Should I Stop Eating at Suhur During the Adhan of Fajr?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

Is there a difference in the time when to stop eating for fard and voluntary fasts? Can we finish eating what we started while the adhan is going on?

Answer

Thank you for your question.

Suhur (Pre-dawn Meal)

It is mandatory to stop eating before dawn (before the adhan) for any type of fast. One can stop a couple of minutes before, just to be sure that one is not eating after dawn has come in.
When Does it Really Become Prohibited to Eat During Ramadan?
When is the Exact End Time for the Dawn (Fajr) Prayer?

Adhan (Call to Prayer)

If one continued eating during the adhan of fajr, one would have sinned. In addition to having to repent for it, it would be obligatory for one to fast the rest of the day, and to make it up afterward.

The ruling is: “Making up the fast-day is obligatory if one eats, thinking it is night, but then finds that it is day; or eats, presuming (N: but uncertain) that the sun has set, and the question (0: as to whether one ate before sunset or after) continues and
remains unresolved (dis: e7.6(A:)). [The Reliance of the Traveller, i1.22]

Please see this guide to fasting for more details:
The Fiqh of Fasting Ramadan According to the School of Imam Shafi’i

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.