When is abstaining obligatory: at the cannon shot or at the Fajr adhan?
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The questioner : A person is in the Haram, and he knows nothing about the matter. He was delayed until the end of the suhur, and a person next to him said to him, "You are late for abstaining, and it is obligatory to abstain at the cannon shot." I hope this benefits you, may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : Here in Makkah, the cannon shot is a stimulus for people to finish their suhur, and it is not a sign that the dawn has appeared. The sign that the dawn has appeared is the adhan of the mu'adhdhin. So when the mu'adhdhin calls the adhan, it is obligatory to abstain outwardly. As for the cannon, it is not obligatory to abstain upon it, because Allah the Exalted says:[Al-Baqarah 2:187] the white thread, so it is not obligatory for a person to abstain from eating and drinking until the adhan is called, until the dawn appears. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1092b we do not stop, for he does not call the adhan until the dawn appears. This is established in Sahih al-Bukhari.
On this occasion, I would like to point out a common issue among the Arabs. They say that if a person eats and drinks for suhur and then intends to fast, it is not permissible for him to eat after that, even if the dawn has not appeared. This is not correct. If you eat and drink and intend to fast and consider yourself finished, and the dawn has not appeared, you may eat and drink until the dawn appears.
The Shaykh : Here in Makkah, the cannon shot is a stimulus for people to finish their suhur, and it is not a sign that the dawn has appeared. The sign that the dawn has appeared is the adhan of the mu'adhdhin. So when the mu'adhdhin calls the adhan, it is obligatory to abstain outwardly. As for the cannon, it is not obligatory to abstain upon it, because Allah the Exalted says:
And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَBilal announces Adhan during the night, so you eat and drink, till you hear the Adhan of Ibn Umm
إِنَّ بِلاَلاً يُؤَذِّنُ بِلَيْلٍ فَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى تَسْمَعُوا أَذَانَ ابْنِ أُمِّOn this occasion, I would like to point out a common issue among the Arabs. They say that if a person eats and drinks for suhur and then intends to fast, it is not permissible for him to eat after that, even if the dawn has not appeared. This is not correct. If you eat and drink and intend to fast and consider yourself finished, and the dawn has not appeared, you may eat and drink until the dawn appears.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 10 - 13 - دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام للعام 1402 هـ - الدرس العاشر - الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين — youtube.com (49:30)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.