3 – “It has been made lawful for you, on the night of the fast, to be intimate with your wives … Thus does Allah make His signs clear to mankind so that they may be mindful of Him.” (Qur’an 2:187)

In the initial stage of the fasting prescription, Muslims were forbidden to eat or drink at night once they had fallen asleep, and that proved burdensome for many. Allah therefore lightened the ruling: throughout every night of Ramadan He permitted eating, drinking, and marital relations, whether one had slept or not. Had the original ruling remained, people would have been betraying their own souls by leaving part of what they had been commanded to do. Hence Allah turned toward you in mercy, widening the matter—an expansion that, had it not occurred, would have driven people toward sin and bold disobedience—and He pardoned whatever self-betrayal had taken place before.

“So now,” after this concession and ease from Allah, “go in to them,” whether by intercourse, kissing, or caress, “and seek what Allah has decreed for you.” In other words, when you approach your wives, intend nearness to Allah and also intend the attainment of offspring, the safeguarding of chastity, and every other legitimate objective of marriage. At the same time seek Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree); beware of becoming so absorbed in pleasure and its accessories that you forfeit that night. Allah has allotted it to this community, and the immense good it contains makes missing it one of the gravest losses. Pleasure can always be regained, but if Laylat al-Qadr slips away it cannot be recaptured, nor can anything replace it.

“And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of dawn.” This marks the final limit for eating, drinking, and marital relations during the nights of the fast.

The verse also shows that if any of these three acts is done while one is unsure whether dawn has broken, there is no sin upon the person.

It further proves the recommendation of suhur (the pre-dawn meal) and that delaying it is preferable, in keeping with Allah’s concession and His facilitation for the servants.