Muhammad Ali appears in a common origin account of the Iftar Cannon. In this version, a cannon associated with the ruler of Egypt was fired at sunset during Ramadan, and people interpreted the blast as a signal that the fast could be broken.
Muhammad Ali Pasha ruled Egypt from 1805 until 1848 and is widely associated with the creation of modern Egypt’s ruling dynasty and military reforms. The story links the cannon tradition to the period when new artillery was being acquired or tested. Because the firing reportedly coincided with iftar, it became a useful public signal and was repeated.
This is a commonly repeated account, not an uncontested historical conclusion. Other traditions place the first cannon signal in the 15th century under the Mamluk sultan Sayf al-Din Khushqadam. Still other accounts connect the practice with Khedive Ismail in the 19th century. The question’s wording matters: Muhammad Ali is the answer for a common origin story, not proof that historians unanimously identify him as the inventor.
The cannon eventually became ceremonial. Modern prayer timetables, clocks, radio, television, and mobile apps now provide the exact time for iftar, while public cannon firings preserve the older Ramadan soundscape.