When should one stop eating and drinking? And what is the ruling on one who has the vessel in his hand when hearing the adhaan?
Mohammed Saleh Al Monjid
When should one stop eating and drinking? And
what is the ruling on one who has the vessel in his
hand when hearing the adhaan?
When exactly must one stop eating and drinking if one is
going to fast? Is it the adhaan of Fajr when the muezzin says
Allaahu akbar, or what is the exact time? What should I do if
the cup is at my mouth and I am drinking and the call to
prayer begins?.
Praise be to Allah.
With regard to fasting, it is obligatory to refrain from things
that break the fast from the onset of the true dawn, until the
sun sets. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So now have sexual relations with them and seek that
which Allah has ordained for you (offspring), and eat and
drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you
distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then
complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall”
[Al-Baqarah 2:187].
Al-Bukhaari (1919) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be
pleased with her) that Bilaal used to give the adhaan at
night. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: “Eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktoom
gives the call to prayer, because he does not give the call to
prayer until dawn breaks.”
Based on that, if a person knows that the true dawn has
broken, either by seeing it himself or because someone else
has told him, then he must stop eating and drinking. If he
hears the call to prayer, he must stop eating and drinking as
soon as he hears it, if the muezzin give the call on time and
not ahead of time.
Some scholars made an exception if a person has the cup in
his hand when he hears the adhaan, and said that he may
drink what he needs from it, because of the report narrated
by Abu Dawood (2350) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When one if you
hears the call and the vessel is in his hand, let him not put it
down until he has fulfilled his need of it.” Al-Albaani said in
Saheeh Abi Dawood: Its isnaad is hasan saheeh. It was also
classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, al-Dhahabi and ‘Abd al-
Haqq al-Ishbeeli, and Ibn Hazm quoted it as evidence. End
quote.
The majority of scholars interpreted it as meaning that the
muezzin used to give the call to prayer ahead of time. For a
detailed discussion on that, please see the answer to
question number 66202.
Most of the muezzins nowadays rely on clocks and
timetables, not on actual sighting of the dawn, but this
cannot be regarded as certainty that dawn has broken, so if a
person is still eating at this time, his fast is valid because he
was not certain that dawn had broken. But it is better and
more on the safe side to refrain from things that break the
fast when one hears the adhaan.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on
him) was asked: What is the shar’i ruling on the fast of one
who hears the adhaan of Fajr and continues eating and
drinking?
He replied: What the believer must do is refrain from eating
and drinking and other things that break the fast as soon as
it becomes clear to him that dawn has broken, if the fast is
an obligatory fast such as Ramadan or fasting in fulfilment
of a vow or as expiation, because Allah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn
appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of
night), then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall”
[al-Baqarah 2:187].
So if he hears the adhaan and knows that the call is being
given at the time of dawn, then he must stop eating and
drinking. But if the muezzin gives the adhaan before dawn
breaks, he does not have to stop eating and drinking and it
is permissible for him to carry on eating and drinking until
he sees the dawn.
If he does not know whether the muezzin gives the call to
prayer before or after dawn, then it is better and more on the
safe side to stop eating and drinking when he hears the call
to prayer, but it does not matter if he ate or drank something
at the time of the adhaan, because he did not know whether
dawn had broken.
It is well known that people living in cities in which there
are streetlights cannot see the break of dawn for themselves
at the time of dawn. But they should be on the safe side by
using the adhaan and timetables which give the time of
dawn to the hour and minute, following the words of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “Leave
that which makes you doubt for that which does not make
you doubt” and “Whoever avoids dubious matters will have
kept his religious commitment and honour safe.” And Allah
is the source of strength. End quote from Fataawa Ramadan,
compiled by Ashraf ‘Abd al-Maqsood, p. 201.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
was asked: When should a person stop eating? Is it as they
say: when the muezzin says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah? What is the
ruling if he drinks deliberately after the adhaan? Is he like
the one who drinks after ‘Asr or can he still fast? Some
people say that Fajr is not like a lamp which shines instantly
and the matter is broad in scope. What is the ruling?
He replied: If the muezzin gives the call to prayer when the
dawn has come, then the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “Eat and drink until Ibn Umm
Maktoom gives the call to prayer, because he does not give
the call to prayer until dawn breaks.” So if the muezzin says:
I have seen the dawn and I do not give the call to prayer
until I see the dawn, then it is obligatory for one to stop
eating and drinking from the moment he hears the adhaan,
except in the case in which a concession is allowed, which is
if the vessel is in his hand, in which case he may drink what
he needs of it. But if the adhaan is given according to a
timetable, then the timetable in fact is not connected to the
actual times, rather it is based on calculations -- the
timetables that we have now for Umm al-Qura [Makkah] or
other cities are based on calculations, because they do not
look at the dawn or the sun or the meridian or the time
when ‘Asr begins or the setting of the sun. End quote. Al-
Liqa’ al-Shahri, 1/214
To sum up: one should stop eating and drinking etc as soon
as he hears the adhaan, if he knows that the muezzin gives
the call on time. But if he is not sure about that, then he
should limit it to drinking what is in his hand, because it
cannot be said that he may continue eating and drinking
until he is certain that dawn has broken. In fact, he has no
means of ascertaining whether dawn has come because of
lights and electricity, and many people are unable to
distinguish between the true dawn and the false dawn.
And Allah knows best.
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