Topic: When should the Dua for Iftar be Recited?   (No-13361)

Mufti Sahab! A friend of mine told me that the famous dua for Iftar should be recited after breaking one’s fast because its translation is “I have broken my fast with the rizq that you bestowed upon me”. His point makes sense in my mind because we usually recite this dua before breaking our fast when we haven’t actually eaten anything yet. Similarly, regarding the due for suhoor he said that we make the intention for the tomorrow instead of today. Kindly guide me in this regard, should the due for iftar be recited before or after breaking one’s fast?

Many different duas for iftar have been narrated in various Ahadith, some of which are to be recited before iftar, while some are to be recited afterwards.
The dua mentioned in the question is one which is to be recited before iftar as narrated by Hazrat Muath ibn Zehra that the Prophet (SAW) used to recite the following dua when he had iftar:
اللّٰهُمَّ لَكَ صُمْتُ وَ عَلٰی رِزْقِكَ أَفْطَرْتُ (Abu Dawood)
Although the words of the dua are in the past tense, which causes confusion for Non-Arabs, it is part of the Arabic language convention to use the past tense in such situations.

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دلائل:

مشکوٰۃ المصابیح: (کتاب الصوم، 175/1)
''عن معاذ بن زهرة قال: إن النبي صلی الله عليه وسلم كان إذا أفطر قال: اللّٰهم لك صمت و علی رزقك أفطرت. رواه أبو داؤد مرسلاً''.

الھندیۃ: (200/1، ط: رشیدیة)
''و من السنة أن يقول عند الإفطار: اللهم لك صمت و بك آمنت و عليك توكلت و علی رزقك أفطرت''.


Allah the Almighty knows best.
Darul ifta Al-Ikhlas, Karachi.