IFTAR

Ahh… ‘iftar’. A word which was an alien to me during the late 90’s. The word was first introduced to me by my friend, Zam, when I asked him what kinds of food he will be having to break his Ramadhan’s fast.

“Oh, nothing much. For my today’s Iftar, I will be having an Arabian cuisine, specially prepared by my wife”, he answered.

I was a little bit surprised by his answer. It’s not because of his extravagant-sounded ‘Arabian Cuisine’, but because of the word ‘iftar’. Overwhelmed by curiousity, I asked Zam for the meaning of iftar. He answered with only two simple words, which nowadays can be interpreted as ‘Wisdom’ and ‘Knowledge’. What are those two words? The mighty ‘Google Search’. Feeling like a helpless child, I ‘Google searched’ the word iftar and alas, I got the answer. 

So, what is the meaning of iftar? you may asked. Well, after countless minutes or hours of searching, here is a simple definition and a little bit of description for the word, ‘iftar’.The definition of Iftar is a meal served at the end of the day during Ramadan, to break the day's fast. Literally, "breakfast."

Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is taken right after Maghrib time, which is around sunset. Traditionally but not mandatory, three dates are eaten to break the fast in emulation of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, who broke his fast in this manner. Many Muslims believe that feeding someone iftar as a form of charity is very rewarding and that such was practised by the Prophet Muhammad.

Iftar is very much a social event, involving family and community members. It is common for people to host others for dinner, or gather as a community for a potluck. It is also common for people to invite and share food with those less fortunate. The spiritual reward for charitable giving is considered to be especially significant during Ramadan.

In Malaysia, iftar is known as "berbuka puasa", which literally means "to open the fast". As usual, the Muslims break the fast with either dried or fresh dates. There are various foodstuffs from the Malaysian cuisine available in Bazaar Ramadhan (local food markets open during fasting month) such as sugarcane juice, soybean milk mixed with grass jelly, nasi lemak, laksa, ayam percik, nasi ayam, satay, popia basah and others. 

Besides, there are many exclusive restaurants and hotels providing special iftar and dinner packages for those who want to break the fast outside with the families and friends. Even most of the mosques in Malaysia also provide free bubur lambok (rice porridge) after Asar prayers.

After iftar and maghrib prayer, there will be Isya prayer followed by tarawih prayer. And after that, most Malaysian Muslims usually will have special supper called moreh (pronounced as more-ray) with local traditional snacks and hot tea.

So how does Malaysian became accustomed to the word? The word that I usually use since I was a small kid is ‘buka puasa’. But nowadays, people of all ages use the word ‘iftar’, with or without knowing the definition of iftar. So, how does it started? Is it only a trend that can be liken to ipad or iphone? Where people use things that are the same with the things their friends used? Or is it for real that Malaysian really grasp the true meaning of iftar? Honestly, I myself don’t know the answer. However, one thing is certain, for Malaysian, the word ‘iftar’ is here to stay.

A LITTLE BIT OF TRIVIA 

-          Also Known As: fitoor