Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuh

Alhumdulillah

Once the entire disk of the sun has disappeared, the fasting person should break his fast, and not pay any attention to the red glow that remains on the horizon, because the Prophet sal Allahu alaihi wasallam said, meaning of which is: “Once night comes from there and the day disappears from there, and the sun has set, the fasting person should break his fast.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, no. 1954; the issue is also mentioned in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 25/216).

The Sunnah is to hasten in breaking the fast. The Prophet sal Allahu alaihi wasallam would not pray Maghrib until he had broken his fast, if only with a sip of water. (Reported by al-Haakim, 1/432; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 2110).

When the dawn comes – which is the white light coming across the horizon in the East – the fasting person must stop eating and drinking straightaway, whether he hears the adhaan or not. If he knows that the muezzin calls the adhaan at dawn, he has to stop eating and drinking as soon as he hears his adhaan, but if the muezzin calls the adhaan before Fajr, he does not have to stop eating and drinking when he hears it. If he does not know the muezzin’s usual practice, or there are differences among the muezzins, and he cannot determine the time of dawn for himself – as is usually the case in cities because of lighting and buildings – he should take the precaution of referring to a printed timetable, so long as he is sure that the calculations on which it is based are not incorrect.

The idea of being on the safe side by stopping eating and drinking a certain time before Fajr, such as ten minutes before, is bid’ah. On some timetables you can see one heading for “imsaak” (stopping eating and drinking) and another for Fajr; this is something that is contrary to Islam.

Allah says, meaning of which is: “It is made lawful for you to have sexual relations with your wives on the night of As‑Sawm (the fasts). They are Libaas [i.e. body-cover, or screen, or Sakan (i.e. you enjoy the pleasure of living with them)] for you and you are the same for them. Allaah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He turned to you (accepted your repentance) and forgave you. So now have sexual relations with them and seek that which Allaah has ordained for you (offspring), and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall” [al-Baqarah 2:187]

What this means is that Allaah has allowed those who are fasting to eat and drink at night until he is certain that dawn has come. What is meant by the white thread is the day, and the black thread is the night.

And it was proven in al-Saheehayn that a group of Sahaabah used to eat until one of them could distinguish the white thread from the black. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to one of them, “Your pillow is wide [if the white thread (of dawn) and the black thread (of the night) are underneath your pillow], rather that is the whiteness of the day and the blackness of the night.”

Whoever breaks the fast during Ramadaan without a legitimate excuse has committed a serious major sin, Hadeeth – The Prophet sal Allahu alaihi wasallam said, describing a dream that he had seen: “… until I was at the mountain, where I heard loud voices. I asked, ‘What are these voices?’ They said, ‘This is the howling of the people of Hellfire.’ Then I was taken [to another place], and I saw people hanging from their hamstrings, with the corners of their mouths torn and dripping with blood. I said, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘The people who broke their fast before it was the proper time to do so,’ i.e., before the time of iftaar.” (Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1/420).

And Allah knows best