[Sūrah Adh-Dhāriyāt: 18] with the statement of the Prophet ﷺ where he said: “Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, descends every night to the nearest Heaven whe

💡Benefit: To calculate the last third, work out the time between sunset and dawn-break, then divide that by three. Q6. When does the time for Suḥūr end? It ends at dawn break due to the statement of Allāh: “˹You may˺ eat and drink until you see the light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall.” [Sūrah Al-Baqarah: 187] And the statement of the Prophet ﷺ, “The Adhān of Bilāl should not stop any of you from taking his Saḥūr, since he calls the Adhān so that whoever of you is praying the night prayer may return (to eat his Saḥūr) and whoever among you is sleeping may get up, for it is not yet dawn.” [Bukhāri & Muslim] Q7. When is the best time to have Saḥūr? Zaid ibn Thābit raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu said: “We ate Saḥūr with the Prophet (ﷺ) and then stood up for the [Fajr] prayer.” I (Anas raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu) asked him, how long the interval between the two (Suhur and Fajr) was? He replied, “The interval between the two was just sufficient to recite fifty to Sixty 'Ayat.” [Bukhāri] This ḥadīth proves that the Sunnah is to eat Saḥūr just before dawn break. 💡Benefit: Sheikh ’Uthaymīn raḥimahullāh mentions, when time calculated using Āyāt, we should understand that as medium ranged Āyāt; so not too long and not too short. He also said in his explanation of ’Umdat Al-Aḥkām that it took him 5 - 6 minutes to recite 50 Āyāt. Likewise, Sheikh Ibn Bāz raḥimahullāh gave a similar time range. Q8: Are we allowed to eat and drink while the Adhān for Fajr is being called? If the Mu'adhin calls the Adhān at the correct time then we have to stop eating and drinking, because the Prophet ﷺ said: “Carry on eating and drinking till Ibn Umm Maktūm calls the Adhān, for he does not call it till it is dawn.” [Bukhāri] But if the Mu'adhin calls the Adhān before the correct time, as a precautionary measure (which is not allowed), then it's permissible to continue eating and drinking as long one is certain that Fajr has not yet entered; because the certainty of nightfall is not overcome by the doubt of dawnbreak. However, it's safer that a person stops eating when he hears the Adhān - especially infront of others. 🔺Note: The scholars differed concerning food that is already inside one's mouth; should it be swallowed or taken out? This differing is based on the ḥadīth of Abū Hurairah raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “If one of you hears the Adhān while the vessel is in his hand, then he should not put it down till he fulfils his need.” [Abū Dāwūd] Those who deemed this ḥadīth as weak, such as Sheikh Muqbil raḥimahullāh, have said it's not permissible to swallow anything once the time comes in. Whereas those who authenticated this report, such as Sheikh Albāni, have said that if it's allowed for a person to drink from the vessel that's in his hand, then it goes without saying that he is allowed to swallow what is already in his mouth. However, if the vessel is still on the ground and he has not yet raised it, or the food is still in the dish, he is not allowed to eat/drink anything, because the ḥadīth is referring to something that has already entered or is about to enter one's mouth. Likewise, it's not allowed to stuff one's hands with food; water in one hand and food in the other, and then continue to eat after the Adhān is called.