Suhūr
Definition
Suhur is the recommended pre-dawn meal eaten before the beginning of the fast. Al-Ghazali notes that the Prophet ﷺ described it as having barakah (divine blessing), and he identifies two dimensions of this barakah: the practical benefit of sustaining the faster through the day, and the spiritual benefit of waking in the last part of the night — a time that the Quran describes as especially close to Allah. The person who rises for suhur is already participating in the spiritual discipline of the night; if they add a few rakats of night prayer and some dhikr, they have made the suhur an act of worship in itself.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Suhūr.
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"This is agreed upon from the hadith of Ibn Umar. Aisha narrated that "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, performed the witr at the beginning, middle, and end of the night, until his witr ended at the time of suhur. This is also agreed upon. There is a hadith prohibiting undoing the witr, confirmed by the compiler, although it is correctly narrated from the words of Abid bin Amr and Ibn Abbas."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 10: The Mysteries of Regular Divisions
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"The Prophet said, "The night prayer is two by two rak'ahs, and if you fear the coming of dawn, then perform the Witr with one rak'ah. Aisha mentioned that the Prophet performed the Witr at different times of the night, and his Witr continued until the time of suhur. Ali described three ways to perform Witr: at the beginning of the night, with one rak'ah, or delaying it to be the last prayer."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 10: The Mysteries of Regular Divisions
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"perform the shafa and witter prayers and depart. The other imams do not add anything beyond their custom. At the time of Suhur, the Zamzami muezzin takes charge in the eastern corner of the Haram, inviting, reminding, and urging people for the pre-dawn meal, along with the muezzins in other minarets. When one speaks, another responds, and at the top of each minaret, arrangements are made."
— Ibn Battuta, Volume One: From Tangier to the Lands of the East
Appears in
1 book in the library
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