And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions: He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the Virtue of the Pre-Dawn Meal"
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The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the Virtue of the Pre-Dawn Meal:
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 1692Sahih (Darussalam) It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1230 It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And it was narrated from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 709Sahih (Darussalam) Muslim narrated it".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on the Virtue of the Pre-Dawn Meal":
It is said: al-suhur and al-sahur. Al-sahur is the food with which a person takes the pre-dawn meal, and al-suhur with a dammah is the action, meaning a person takes the pre-dawn meal. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged al-sahur with his words and supported it with his actions. He said (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Sunan Ibn Majah 1692Sahih (Darussalam): So he commanded and clarified. He commanded us to take the pre-dawn meal and clarified that there is blessing in the pre-dawn meal. Among the blessings of the pre-dawn meal is obeying the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Obeying the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is all good, all reward and recompense. And among its blessings is that it is assistance in worship, for it helps a person with fasting. If he takes the pre-dawn meal, this al-sahur suffices him until the setting of the sun, even though on days of breaking the fast he eats at the beginning of the day, in the middle of the day, and at the end of the day, and drinks a lot. So Allah sends down blessing in the al-sahur to suffice him from before the dawn until the setting of the sun.
And among its blessings is that it achieves the distinction between the fasting of Muslims and the fasting of non-Muslims. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) clarified that the distinction between us and the fasting of the People of the Book is the pre-dawn meal: meaning the pre-dawn meal, because the People of the Book fast from the middle of the night, so they eat before the middle of the night; they do not eat the pre-dawn meal. As for Muslims, praise be to Allah, they eat in the pre-dawn time at the end of the night. Distinguishing between Muslims and disbelievers is required by the Shari'ah. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade imitating them. He said:: meaning let the beards grow long, do not trim them and do not shave them.
And he said (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 4031Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani), and one should delay the pre-dawn meal until just before the dawn and not advance it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 699Sahih (Darussalam), and he said (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): Sahih al-Bukhari 1918, 1919.
As for his statement in the narration the author cited:Sunan an-Nasa'i 639Sahih (Darussalam): This is an insertion in the hadith, anomalous, and not authentic, because the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum calls is evidence that there is a large difference between them that allows for eating, drinking, and the pre-dawn meal. So it is a weak, anomalous phrase that cannot be relied upon.
And Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) clarified when he mentioned that he took the pre-dawn meal with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then they stood up for the prayer, and there was nothing between them except the length of fifty verses, fifty verses from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour: if a person recites in a measured manner or less. And this indicates that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) delays the pre-dawn meal, delaying it greatly, and that he advances the Fajr prayer and does not delay it.
Then it is befitting for a person when he takes the pre-dawn meal to be mindful that he is taking it in obedience to the command of Allah and His Messenger, and that he is taking it in opposition to the People of the Book and in aversion to what they were upon, and that he is taking it hoping for the blessing in this pre-dawn meal, and that he is taking it as assistance in the obedience of Allah, so that this al-sahur which he eats becomes good, a blessing, and obedience. And Allah is the One who grants success.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "Chapter on the Virtue of the Pre-Dawn Meal:
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Eat Suhur, for in Suhur there is a blessing.
تسحروا فإن في السَّحور بركةAnd Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
We took Suhur (predawn meal) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and then we stood up for (Fajr) Salat (prayer). It was asked: "How long was the gap between the two?" He replied: "The time required for the recitation of fifty Ayat."
تسحرنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم قمنا إلى الصلاة ، قيل : كم كان بينهما ؟ قال : خمسون آيةAnd it was narrated from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had two callers to prayer: Bilal and Ibn Umm Maktum. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bilal calls to prayer at night, so eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum calls." He said: And there was nothing between them except that this one would descend and that one would ascend
كان لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مؤذنان : بلال وابن أم مكتوم ، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : إن بلالاً يؤذن بليل فكلوا واشربوا حتى يؤذن ابن أم مكتوم، قال : ولم يكن بينهما إلا أن ينزل هذا ويرقى هذاAnd 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Amr bin Al-As narrated: (similar to no. 708) from the Prophet.
فصلُ ما بين صيامنا وصيام أهل الكتاب أكلة السحرThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: "Chapter on the Virtue of the Pre-Dawn Meal":
It is said: al-suhur and al-sahur. Al-sahur is the food with which a person takes the pre-dawn meal, and al-suhur with a dammah is the action, meaning a person takes the pre-dawn meal. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged al-sahur with his words and supported it with his actions. He said (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
Eat Suhur, for in Suhur there is a blessing.
تسحروا فإن في السُّحور بركةAnd among its blessings is that it achieves the distinction between the fasting of Muslims and the fasting of non-Muslims. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) clarified that the distinction between us and the fasting of the People of the Book is the pre-dawn meal: meaning the pre-dawn meal, because the People of the Book fast from the middle of the night, so they eat before the middle of the night; they do not eat the pre-dawn meal. As for Muslims, praise be to Allah, they eat in the pre-dawn time at the end of the night. Distinguishing between Muslims and disbelievers is required by the Shari'ah. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade imitating them. He said:
Differ from the Zoroastrians, let the beards grow, and trim the mustaches.
خالفوا المجوس وفروا اللحى وحفوا الشواربAnd he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
He who copies any people is one of them.
من تشبه بقوم فهو منهمThe people will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten to break the fast
لا يزال الناس بخير ما عجلوا الفطر وأخروا السحورBilal used to pronounce the Adhan at night, so Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)? said, "Carry on taking your meals (eat and drink) till Ibn Um Maktum pronounces the Adhan, for he does not pronounce it till it is dawn.
إن بلالًا يؤذن بليل فكلوا واشربوا حتى يؤذن ابن أم مكتوم ، فإنه لا يؤذن حتى يطلع الفجرAs for his statement in the narration the author cited:
And there was no more between than the time it takes for one to come down and the other to go up.
ولم يكن بينهما إلا أن ينزل هذا ويصعد هذاAnd Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) clarified when he mentioned that he took the pre-dawn meal with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then they stood up for the prayer, and there was nothing between them except the length of fifty verses, fifty verses from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour: if a person recites in a measured manner or less. And this indicates that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) delays the pre-dawn meal, delaying it greatly, and that he advances the Fajr prayer and does not delay it.
Then it is befitting for a person when he takes the pre-dawn meal to be mindful that he is taking it in obedience to the command of Allah and His Messenger, and that he is taking it in opposition to the People of the Book and in aversion to what they were upon, and that he is taking it hoping for the blessing in this pre-dawn meal, and that he is taking it as assistance in the obedience of Allah, so that this al-sahur which he eats becomes good, a blessing, and obedience. And Allah is the One who grants success.