Sayyiduna ‘Adi bin Hatim Tai says: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, taught me about prayer and fasting, and he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Perform such-and-such prayers and fast in this manner. When the sun sets, you may eat and drink throughout the night, until the white thread becomes distinct from the black thread, and complete the full thirty fasts of (Ramadan), unless the moon is sighted before that. So I took a black thread and a white thread and began to look at them (at the time of suhoor), but they were not becoming clear to me. Therefore, I informed the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about this. Upon hearing this, he, peace and blessings be upon him, smiled and said: By the white thread is meant the whiteness of the day becoming distinct from the darkness of the night at the time of dawn.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): I want to spend the night at your place tonight so that I may perform the night prayer following you. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You will not be able to keep up with my prayer. Nevertheless, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) woke up and performed ghusl behind a cloth curtain while I turned my face the other way, then I did the same. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, (and stood for so long that) I (due to fatigue or sleepiness) was hitting my head against the wall. Then Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) called the adhan for prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Have you already given the adhan? He said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Bilal! When you give the adhan, at that time the light goes straight up towards the sky and that is not the true dawn; the true dawn is when the light spreads (horizontally) along the horizon. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had food brought and ate suhoor.

Zar bin Hubaysh says: I ate the pre-dawn meal and then walked towards the mosque. As I passed by the house of Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), I went to him. He ordered that the milk of a she-camel who had just given birth be milked and that the pot be heated, and he said to me: Come near and eat food. I said: I want to fast today. He said: I also want to fast, so we ate food and drank milk, and then we went towards the mosque. In the meantime, the call for the establishment of prayer was given (and we prayed). Then Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) informed that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had once done the same with him. In another narration, it is stated: I did the same with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did the same with me. I asked: Was it after dawn had broken? He said: Yes, dawn had broken, but the sun had not yet risen.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to come to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (the Prophet) was eating suhoor, and at that time I could still see the place where my arrow had fallen. I (Nasr) said: After dawn? He said: Yes, after dawn, but the sun had not yet risen.

(Second chain) Asim said: I asked Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): At what time did you people eat sahur with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: The day had begun, but the sun had not yet risen.

Sayyiduna Bilal bin Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to inform him about the prayer, while he intended to fast. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had a bowl brought, drank from it himself, and gave me to drink as well. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) proceeded towards the mosque for prayer and began to pray without performing ablution, while he intended to fast.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Qatadah that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me at the time of suhoor: "Anas! I intend to fast, bring me something to eat." I brought dates and a vessel of water to serve him, while Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) had already given the adhan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Anas! Find and bring someone who will eat with me." I went and brought Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have already drunk sattu and intended to fast." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I also intend to fast." So he also ate suhoor with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed two rak'ahs, after which he went out and the iqamah for prayer was given.

Abu Zubair says: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that if a man wants to fast and he has a vessel in his hand to drink something, but at that very moment the call to prayer (adhan) is heard (then what should he do)? Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was narrated to us that (regarding such a situation) the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He should drink.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Sayyida Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the muezzin would call the adhan, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform two rak‘ahs and make food forbidden (for the fasting person), and the adhan would not be given until true dawn had appeared.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The adhan of Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and the false dawn should not prevent you from eating suhoor; but when the spreading light appears on the horizon, that is, the true dawn, then stop eating.