Excerpt from: Urdu Sharḥ ʿUmdat al-Aḥkām — Translated by: Ḥāfiẓ Faizullah Nāṣir
“Eat suhoor, for indeed there is barakah (blessing) in it.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1923, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1095]
“We took suhoor with the Prophet ﷺ and then stood up for the prayer.”
Anas asked, “How much time was there between the adhan and suhoor?”
Zayd replied: “About the time it takes to recite fifty verses.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1921, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1097]
If there is a fear of fajr approaching:
✔ You should delay suhoor as much as possible, but ensure it ends before the true dawn (fajr al-ṣādiq) appears.
✔ The time between suhoor and fajr was estimated by the Prophet’s companions as being around the time it takes to recite 50 verses of the Qur’an, i.e. just a few minutes.
This is a consensus among scholars:
❝Suhoor should be taken as late as possible, even close to dawn, unless it’s feared that dawn has already arrived.❞
[Al-Furūʿ by Ibn al-Mufliḥ: 3/50]
Just as suhoor should be delayed, iftar should be hastened.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝People will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten the iftar.❞
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1856, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1098]
◈ Ḥadīth 1 — The Virtue of Suhoor
Narrated by Anas ibn Mālik (RA):The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:“Eat suhoor, for indeed there is barakah (blessing) in it.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1923, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1095]
◈ Ḥadīth 2 — How Close to Fajr Can Suhoor Be?
Narrated by Anas from Zayd ibn Thābit (RA):“We took suhoor with the Prophet ﷺ and then stood up for the prayer.”
Anas asked, “How much time was there between the adhan and suhoor?”
Zayd replied: “About the time it takes to recite fifty verses.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1921, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1097]
Ruling:
If there is a fear of fajr approaching:✔ You should delay suhoor as much as possible, but ensure it ends before the true dawn (fajr al-ṣādiq) appears.
✔ The time between suhoor and fajr was estimated by the Prophet’s companions as being around the time it takes to recite 50 verses of the Qur’an, i.e. just a few minutes.
This is a consensus among scholars:
❝Suhoor should be taken as late as possible, even close to dawn, unless it’s feared that dawn has already arrived.❞
[Al-Furūʿ by Ibn al-Mufliḥ: 3/50]
Additional Note:
Just as suhoor should be delayed, iftar should be hastened.The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝People will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten the iftar.❞
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1856, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1098]
