What Time Is Iftar? Sunset, Suhoor, and Fasting Rulings
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In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
We try to follow and explain from the Qur'an and the authentic Hadith, upon the understanding of the three rightly-guided generations (the Salaf as-Salih). All good is from Allah alone, and any mistake or shortcoming is from ourselves.
TL;DR: Iftar begins the moment the sun fully sets (maghrib) in your location, and suhoor ends at the true dawn (fajr). Break your fast without delay, confirm the exact minute using your local prayer timetable or a reliable maghrib time for your city, and never rely on a guess when the two ends of the fast are fixed by clear texts.
The timing of iftar is not a matter of tradition or preference. Allah set the two limits of the daily fast in the Qur'an, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed us exactly how to observe them. Once you understand the two markers, sunset and dawn, the clock becomes a simple tool rather than a source of anxiety.
When Iftar Starts: The Moment of Sunset
Iftar begins at sunset, which is the start of maghrib. Not a few minutes before as a precaution, and not held back until the sky is fully dark. The instant the disc of the sun has completely disappeared below the horizon, the fasting person is permitted to eat and drink.
Allah says the fast is completed "until the night," in Qur'an 2:187. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained the practical sign in a hadith reported in Sahih al-Bukhari 1954: when the night approaches from the east and the day retreats from the west, and the sun has set, the fasting person has broken his fast. In other words, you do not need total darkness. The disappearance of the sun is the signal.
This is why the maghrib adhan in your area marks the start of iftar. If you are relying on a printed or app timetable, the "Maghrib" column is your iftar time. There is no separate "iftar time" that differs from maghrib.
Hastening Iftar Is the Sunnah
Delaying iftar is not piety. The opposite is closer to the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said that people will remain upon good as long as they hasten the breaking of the fast, as reported in Sahih al-Bukhari 1957.
So the moment maghrib enters, break your fast. There is no reward in waiting an extra ten or fifteen minutes to be "safe." The texts already tell you the fast is over at sunset. Adding to that out of caution is not caution at all; it is going beyond what the Shariah asked of you.
What to break your fast with
The Sunnah is to break the fast with fresh dates, and if none are available, with dry dates, and if none of those, then with water. This was the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as reported in Sunan Abi Dawud 2356, graded hasan. Break your fast first, then pray maghrib, rather than delaying food until after the prayer.
The supplication at iftar
A well-known narration mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would say when breaking his fast: "The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills." This is reported in Sunan Abi Dawud 2357 and graded hasan by scholars of hadith. It is a short, authentic du'a worth memorising for the month.
When Iftar Ends and Suhoor Begins for the Next Day
There is no fixed "end time" for iftar itself. Once maghrib enters you may eat and drink through the night. The next boundary is dawn.
Suhoor is the pre-dawn meal, and it should be eaten late, close to fajr, not at midnight. Eating suhoor is a blessing the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded us not to abandon. He said to take suhoor, for in suhoor there is blessing, as reported in Sahih al-Bukhari 1923 and Sahih Muslim 1095.
When Suhoor Ends: The True Dawn
The fast begins at the true dawn (al-fajr as-sadiq), which is the start of fajr prayer. This is the second limit Allah fixed in Qur'an 2:187: eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread of night, then complete the fast until nightfall.
The "white thread" and "black thread" refer to the light of true dawn spreading across the horizon against the darkness of night. When the Companions first understood the verse literally, tying threads to test them, the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified that it meant the whiteness of the day and the darkness of the night, as reported in Sahih al-Bukhari 1916.
So suhoor ends at the entry of fajr, marked by the fajr adhan on a reliable timetable. If you are still eating and the true dawn enters, you stop at that point. The Prophet (peace be upon him) permitted a person to finish what was in his hand at the very moment of the call, as mentioned in Sunan Abi Dawud 2350, but this is about a mouthful already being consumed, not a licence to keep eating after dawn has clearly come.
Fajr, not the "imsak" time
Many timetables print an "imsak" time roughly ten minutes before fajr and treat it as the deadline for stopping food. This precautionary buffer has no basis in the clear texts. The boundary set by the Qur'an and the Sunnah is the true dawn itself, the entry of fajr. Treating the earlier imsak minute as a binding cutoff is an addition. There is nothing wrong with a person choosing to stop a little early for their own reassurance, but it should not be taught as though the fast begins before fajr.
How to Find the Exact Iftar and Suhoor Time for Your Location
Because sunset and dawn shift with your latitude, longitude, and the season, the times are genuinely local. A timetable for one city can be wrong by many minutes for another only an hour's drive away. Use one of these reliable methods:
- Your local masjid timetable. The most trustworthy source, because it is calculated for your exact area and usually reviewed by knowledgeable people.
- A reputable prayer time application or website set to your precise location. Look for the "Maghrib" time for iftar and the "Fajr" time for the end of suhoor.
- The maghrib and fajr adhan in your locality, if the muadhin calls at the correct astronomical time.
When you use an app, take two minutes to confirm the calculation method it uses for fajr, since methods differ on the angle of the sun below the horizon at dawn. In cities at very high latitudes, where the sun does not dip far enough to produce a true dawn or a real night for part of the year, the timing question becomes genuinely complicated. Scholars have differed on what such fasting people should do, and this is a matter to take to a trustworthy scholar for your specific region rather than settling from a general article.
A Calm Word on Ramadan and Marriage
Ramadan tends to sharpen a person's priorities. Many people finish the month resolved to stop wasting time and to seek a spouse the right way, through clear intention, the involvement of the woman's wali, and a proper nikah rather than the drawn-out, unsupervised "talking" that leads nowhere good. If that is you, let the discipline you built this month carry over. You can start a deen-first profile on Muslim Matching and approach marriage the way the Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged, with seriousness and modesty from the first step. For the full picture, see our guide on how to get married in Islam.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Delaying iftar out of "caution." The Sunnah is to hasten it. There is no fixed reward in waiting.
- Waiting for full darkness. The fast ends at sunset, not when the sky is black.
- Treating imsak as the deadline for suhoor. The real boundary is the entry of fajr.
- Skipping suhoor entirely. It is a blessing and a Sunnah; even a sip of water counts.
- Trusting a timetable from the wrong city. Confirm the times are for your actual location.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is iftar exactly?
Iftar is at maghrib, the moment the sun has completely set below the horizon in your location. Check the "Maghrib" time on a reliable local timetable or listen for the maghrib adhan. It is the same time; there is no separate iftar clock.
Should I break my fast before or after praying maghrib?
Break your fast first, following the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) reported in Sunan Abi Dawud 2356, ideally with dates or water, then pray maghrib. You do not have to eat a full meal first; a few dates suffice, then you pray.
When does suhoor end, at imsak or at fajr?
Suhoor ends at the true dawn, which is the entry of fajr, based on Qur'an 2:187. The earlier "imsak" time on some calendars is a precautionary buffer with no basis in the clear texts. You may eat until fajr enters.
If I hear the fajr adhan while I am still eating, what do I do?
If the adhan is called at the correct time of true dawn, you stop. If you have food already in your mouth, the narration in Sunan Abi Dawud 2350 allows you to finish that mouthful. It is not permission to keep eating after dawn has clearly arrived.
Is it better to delay iftar to be safe?
No. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said people remain upon good as long as they hasten iftar, as in Sahih al-Bukhari 1957. Deliberately delaying it is contrary to the Sunnah, not an extra good deed.
What about fasting where the sun barely sets or barely rises?
At extreme latitudes, where a true dawn or a real night does not occur for part of the year, scholars have differed on how to time the fast. This is a genuine area of scholarly discussion, so ask a trustworthy scholar familiar with your region rather than deciding on your own.