Chapter: The Virtue of Suhur and the Recommendation to Delay It So Long as One Does Not Fear the Onset of Dawn

1229 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Partake of suhur, for there is blessing in the suhur.” Agreed upon.

1230 – Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We ate suhur with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and then rose for the prayer.” He was asked, “How long was the interval between the two?” He replied, “About the time it takes to recite fifty verses.” Agreed upon.

1231 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had two callers to prayer: Bilal and Ibn Umm Maktum. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Bilal makes the call while it is still night, so eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum calls.’ Nothing separated their calls except that one would come down while the other was climbing up.” Agreed upon.

1232 – ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The distinguishing mark between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is the pre-dawn meal (suhur).” Related by Muslim.

[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites in Riyad al-Salihin the chapter on the merit of suhur. The term may be pronounced with a fatḥah, saḥur, referring to the food itself, or with a ḍammah, suhur, referring to the act of taking the pre-dawn meal.