What is the difference between the true dawn and the false dawn?

Question : I ask Allah to guide you. What is the meaning of the statement: "It is not the dawn when one says, 'Look, the light is like the mane of a lion'?"

Answer : This is the false dawn. It is a false dawn that is vertical, not spread out like this. It is vertical like this, because there are two dawns: a true dawn and a false dawn. There are three differences between the true dawn and the false dawn. The first is that the true dawn spreads out to the north and the south. The true dawn and the false dawn go horizontally across the horizon, from east to west, and from south to north. The true dawn is spread out, and the false dawn is vertical. The second difference is that there is darkness between the false dawn and the horizon; that is, the light in it does not connect to the horizon. The true dawn connects to the horizon. The third difference is that the false dawn disappears, and darkness occurs after it. This is why it is called false. The true dawn does not disappear; rather, it continues to increase in brightness until the sun rises.