—namely, to subdue the two appetites of food and sexual intercourse, and that can only be achieved by reducing one’s intake. Others have replied that the wisdom of fasting is not contingent upon eating and drinking less, but upon obeying the command of Allah, exalted is He.

Hadith Four
Anas ibn Mālik narrates from Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with them) who said, “We ate the pre-dawn meal with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and then he rose to pray.”

Anas added, “I asked Zayd, ‘How long was there between the call to prayer and the suḥūr?’ He said, ‘About the time it takes to recite fifty verses.’”

Lexical note
adhān here means the iqāmah (the establishing call). This is clarified by the wording in both Ṣaḥīḥs: “We ate suḥūr with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then we rose to pray.” I asked, “How long was there between them?” He replied, “About fifty verses.”

Overall meaning
Anas ibn Mālik reports from Zayd ibn Thābit that Zayd once shared the pre-dawn meal with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. It was his practice to take suḥūr shortly before daybreak; once he had eaten, he immediately stood for the dawn prayer. Anas therefore asked Zayd how long there was between the iqāmah and the suḥūr, and Zayd answered, “Roughly the time needed to recite fifty Qur’an verses.”

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. The best time for suḥūr is just before Fajr.
2. One should hasten to perform the dawn prayer, as it lies close to the moment of abstention.
3. The time to refrain from food and drink begins with the actual break of dawn, as Allah says, “Eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread of night.” [Q 2:187]
   From this we know that the common practice of setting two separate times—one for “imsāk” (abstention) and another for the appearance of dawn—is an innovation for which Allah has sent down no authority. It is merely a whisper from Satan to confuse people about their religion, whereas the Prophetic sunnah is to stop eating at the very first light of dawn.

Hadith Five
‘Ā’ishah and Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would be overtaken by dawn while he was in a state of janābah after marital relations. He would then bathe and fast.

Overall meaning
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, might have marital relations during the night and be caught by dawn while still in a state of major ritual impurity before bathing. Even so, he would continue his fast and did not have to make it up. This ruling applies in Ramadan and outside it. It is the position of the majority of scholars; only a few, whose dissent is not considered, disagreed, and some scholars have even cited consensus on the point.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. The fast is valid for one who begins the morning in a state of janābah resulting from nighttime intercourse.
2. By even stronger reasoning, the same applies to a nocturnal emission: if leniency is granted for deliberate intercourse, it is all the more granted for something involuntary.
3. There is no distinction between obligatory and voluntary fasts, nor between Ramadan and other days.
4. It is permissible to have intercourse during the nights of Ramadan, even if it occurs just before the break of dawn.