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When to stop having Sehri?

There's always confusion among Muslims about Sehri timings. Some end a little early before the Fajr Adhan, and some end upon hearing the Fajr Adhan. Here's the fundamental way to understand when to stop eating your meal/Sehri. 

Let's first analyze the etymological meaning of the word Sehri. Sehri comes from the root word Suhoor. Suhoor in Arabic literally refers to the last part of the night before the Dawn/Fajr arrives. 

So when we transit from the last part of the night, which is Suhoor, also known as Sehr, to the first part of the morn, which is Fajr, the time for Suhoor ends by itself. Perhaps, technically, anything that is permissible to carry out during the period of Suhoor should be completed before the last minute ends. 

When should one stop eating and drinking for Sehri?

Now let's analyze from the various books of Sahi Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him). As per a Hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said, "Eat Suhoor, for in Suhoor there's blessings.


And as per an another Sahi Hadith from Musnad Ahmed, the Prophet ﷺ (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said, "whoever wants to fast, let him eat something for Suhoor."


Now, the command here is to have Suhoor, meaning to have Sehri at Sehr, which is similar to saying have lunch at the time of lunch. Technically, we cannot tell a person to have lunch at any time of the day. Therefore, the meal consumed at the time of Sehr is Sehri, just as meal eaten in the afternoon is lunch. 

In another narration of Bukhari and Muslim, Zayd Ibn Thaabit (May Allah Be Pleased With him) says, "We ate Suhoor with the Prophet ﷺ  (Peace and Blessings Of Allah Be Upon Him) and then he went to pray." I asked, "How long was there between the Adhaan and Suhoor?" The Prophet ﷺ  (Peace and Blessings Of Allah Be Upon Him) replied, "As long as it takes to recite fifty verses."


Again, the narrator is hinting that there's a gap before Fajr Adhan, after ending with Sehri, and the interval between them is equal to the time taken for reciting 50 Quranic Versus, which is a proven fact today. As I wrote this blog on the 28th March'23, it's the 6th Suhoor of Ramadan 2023 for me, and its ending at 05:12am, and Fajr is starting at 05:22 am. You see, I have 10 minutes of the gap sufficient to recite 50 Quranic Versus. 

It is naturally implying that the Prophet ﷺ (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) used to stop having Sehri at the last minute of Suhoor and enter Fajr while starting to fast in order to complete the one whole day of being fasting from the first part of the Morn/Fajr to the last part of the evening that is Sunset/Maghrib.

Furthermore, there's two more hadith from Bukhari and Muslim to support the above explanation that Hazrat Bilal used to pronounce Adhan at night (To wake the believers for Tahajjud/Sehri), So Allah's messenger said, "Carry on taking your meals (eat and drink) till Ibn Muktum pronounces the Adhan, for he does not pronounce it till it is dawn (meaning, he pronounces Adhan after the Fajr has started)  

Therefore, we should immediately abstain from having Suhoor till the Fajr Adhan/Iqamah to avoid having an invalid fast. When you hear Adhan, you rush to finish all the remaining portions of the food left on your plate and according to a hadith transmitted by Abu Dawud, the Prophet ﷺ (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said, there's no reward/virtue in rushing/hurrying.

Authored By
Zain Khan

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