What is the wisdom behind hastening the iftar and delaying the suhur?

Question : What is the wisdom behind delaying the iftar and postponing the suhur?

Answer : The wisdom behind delaying the suhur is to be lenient with the one who is obligated to fast, so that the last part of his night is spent consuming food that provides strength and vitality to the body. The wisdom behind hastening the iftar is to hasten to what Allah has made lawful for the servant, for this is among Allah’s blessings upon the servant. When the servant hastens to consume what Allah has made lawful for him, this is of the nature of accepting the dispensations (rukhas) of Allah the Exalted. Allah the Exalted loves that His dispensations be taken. Know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) legislated for his Ummah to eat suhur, by his saying and his doing. He said (peace and blessings be upon him) or “there is a blessing in the suhur.” It is permissible to open the sin and to make it a damma. He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to eat suhur, and sometimes one of his Companions would eat suhur with him, as in the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit, who said: meaning the Fajr prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that the meal of suhur is the distinguishing factor between us and the fasting of the People of the Book, because the People of the Book do not eat suhur. That is, they do not eat food at the time of the pre-dawn meal.
For this reason, I recommend to my Muslim brothers that when they serve the suhur, they should be mindful of this: that they are obeying the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his saying, “Eat suhur.” Second, that they are emulating the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who used to eat suhur. And third, that by doing so, they are differing from the way of the Jews and the Christians.
Differing from the way of the Jews and the Christians is a requirement of the Shari'ah, while conforming to them is prohibited by the Shari'ah, and indeed, one is warned against it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So let our Muslim brothers be mindful of these three matters when eating suhur, and let them hope for the blessing of the suhur, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that there is a blessing in it. Among its blessings is obeying the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), emulating him, and differing from the way of the Jews and the Christians. It is also an aid in obeying Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and it is giving the soul what Allah has permitted it from its desires, among other benefits.
As for the iftar, it should be with dates. If there are no dates, then with raisins. If there are no raisins, then with water, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us when he said: “When one of you breaks his fast, let him break it with dates. If he does not find them, then with water.” So, if the iftar is served and there are no dates on the table, but there is water, sweets, bread, and rice, we should break the fast with water from this table, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed it in the second rank after dates, and he informed us that it is pure.