The Prophet ﷺ urged the taking of suhur and confirmed it by his own practice. He said, “Take the pre-dawn meal, for in suhur there is blessing.” Thus he both commanded us to partake of it and clarified that it is blessed. One aspect of its blessing is simply obeying the Prophet’s instruction, and obedience to him is pure good, reward, and merit. Another aspect is that it aids worship, for it gives a person strength to fast. After eating suhur, that small meal is enough to sustain him until sunset, even though on ordinary, non-fasting days he eats at the beginning, middle, and end of the day and drinks repeatedly. Allah places blessing in the suhur so that it suffices from before dawn until sunset.

Among its blessings as well is that it sets Muslim fasting apart from the fasting of non-Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ explained, “The distinguishing mark between our fast and the fast of the People of the Book is the pre-dawn meal,” meaning suhur. The People of the Book begin fasting from midnight, eating before its midpoint and not during the pre-dawn hours, whereas Muslims—praise be to Allah—eat in the last part of the night. Creating a clear distinction between Muslims and unbelievers is something the Law itself seeks. For that reason the Prophet ﷺ forbade resembling them, saying: “Oppose the Magians: let the beards grow and trim the mustaches,” that is, allow the beard to grow—do not cut it short or shave it. He ﷺ also said, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

Accordingly, it is recommended to delay suhur until just before daybreak and not to take it earlier, because the Prophet ﷺ said: “People will remain in a good state so long as they hasten …”