Is it right to eat while Azaan during Sehri for Fast?

by Owais Ehsan on August 26, 2009

Due to lack of knowledge people have been indulged in very wrong practices. Some people have adopted a very wrong practice in Fasting and I, myself, have seen and heard this thing from many people. That is “During Sahri one can keep eating till Azaan is going on” This is totally a wrong practice and whoever does this his/her Fast will be nullified.

We need to understand the ending time of Sahri. When Azaan is being called it means that the time of Fajr has been started and as time of Fajr has been started it means that day(i.e Dawn) has been started. So, Now anyone who eats during Azaan it means that he is eating during the Dawn whereas we have to stop eating before the start of Dawn.

Now look what Quran says about it.

… and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), …} [Al-Quran, 2: 187].

Now where does it say that one can keep on eating till Azaan is going on. Question is if time of Fajr starts at 4.45am and in my local mosque Azaan is being called at 5.00am then can I keep on eating till 5.00am? Absolutely not! If anyone does so his/her Fast will be nullified because now he is eating after the ending time of Sahri.

Some people while proving their false statement give reference of this Hadith:

Abu Hurayrah(Radhi’Allah An’ho) narrated : “If the Azaan is called and one of you has a receptacle in his hand, he should not leave it until satisfying his needs”.

People have drawn a wrong conclusion from this Hadith and they think that we can keep eating till Azaan is going on. Al-Bayhaqi said this narration is according to the majority of Muslim scholars, linked in its meaning with the fact that the Rasool’Allah (SAW) knew that Azaan is called before the Fajr.

Now a question can come in mind that how can Hazrat Bilal (Radhi’Allah An’ho) call Azaan before Fajr. To understand this thing read the following Hadith.

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud: The Prophet (SAW) said, “The call (or the Azaan) of Bilal should not stop you from taking the Suhur-meals for Bilal calls (or pronounces the Azaan) so that the one who is offering the night prayer should take a rest, and he does not indicate the daybreak or dawn.” The narrator, Yazid, described (how dawn breaks) by stretching out his hands and then separating them wide apart. [Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 63, Number 219a]

Read another Hadith!

Narrated Abdullah bin Umar: The Prophet (SAW) said, “Bilal pronounces the Azaan when it is still night (before dawn), so eat and drink till the next Azaan is pronounced (or till you hear Ibn Um Maktum’s Adhan).” Ibn Um Maktum was a blind man who would not pronounce the Azaan till he was told that it was dawn. [Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Hadith 824]

So, these Hadiths clearly prove that Hazrat Bilal used to call Azaan before the Fajr and it was for other purpose and it does not indicate a daybreak or dawn.

Imam Nawawi said: ‘We mentioned that when the Fajr appears while one has something in his mouth, he should spit it out and complete his fasting. But if he swallows it then his fasting is nullified and there is no disagreement over this issue.

As a Precaution,

Narrated Qatada: Anas bin Malik said, “The Prophet (SAW) and Zaid bin Thabit took the ‘Suhur’ together and after finishing the meal, the Prophet(SAW) stood up and prayed (Fajr prayer).” I asked Anas, “How long was the interval between finishing their ‘Suhur’ and starting the prayer?” He replied, “The interval between the two was just sufficient to recite fifty ‘Ayat.” (Verses of the Quran).” Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 10, Hadith 550

As mentioned in above Hadith that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and Hazrat Zaid finished meal before the time. So we should stop eating 5 to10 minutes before the ending time of Sahri (Which is usually mentioned in Calendars). Stop eating 5 to10 Minutes before isn’t Farz or Wajib but we should try to do it as a precaution.

In short: This is totally a wrong practice to keep eating during Azaan or once the time of Fajr starts. If anyone does so then his/her Fast will be nullified. One should stop eating before the start time of Fajr (i.e Ending time of Sahri).

Verily, Allah Subhan Wa Ta’Ala and HIS Messenger (SAW) know the best and may ALLAH give us courage to keep all Fasts properly.

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This guest post is sent by Mazher Arshad

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Huma 08.26.09 at 1:26 pm

very informative. Thanks for clearing alot of things.

2 M Junaid Khan 08.26.09 at 6:41 pm

Yups truly informative blog post.

3 sonia 08.26.09 at 7:58 pm

what happens to a man living in the desert where there is no azaan??there are many parts of the world where people dont hear the azaan and they go by a general idea. Our religion is not a very rigid one. After all, the entire purpose of fasting is the actual process itself. Id like to quote a verse here too and its not a fast-related verse. It does however, sum up a lot of other things because after all, facing the kaaba is a clear and understood fact during prayers. But this verse shows that even for that, arguing over the nitty gritties of religion is not allowed.

Sûrah Baqarah: 2. 177.
“Righteousness does not consist in whether you face towards the east or the West. The righteous man is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, in the angels and the Book and the prophets; who for the love of Allah gives his wealth to his kinsfolk, to the orphans, to the needy, to the wayfarers and to the beggars, and for the redemption of captives; who attends to his prayers and pays the alms-tax; who is true to his promises and steadfast in trial and adversity and in times of war. Such are the true believers; such are the God-fearing. ”

The FIRST LINE says it all-please research on where and why this verse was sent to get a better understanding of my point. Lets try to keep our religion easy and simple the way it is supposed to be.

4 good-wisher 09.08.09 at 7:57 pm

very nice… Thank you all… the first post is very informative. Indeed spreading a good word.
its Sadqa-e-Jaqaria. I’ll not indulge in arguments. but i liked the quotations quoted in the first post. it helped in understanding the truth which is revealed upon us. its very important to understand the truth… and once we’ll get to know the truth, we should try to implement that in our lives. we are the lucky ones to have real and honest stuffs ready and we just have to read and adapt.

I am no scholar, and still learning and observing… finding other parts of truth to fill the purpose of my life. with so many beautiful things you all mentioned… lets not get into whose fasting is nullified and whose not. I think its in the hearts/faith… who knows a man fasting in a daytime, not knowing the rules and get his day and we those debating over the rules gets no where near to him… its about belief…

all we can say… the best is who, who follows:

… and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), …} [Al-Quran, 2: 187].

and we know they are rightful…and our Lord, who is The Lord of all mankind and all the other creatures in heavens and on earth will take a very good account of all the actions we do. :)

5 Mazher 09.14.09 at 6:31 pm

@Sonia

You said: “what happens to a man living in the desert where there is no azaan??”

Read this:
… and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), …} [Al-Quran, 2: 187].

So if a man is in desert and he has knowledge of Islam then he can guess the ending time of Sahri and thats what Muslims used to do in old times as there were no calendars and no media.

6 kool 11.29.09 at 6:42 pm

ok smething i agree with.
actually quite informative.
bt still therz 1 quest.
u see its said that roza subha sadik[sooraj tuluh] hone se sham [sooraj ghuruub] honetak hota hai.
so my point is that wen Azan is pronounced at that very instant there’s no sun ray. then wat?

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