Short answer
Eating your fill at iftar is allowed, but overeating is not. The Hanafi scholars say eating beyond fullness is sinful unless you mean to gain strength for the next day's fast or to keep a guest company, and a stuffed stomach makes taraweeh and worship heavy. Eat moderately, as the sunnah teaches.
Eating to fullness is mubah. Eating beyond fullness is haram in the Hanafi texts, except with the intention of gaining strength for the next day's fast or so that a guest does not feel shy to eat. Eating so much that it harms you or makes you lazy in prayer is blameworthy.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Hanbali
- Eating beyond fullness is disliked rather than forbidden, unless it causes harm.
Explanation
After a long day without food, it is natural to want a big meal, and there is no sin in eating well at iftar and suhoor. Allah says: eat and drink, but do not be excessive. The problem is not enjoying food but overdoing it.
The Hanafi rule. The Hanafi scholars divide eating into levels. Eating enough to stay alive and able to worship is required. Eating to fullness is permitted. Eating beyond fullness is not allowed, with two exceptions they mention: eating more to have strength for tomorrow's fast, and eating with a guest so that he is not shy to carry on. The first exception shows the scholars' mercy for fasting people, but it is not a licence to stuff yourself.
The sunnah measure. The Prophet ﷺ said that the son of Adam fills no vessel worse than his stomach, that a few mouthfuls to keep his back straight are enough, and that if he must eat more, then a third for food, a third for drink and a third for breath.
Practical reasons:
- A heavy iftar makes Maghrib, Isha and taraweeh hard.
- It defeats part of the purpose of the fast, which is to weaken desire and to feel for the hungry.
- Breaking the fast with dates and water, praying Maghrib, then eating a balanced meal is the easiest way to avoid overeating. See iftar and Maghrib.
Spending less on lavish iftars and more on feeding others is closer to the spirit of Ramadan.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:31
۞ يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ ﴿٣١﴾
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.
Eating is good, but excess is disliked by Allah.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2380
Grading to be checked... ما ملأ آدمي وعاء شرا من بطن ...
"The son of Adam fills no vessel worse than his stomach."
Moderation in eating is the sunnah, in Ramadan as at other times.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiya, chapter on eating. Eating beyond fullness is haram, except to gain strength for the next day's fast or so that a guest is not shy.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha. The levels of eating: required, permitted and forbidden.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.