shows that the du’aa’ may be made after breaking the fast.

It says:

" ذهب الظمأ وابتلت العروق وثبت الأجر إن شاء الله "

‘Thirst has gone, the veins are moist, and the reward is assured, if Allaah wills.”(Abu Dawood; hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 2066). This can only mean AFTER breaking the fast.”

So as the Shaikh said, first we can make our own duaa THEN break our fast THEN say this above duaa.

And Allaah knows best