The ruling on calling the adhan for Fajr before its time

The questioner : A questioner says: The mu'adhdhins differ in the adhan for Fajr. If the one we consider most trustworthy calls, do we abstain from the moment he starts, or are we allowed to continue until he finishes? And is it permissible for the mu'adhdhin to be cautious and call at the beginning of the time based on his estimate, even though he does not see the dawn, following only the calendar in this, all out of concern for the fasting of the people, while risking that the people may be eating before the time?

The Shaykh : The reality is that this issue, meaning the adhan for Fajr in our current time, is problematic. How is it problematic? People cannot see the dawn because of the lighting; they cannot see it unless they are far away. So in reality, they rely on calculation. They rely on calculation without a doubt. Here, we have come to act according to calculation based on the daily timing.
And we do not act according to calculation based on the monthly timing. And this is correct. I mean, the issue that we do not act according to calculation based on the monthly timing is correct, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conditioned the ruling on what? On the sighting. "If you see it, then fast, and if you see it, then break your fast." Likewise, the daily abstention or the daily breaking of the fast is also conditioned on the sighting. Allah the Exalted said: By touch? No. By smell? No. By taste? No. By sight. But now we are proceeding by calculation until it becomes distinct to us by calculation, and not by what we observe? We do not observe it. In any case, as long as we are proceeding by calculation.
So calculation is more precise than sight, because calculation is based on estimating specific degrees. For this reason, you find differences in it; even the calculation now has differences. It proceeds by specific degrees, not by sight. For this reason, it is said to us, and we have not tried it, that a person who is far from the lights finds a great difference between the distinctness of the dawn and the adhan of the people. That is, the adhan of the people precedes the distinctness of the dawn, because this is estimated by the distance of the sun from the horizon in degrees. One may see the dawn or one may not. For this reason, we say that it is not permissible for the mu'adhdhin to be cautious and advance this. It is not permissible; it is forbidden for him. Because if he does that, he falls into dangers.
Let us count them. The first danger is depriving Muslims of what Allah has made lawful for them. Because if he calls and the people abstain before the dawn appears, it means he has deprived people of eating and drinking until the dawn, and this is a great thing. Perhaps a person is just waking up and wants to drink water, but he hears the adhan and stops. This is a problem. Second, a person may pray Fajr upon the adhan. That is, a person is in a state of wudu', waiting for when the adhan will be called. He waits for the adhan and then gets up to pray, like a woman in the house or a sick person in the house. So this person would have prayed before the time entered, and this is a great danger. How does one exercise caution by preventing Muslims from what Allah has made lawful for them and by having Muslims pray before the time? Where is the caution? This is in fact occupying the conscience. That is, the people depend on the conscience of the mu'adhdhin. Third, if we say that the adhan for Fajr is not permissible except after the time enters, like the other adhans. That is, the adhan for Zuhr is not valid except after the time enters, the adhan for 'Asr is not valid except after the time enters, the adhan for Maghrib is not valid except after the time enters, the adhan for 'Isha' is not valid except after the time enters. Be aware, there is a disagreement among scholars regarding the adhan for Fajr. Some said it is not valid except after the time enters, and some said it is valid even before the time enters, but in a time close to the time. But if we say that it is not valid except after the adhan of the time, and the mu'adhdhin calls before the time, is his adhan valid or not valid?
It is not valid. His adhan would be not valid. So a person should fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic and should be cautious in the adhan for Fajr specifically, and in the other adhans. But the problem now is that some people exert effort and are mistaken, saying, "I will advance it by four minutes so that the people abstain." There is no abstention. Abstention is when the dawn becomes distinct. As for when I say some people say "abstention, then five minutes, then Fajr," Allah has not sent down any authority for this. Eat and drink until you see the dawn. So if the mu'adhdhin calls and we know that the mu'adhdhin is careful to adjust his clock and to be deliberate and not hasty, then a person should, meaning by way of caution, abstain when the mu'adhdhin calls. And not eat. And some scholars permit him, if the vessel is in his hand, to drink, and if the date is in his hand or the mouthful is in his hand, to eat.
Some scholars permit this based on a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad in the Musnad with a good chain, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Or he said, "until he finishes drinking." He said this is evidence that if the adhan is called and the vessel is in your hand, there is no harm in drinking. As for taking from the ground after the adhan, and he has called upon the rising of the dawn, do not take it.
In any case, what I advise our brothers is that they prepare themselves. And that they do not expose their fasting to danger. Yes.