Nasai

The word "khayt" means thread or strand, but here the literal meaning is not intended, as was understood by Hazrat Adi radi Allahu anhu. When he inquired, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam clarified that the meaning is: when the light of dawn becomes visible and spreads, distinguishing itself from the darkness of night. This is referred to as the appearance of Fajr (dawn).

Hadith Commentary:
The literal translation is as follows: "The back of your head is very broad from behind," meaning the nape is very broad. Most often, such a person is foolish.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Hazrat Adi bin Hatim (radi Allahu anhu) understood from the noble verse that (الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ) and (الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ) actually refer to black and white threads, whereas in the mentioned verse, by the black line is meant the darkness of night and by the white line is meant the light of morning. When the white line appears upright, this is the false dawn (subh kadhib), and when it spreads horizontally (in width), then it is the true dawn (subh sadiq).

➋
When the Arabs say about someone (عَرِيضُ القَفَا), they mean his stupidity and heedlessness. The purpose of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was that even if night and day come under your pillow, you would still sleep the sleep of heedlessness, which is a sign of lack of intelligence. This does not intend to criticize Hazrat Adi bin Hatim (radi Allahu anhu), because, being a person of the language, he immediately derived the apparent meaning that came to mind.

➌
From this hadith, it is also understood that to try to understand the Qur’an solely on the basis of one’s linguistic knowledge is a sign of foolishness; for this, the clarification of the possessor of the Qur’an (i.e., the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is absolutely necessary.

And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:

Adi bin Hatim (radi Allahu anhu) understood the meaning of the verse to be that the "white thread" and the "black thread" actually refer to literal black and white strings, whereas in the verse, by the black and white stripe is meant the darkness of the night and the light of the morning. When the white stripe appears upright, this is the false dawn (subh kadhib), and when it spreads horizontally, this is the true dawn (subh sadiq).

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Hazrat Adi bin Hatim (radi Allahu anhu) understood from the noble verse that (الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ) and (الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ) actually refer to black and white threads, whereas in the mentioned verse, by the black line is meant the darkness of night and by the white line is meant the light of morning. When the white line appears upright, this is the false dawn (subh kadhib), and when it spreads horizontally (in width), then it is the true dawn (subh sadiq).

➋
When the Arabs say about someone (عَرِيضُ القَفَا), they mean his stupidity and heedlessness. The purpose of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was that even if night and day come under your pillow, you would still sleep the sleep of heedlessness, which is a sign of lack of intelligence. This does not intend to criticize Hazrat Adi bin Hatim (radi Allahu anhu), because, being a person of the language, he immediately derived the apparent meaning that came to mind.

➌
From this hadith, it is also understood that to try to understand the Qur’an solely on the basis of one’s linguistic knowledge is a sign of foolishness; for this, the clarification of the possessor of the Qur’an (i.e., the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is absolutely necessary.

And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
Adi bin Hatim (radi Allahu anhu) understood the reality upon the explanation of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), that here what is meant is the false dawn (subh kadhib) and the true dawn (subh sadiq).

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Among the Muslims, the initial practice regarding fasting was that, like the People of the Book, they would begin the fast after sleeping in the evening and would abstain from eating and drinking until the next evening. Thus, it is mentioned in Sunan al-Nasa’i that if a fasting person slept before eating the evening meal, he could not eat anything for the rest of the night. This noble verse and the presented narration announce the end of this initial practice. (Sunan al-Nasa’i, al-Siyam, Hadith: 2170)

(2)
‘Adi bin Hatim radi Allahu anhu, taking the white thread and the black thread literally, placed both under his pillow, but after the clarification of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he came to know the actual reality.

(3)
From the apparent words of this hadith, it seems that ‘Adi bin Hatim radi Allahu anhu was present at the time of the revelation of this verse, whereas in reality this is not the case, because the obligation of Ramadan occurred in the second year of Hijrah, and ‘Adi bin Hatim became Muslim in the ninth or tenth year of Hijrah. The answer to this objection is that some wording is omitted here, meaning: after the revelation of this verse, I came into the presence of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, accepted Islam, and learned the rulings of the Shari‘ah; at that time, I placed the black and white threads under my pillow. This is supported by a narration of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, in which the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to ‘Adi bin Hatim radi Allahu anhu: “Pray in this manner, fast in this manner, and when the sun sets, eat and drink. Then he explained the issues regarding suhur (pre-dawn meal): eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct from the black thread.” (Musnad Ahmad: 4/377, and Fath al-Bari: 4/170)

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: The revelation of this blessed verse occurred well before the acceptance of Islam by Hazrat Adi bin Hatim radi Allahu anhu. This is because he embraced Islam in the ninth (9th) or tenth (10th) year of Hijrah, whereas fasting was made obligatory in the second (2nd) year of Hijrah. Therefore, the meaning of the verse’s revelation here is to teach and instruct him, as is explicitly mentioned in the narration of Musnad Ahmad. However, he understood the Arabic idiom in its literal sense. For this reason, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: If the day and night pass under your pillow or beneath your cushion and neck, then indeed your pillow and cushion are very wide. Then he explained to him: What is meant is not a white thread, but rather the darkness of the night and the brightness of the day.

Benefits and Issues:
From this it is understood that for the comprehension of the Qur'an, merely translating the words or understanding their lexical meaning is not sufficient; rather, along with the eloquence and rhetoric of Arabic literature, it is also necessary to take into consideration the explanations of the Lawgiver (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) (i.e., the hadiths).

Benefit:
This hadith proves that sometimes we make mistakes; the only understanding that is valid is that which conforms to the Qur'an and Hadith.