Ramadan is approaching and Muslims around the world will spend their days fasting out of obedience and devotion, seeking to draw closer to Allah. At each sunset during the meal breaking the fast, the expression « saha ftourkoum » is often heard. What does it mean? Is it an Islamic formula and what should one reply to it? That is what we will see in this article.
What does saha ftorkoum mean?)
Saha ftorek or saha ftorkoum is not among the invocations legislated by Islam. It is rather an expression drawn from Maghrebi culture that can be translated as « Enjoy your ftour », or « bon appétit ». No matter their location in the world, those fasting, whether they are from Algeria, Morocco, or whether Tunisian, Lebanese, Syrian, all wish, at the moment of breaking the fast, the famous "saha ftourkoum" or "saha ftourek" to their family or to those around them in general. Not one member of the Muslim community has failed to hear this expression at least once in their life.
Indeed, the expression saha ftorkoum, very much heard in the evening during the month of Ramadan, includes the word ftor which means « meal » or « breakfast » or, in certain regions, « lunch », which is the first hearty meal of the day that the Muslim is about to eat.
By ftor is therefore meant the meal that Muslims consume at the moment of breaking their fast at sunset. It is also one of the messages most written during this blessed period of Ramadan, in addition to the usual wish for peace "salam alaikoum".
Early in the morning, just before sunrise, the first meal of the day will be the suhoor meal, during which the fasting person seeks the blessing of Allah, as recommended by the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
According to Al Irbad Ibn Sariya (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (may the prayer of Allah and His peace be upon him) invited me for the suhoor (*) during Ramadan, saying: « Come to the blessed meal ». Reported by Abu Dawud and authenticated by Sheikh Albani
(*) The suhoor is the meal that the fasting person takes in the morning before the start of the fast.
At the moment of this first meal in the fasting person's day, called the blessed meal, or the meal of dawn, only a baby does not hear the expression "saha shourkoum" which can be translated as "enjoy your dawn meal", or "suhurkoum moubarek" meaning "(I wish you) a blessed meal", because the obligation of fasting is conditioned by the age and state of health of the Muslim.
As a reminder, Ramadan is a month of the lunar calendar and it is also one of the five pillars of Islam, which consists, by the order of God in the Holy Quran, of abstaining from consuming food and drink, but also from having sexual relations with their spouses, from sunrise (Fajr) to sunset (Maghrib). It is the month of the year in which all the members of the Muslim community form a single body whose heart is turned towards the Word of Allah, the Quran, which they recite during the nocturnal prayers and which they meditate upon even more than at any other moment of the rest of the year.
On the occasion of Maghrib, the faithful are invited to break their fast with a few dates in an odd number, as it is recommended to follow the sunnah of the Prophet of Islam Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Failing that, they can break their fast with water. Generally, and this varies according to cultures, a light meal, or even a fuller one, follows.
Very often, Muslims make invocations for one another at this moment, but this formula saha ftourkoum is not one of them, strictly speaking.
When to say saha ftourkoum?
From sunset (Maghrib), Muslims wish one another to have their fast accepted, along with other invocations.
However, the only invocation recommended by the hadiths of the Sunnah is the one that the fasting person should pronounce himself when breaking his fast:
ذَهَبَ الظَمَأ وَ ابْتَلَّتِ العُرُوق وَ ثَبَتَ الأَجْر إنْ شَاءَ الله
« The thirst is gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward remains, God willing. »
Reported by Abu Dawud
The reward of fasting with Allah, and the search for His Satisfaction, are certainly the best things that the fasting person keeps in mind during his efforts on this Earth. The ahadith cited by Imams Bukhari and Muslim remind us of the greatness of the merit and the reward of the fasting person, such as this one:
Moreover, according to Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet and Messenger of Allah (may the prayer of Allah and His peace be upon him) said:
« Allah said: « Fasting is for Me and it is I who reward it. He forsakes his desire, his food and his drink for Me. Fasting is a protection and there are for the fasting person two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. And indeed the smell of the mouth of the fasting person is more fragrant to Allah than the smell of musk. »
(Hadith reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim)
What to reply to saha ftorkoum?
Even though it is not an invocation drawn from the Quran or the sunnah, saha ftorkoum is anchored in the customs and traditions of the Muslims of the Maghreb. This formula, representative of the conviviality and the sense of sharing of the Muslims of the world, is nothing but the expression of their joy during the meal breaking the fast.
The tables, at this moment, are festive. Each one, according to his culture, breaks his fast with dishes typical of his local region, or recalling the flavors and smells of their origins. Without excess, which would be contrary to the objective of Ramadan, the month of abstinence par excellence and of the multiplication of acts of worship, Muslims consume bricks, bastillas, briouates, chorba and harira but also tagines of all kinds.
When someone wishes them saha ftourkoum they can reply either "iselmek" or "saha lik" as well as "wanta (or wanti for a woman) zada". But none of these formulas comes from the Muslim religion.
Conclusion
This year Ramadan 2023 will be around March 23, a date on which a new page in the spiritual life of each Muslim is written, offering him the possibility of a boost for his faith, the body being freed from earthly passions. You will now know what the expression saha ftorkoum means and will know what to reply to it.