الإفطار على التمر
A recommended practice of ending a fast with dates, or water if none are available, before the sunset prayer.
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُفْطِرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ عَلَى رُطَبَاتٍ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ رُطَبَاتٌ فَتُمَيْرَاتٍ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ حَسَا حَسَوَاتٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would break his fast before praying with fresh dates; if none were available, dried dates; if neither, a few sips of water.” (meaning, not a literal translation)
The hadith gives a clear priority order — fresh dates, then dried dates, then water — rather than treating all three as interchangeable, and specifies breaking the fast before the sunset prayer rather than after, establishing both the sequence and the timing as part of the same practice.
Ibn al-Qayyim explains dates' quick-digesting sugars as well suited to restoring blood glucose gently after a day's fast, easing the stomach back into digestion before a full meal — broadly consistent with contemporary advice on fast-breaking. He notes that a small amount consumed slowly is preferable to overloading a stomach that has been empty for many hours, framing the practice as much about pacing digestion as about the specific food chosen.
Modern dietetic guidance for breaking an extended fast broadly favors a small, easily digestible, moderate-sugar food before a full meal — a principle that aligns with the classical recommendation here, even though contemporary fasting-nutrition research developed independently of this text.