❖ Question:
What is the Sharʿī ruling for a person who continues eating and drinking after hearing the Fajr adhān?
❖ Answer:
It is obligatory upon a believer to refrain from eating, drinking, and all other nullifiers of fasting once true dawn (ṣubḥ ṣādiq) appears, especially if the fast is obligatory, such as in Ramadan, vowed fasts, or expiatory fasts.
Allah ﷻ says:
"And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the night."
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:187)
Therefore, if a person hears the adhān and knows that it is for Fajr, then it becomes obligatory to stop eating and drinking immediately.
However, if the mu’adhdhin gives the adhān before the actual appearance of Fajr, then one may continue eating, as long as true dawn has not appeared.
If it is unknown whether the mu’adhdhin calls the adhān before or after Fajr, then out of caution, one should refrain from eating upon hearing the adhān.
If one consumes a small amount at the time of the adhān without realizing that dawn has broken, then there is no harm, as it was done out of ignorance.
It is also known that those living in cities with continuous artificial lighting at night cannot easily determine the appearance of true dawn. Despite this, they must act cautiously, and rely on the adhān and the timings provided in calendars.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Leave what causes you doubt for what does not cause you doubt."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ, Hadith 3
And he ﷺ also said:
"Whoever avoids doubtful matters has protected his religion and his honour."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Īmān, Hadith 52; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Musāqāh, Hadith 107
— Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله)
What is the Sharʿī ruling for a person who continues eating and drinking after hearing the Fajr adhān?
❖ Answer:
It is obligatory upon a believer to refrain from eating, drinking, and all other nullifiers of fasting once true dawn (ṣubḥ ṣādiq) appears, especially if the fast is obligatory, such as in Ramadan, vowed fasts, or expiatory fasts.
Allah ﷻ says:
"And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the night."
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:187)
Therefore, if a person hears the adhān and knows that it is for Fajr, then it becomes obligatory to stop eating and drinking immediately.
However, if the mu’adhdhin gives the adhān before the actual appearance of Fajr, then one may continue eating, as long as true dawn has not appeared.
If it is unknown whether the mu’adhdhin calls the adhān before or after Fajr, then out of caution, one should refrain from eating upon hearing the adhān.
If one consumes a small amount at the time of the adhān without realizing that dawn has broken, then there is no harm, as it was done out of ignorance.
It is also known that those living in cities with continuous artificial lighting at night cannot easily determine the appearance of true dawn. Despite this, they must act cautiously, and rely on the adhān and the timings provided in calendars.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Leave what causes you doubt for what does not cause you doubt."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Buyūʿ, Hadith 3
And he ﷺ also said:
"Whoever avoids doubtful matters has protected his religion and his honour."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Īmān, Hadith 52; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Musāqāh, Hadith 107
— Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله)
