He replied:

All praise is due to Allah.

The scholars hold three opinions on this issue:

The first is that he must make up the fast and offer expiation. This is the well-known position in Ahmad’s school.

The second is that he must make up the fast. This is another position in Ahmad’s school, and it is the position of Abū Hanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, and Mālik.

The third is that he is required neither to make up the fast nor to offer expiation. This is the view of a number of the early scholars, such as Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Mujāhid, al-Hasan, Ishāq, and Dāwūd and his followers, as well as scholars of later generations. They say that whoever eats believing that dawn has broken, then discovers that it has not, need not make up the fast.

This is the soundest of these opinions and the most consistent with the principles of the Sharia and the evidence of the Quran and Sunnah. It also follows by analogy from the principles of Ahmad and others. Allah does not hold accountable those who forget or make a mistake, and this person has made a mistake. Allah has permitted eating and intercourse until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black thread, and He has recommended delaying the pre-dawn meal. Whoever does what he has been encouraged and permitted to do has not been negligent. Such a person has an even stronger claim to be excused than one who forgets. And Allah knows best.