Hadith: Eat the pre-dawn meal (sahur), for it is blessed.

The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said,

Eat the pre-dawn meal (sahur), for it is blessed.

[Bukhari (1823); Muslim (1095) from Anas (Allah be pleased with him)]

Imam `Ayni (Allah have mercy on him) explained that there are various reasons why the pre-dawn meal is blessed (baraka):

1.    That even eating a little food at this time is blessed by Allah and assists one to fast without hardship. This is pointed to by the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam telling us, Even if only with a sip of water or a date, and similar hadiths.

2.    That this food will not be taken to account, as certain hadiths point to.

3.    That what is meant by blessed (baraka) in this hadith is the strength that one gains to fast and fulfill ones other daily activities.

4.    That what is meant by blessed is dispensation (rukhsa) and that this food is akin to being a charity or gift from Allah.

He then explained that the root meaning of baraka is increase and flourishing, and that Qadi `Iyad stated that this blessing could be from what the worshipsuch as prayer or seeking forgiveness that the person who gets up before Fajr does, which might not otherwise have been performed. It also enables one to renew ones intention.

Ibn Daqiq al-`Id mentioned that this blessedness could also be understood to return to:

(1) Next-worldly benefits, which return to the reality that by following the example of the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam ones actions are blessed by Allah Most High; and

(2) The obvious worldly benefits, such as the physical strength gained and the consequent ease in fulfilling ones worldly activities.

Another reason why this pre-dawn meal is blessed is because it is one of the ways in which the Muslims fast is distinguished from the fasts of those of other religious traditions. [Summarized from: `Ayni, `Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 10.300-302]