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 itthe adhaan of Fajr when the muezzin says Allaahu akbar, or
what is the exact time? What should Ido if the cup is at my mouth and
I am drinking and the call to prayer begins?.
Praise be to Allaah.
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 Allaah 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 peaceof Allah be upon him) said: "Eat and drink
until Ibn Umm Maktoom gives the call to prayer, becausehe does not
give the call to prayer until dawn breaks."
Based on that, if a person knows that the true dawnhas broken, either
by seeing it himself or because someone else hastold 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 asevidence. 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
thatdawn 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 sideto refrain from things thatbreak
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 refrainfrom 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) ofdawn 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 ofdawn, then he must stop eating and drinking. But ifthe
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, thenit is better and more on the safe side to
stop eating and drinking whenhe 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 thetime of dawn to the hour and minute,
following thewords 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 Ramadaan, compiled by Ashraf 'Abd
al-Maqsood, p. 201. ...
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