- "When he was fasting, he would instruct a man to ascend to a high place, and when the man said, 'The sun has set,' he would break his fast." This was recorded by al-Ḥākim (1/434) from Muḥammad ibn Abī Ṣafwān al-Thaqafī, who narrated to us from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, who narrated from Sufyān, from Abū Ḥāzim, from Sahl ibn Saʿd (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) as a marfūʿ ḥadīth. And he said, "Authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhārī and Muslim," and al-Dhahabī agreed with him. I say: It is only authentic, for al-Thaqafī—Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Abī Ṣafwān—was not narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and those above him are from the narrators of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, but Ibn Mahdī is not among their teachers. His statement: (nashz) means: an elevated place on the ground. I said: In the ḥadīth, there is his (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) concern with hastening to break the fast after confirming the sunset, as he would instruct someone to ascend to a high place to inform him of the sunset so that he (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) could break his fast. This was only to affirm his (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) statement: "People will remain in good condition as long as they hasten to break the fast." Agreed upon, and it is extracted in "al-Irwāʾ" (917). It is truly unfortunate that we see people today have opposed the sunnah, as many of them see the sunset with their own eyes, yet they do not break their fast until they hear the call to prayer of the town, ignorant: firstly, that it is not called based on the sighting of the sunset, but rather on astronomical timing. Secondly, that within the same town, the sunset may differ from one place to another due to mountains and valleys, so we see people not breaking their fast even though they have seen the sunset! And others breaking their fast while the sun is still visible because they heard the call to prayer! And Allāh's help is sought!