Hadith Three
Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Take the pre-dawn meal, for there is blessing in suḥūr.”

Lexical notes
• Suḥūr, when the sīn carries a fatḥah (sahur), refers to the food and drink themselves; when it carries a ḍammah (suhūr), it refers to the act of taking that meal.
• The blessing (barakah) mentioned here applies to both the act and the food.

Overall meaning
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commands the believers to take suḥūr—that is, to eat and drink during the last portion of the night—in preparation for the fast. He then discloses the divine wisdom in this practice: the arrival of blessing, which embraces benefits in both this world and the hereafter.

Among those blessings:
• Suḥūr strengthens a person to obey Allah during the day, for hunger and thirst tend to sap one’s energy for worship.
• The fasting person who takes suḥūr does not grow weary of fasting again, whereas the one who neglects it feels hardship and reluctance to resume.
• There is reward in following the example of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.
• One who rises for suḥūr is awake in the last part of the night, remembers Allah, seeks His forgiveness, and then performs the dawn prayer in congregation—unlike the person who skips suḥūr. This is observable: the number of worshippers at the congregational Fajr prayer in Ramadan is greater than at other times precisely because of suḥūr.
• Suḥūr itself becomes an act of worship if it is taken with the intention of gaining strength to obey Allah and of emulating the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Indeed, Allah’s law is full of wisdoms and secrets.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. Taking suḥūr is recommended, and acting on the prophetic command fulfils a legal instruction.
2. Because of the blessing it contains, one should not abandon it. The blessing pertains both to the act and to the food, a nuance drawn from the two vocalisations rather than an arbitrary assignment of double meanings to a single word.
3. While the outward sense of the command implies obligation, the Prophet’s established practice of continuous fasting without suḥūr (al-wisāl) shows that the ruling is one of recommendation.
4. Some Sufis extend the time for suḥūr as long as the period for breaking the fast, a view that undermines the purpose of fasting.