Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:187
It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah, so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
أحل لكم ليلة الصيام الرفث إلى نسائكم أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ ("It is made lawful for you on the night of the fast to have intercourse with your women")
The exposition of the interpretation of His saying — exalted is His remembrance: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ. The Exalted means by His words أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ ("it is made lawful for you"): it has been released and permitted to you. And He means by His words لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ ("the night of the fast"): on the night of the fast. As for "ar-rafath" (الرفث), in this place it is a euphemism (kināya) for sexual intercourse. One says: it is "ar-rafath" and "ar-rufūth." It has been transmitted that in the recitation of ʿAbd Allāh (Ibn Masʿūd) it reads: وَأُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرُّفُوثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ. And in accordance with what we said about the interpretation of "ar-rafath," the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
2396 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam al-Miṣrī related to me, saying: Ayyūb ibn Suwayd related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Bakr, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Ar-rafath" is sexual intercourse, but Allah is noble and uses a euphemism.
— Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Bakr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
— Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Ar-rafath" is sexual intercourse (an-nikāḥ).
2397 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "Ar-rafath" is having intercourse with women.
2398 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ, he said: Sexual intercourse.
— Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
— Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Ar-rafath" is sexual intercourse (an-nikāḥ).
2399 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Kabīr al-Baṣrī related to us, saying: aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn ʿUthmān related to us, saying: I asked Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh about His saying: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ, he said: It is sexual intercourse.
2400 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of as-Suddī: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ, he says: Sexual intercourse.
"Ar-rafath" in a place other than this means coarseness in speech, as al-ʿAjjāj said: "away from idle talk and the coarseness (rafath) of their speaking."
لباس لكم وأنتم لباس لهن The exposition of the interpretation of His saying — exalted is His remembrance: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ ("They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them")
The Exalted means thereby: your women are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them. And if someone were to ask: How can our women be a garment for us and we a garment for them, when a garment is only that which one wears? Then it is said: there are two possible meanings for that:
The first is that each of the two is made a garment for the other, because of their being together during sleep, their coming together under one robe, and the joining of the body of each of them with that of the other, in the manner in which a person wears his robe over his body. Therefore it is said of each of the two that he is a garment for the other, as Nābigha of Banū Jaʿda said: "When the bedfellow bent her flank toward himself, she came wholly to him and was like a garment over him." — and it is also read "tathannat" — by which he describes their coming together, undressed, in one bed, with "the garment," just as one describes with "the robes" the body of a person, as Laylā said when she described camels upon which a people rode: "They cast upon her body light robes, and you see for her no likeness except the startled ostrich" — she means: they cast themselves upon her and mounted her. And as al-Hudhalī said: "He declared himself free of the blood of the slain and his blood-vengeance, while her robe had already been stained with the blood of the slain" — by "her robe" he means herself. And in this sense ar-Rabīʿ spoke:
2401 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of ar-Rabīʿ: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ, he says: They are a cover for you, and you are a cover for them.
The other possibility is that each of the two is made a garment for the other because he finds rest in the other, as He — exalted is His praise — said: جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا (25:47) ("He has made for you the night as a garment"), by which He means: a repose in which you find rest. And likewise the man's wife is his repose, in whom he finds rest, as the Exalted — exalted is His remembrance — said: وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا (7:189) ("And He made from it its mate, that he might find rest in her"). Thus each of the two is a garment for the other, in the sense of finding rest in the other. And in this sense Mujāhid and others spoke concerning it.
Sometimes that which covers a thing and conceals it from the eyes of onlookers is also said to be its garment and its covering. It is therefore possible that it is said: they are a garment for you and you are a garment for them, in the sense that each of you is for the other a covering for what takes place between you of sexual intercourse, from the eyes of the rest of the people. And Mujāhid and others spoke concerning it with that which:
2402 – Al-Muthannā related to us concerning it, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ, he says: A repose for them.
2403 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ, Qatāda said: They are a repose for you, and you are a repose for them.
2404 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of as-Suddī: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ, he says: a repose for you, وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ, he says: a repose for them.
2405 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ, he said: Sexual union.
2406 – Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī related to me, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Ibrāhīm related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, His saying: هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ, he said: They are a repose for you, and you are a repose for them.
علم الله أنكم كنتم تختانون أنفسكم فتاب عليكم وعفا عنكم فالآن باشروهن The exposition of the interpretation of His saying — exalted is His remembrance: عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ ("Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and pardoned you; so now have intercourse with them")
If someone were to ask us: What is this deception that the people committed against themselves, of which Allah accepted their repentance and pardoned them? Then it is said: their deception against themselves, which Allah mentioned, concerned two matters: one is sexual intercourse with women, and the other is eating and drinking during the time in which that was forbidden to them. As:
2407 – Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, he said: Ibn Abī Laylā related to us: that when a man broke his fast and then slept, he was not permitted to approach his wife, and when he slept, he was not permitted to eat any more — until ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb came, desiring his wife, and his wife said: "I had already fallen asleep!" He thought that she was seeking an excuse, and he had intercourse with her anyway. He said: And a man of the Anṣār came and wanted to eat, but they said: "Shall we warm something for you?" He said: Then this verse was revealed: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ — the verse.
2408 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, who said: They used to fast three days of every month. When Ramaḍān came, they fasted, and when a man, upon breaking his fast, did not eat until he fell asleep, he was not permitted to eat any more until the same time (the next day); and if he or his wife fell asleep, he was not permitted to approach her until the same time. Then there came an old man of the Anṣār, named Ṣirma ibn Mālik, and he said to his family: "Give me food!" She said: "Wait until I make something warm for you." He said: Then sleep overcame him and he fell asleep. After that ʿUmar came, and his wife said to him: "I had already fallen asleep!" But he did not excuse her and thought that she was seeking an excuse, and he had intercourse with her. So both of them spent their night tossing from back to belly. Then Allah revealed concerning that: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ("And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn"), and He said: فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ ("so now have intercourse with them"). Thus Allah pardoned that. And it became an established practice (sunna).
2409 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtba related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of Muʿādh ibn Jabal, who said: They used to eat, drink, and approach the women so long as they had not slept; but when they slept, they refrained from eating, drinking, and approaching the women. There was a man of the Anṣār, named Abū Ṣirma, who worked on a piece of land of his. He said: When it was time to break his fast, he fell asleep, and he began the next morning fasting, while he was exhausted. When the Prophet ﷺ saw him, he said: "What is the matter with you that I see you exhausted?" And he informed him of what had happened to him. And another man deceived himself in the matter of women. Then Allah revealed: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ ... to the end of the verse.
2410 – Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ — similar to the narration of Ibn Abī Laylā which ʿAmr ibn Murra transmitted on the authority of ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā — he said: When they fasted and one of them fell asleep, he ate nothing more until the next day. Then there came a man of the Anṣār, who had worked on a piece of land of his and was exhausted and weary, and sleep overcame him and he fell asleep, and he began the next morning exhausted. Then this verse was revealed: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ.
2411 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rajāʾ al-Baṣrī related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: When one of the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ fasted and fell asleep before he had broken his fast, he did not eat until the same time. And Qays ibn Ṣirma al-Anṣārī was fasting, and he had gone out that day and worked on his land. When it was time to break his fast, he came to his wife and said: "Do you have food?" She said: "No, but I will go out and seek something for you." Then sleep overcame him and he fell asleep, and his wife came and said: "You have fallen asleep!" Midday had not yet come when he fainted. This was told to the Prophet ﷺ, and concerning it this verse was revealed: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ until: مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ. And they rejoiced over it exceedingly.
2412 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the saying of Allah — exalted is His remembrance: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ. And that is because the Muslims, in the month of Ramaḍān, when they had performed the ʿishāʾ prayer, no longer had access to women and food until the corresponding time of the following evening. Then some people of the Muslims gained access to food and women in Ramaḍān after the ʿishāʾ prayer, among them ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, and they complained of that to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then Allah revealed: عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ — He means: have intercourse with them — وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ.
2413 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Ibn Lahīʿa, he said: Mūsā ibn Jubayr, the freedman of Banū Salima, related to me that he heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik transmit on the authority of his father, who said: The people in Ramaḍān were such that, when a man fasted and the evening came and he fell asleep, food, drink, and women were forbidden to him until he broke his fast the next day. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb returned one night from the Prophet ﷺ — he had been with him in the evening — and found his wife who had already fallen asleep, and he desired her. She said: "I had already fallen asleep!" He said: "You have not fallen asleep!" Then he had intercourse with her. And Kaʿb ibn Mālik did something similar. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb went the next morning to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him of it. Then Allah revealed — exalted is His remembrance: عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ ... the verse.
2414 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, saying: Thābit related to us: that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb one night in Ramaḍān had intercourse with his wife, and that this weighed heavily upon him. Then Allah revealed: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ.
2415 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, His saying: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ until: وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ. The people, at the beginning of their conversion to Islam, were such that, when one of them fasted, he fasted his day, and when evening came, he ate of the food between that evening and the ʿishāʾ; and when it (the ʿishāʾ prayer) had been performed, food was forbidden to him until the evening of the following night. And while ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was asleep, his soul tempted him and he came to his wife for one of his needs. When he had washed himself, he began to weep and to reproach himself with the most severe reproach I have ever seen. Then he came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I excuse myself before Allah and before you for this sinful deed of mine, for it was made tempting to me and I had intercourse with my wife. Do you find for me a dispensation (rukhṣa), O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "You were not worthy of that, O ʿUmar." When he reached his home, he sent for him and conveyed to him his dispensation in a verse of the Qurʾān, and Allah commanded His Messenger to place it in the middle hundred of Sūrat al-Baqara. He said: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ until عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ — by it He means what ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb had done. Then Allah revealed His pardon and said: فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ until: مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ. Thus He made lawful for them sexual intercourse, eating, and drinking until the morning became clear to them.
2416 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ, he said: The man among the companions of Muḥammad ﷺ fasted the fast during the day, and when evening came, he ate, drank, and had intercourse with women; but when he fell asleep, all that was forbidden to him until the corresponding time of the following evening. And there were among them men who deceived themselves in that. Then Allah pardoned them and made that lawful for them, after sleep and before it, throughout the night.
2417 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: The companions of the Prophet ﷺ — the fasting one fasted in Ramaḍān, and when evening came ... — then he mentioned something similar to the narration of Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, and he added to it: And there were among them men who deceived themselves, and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was among those who deceived themselves. Then Allah pardoned them and made that lawful for them, after sleep and before it, and throughout the night.
2418 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Sharūs informed me, on the authority of ʿIkrima, the freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās: that a man — whom he named by name — of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, from the Anṣār, came one night while he was fasting. His wife said to him: "Do not sleep until we make food for you!" But he fell asleep. When she came, she said: "By Allah, you have fallen asleep!" He said: "No, by Allah!" She said: "Yes indeed, by Allah!" So he did not eat that night and began the next morning fasting, and he fainted. Then the dispensation concerning it was revealed.
2419 – Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ. The beginning of the fasting was that they were commanded to fast three days of every month, with two rakʿas in the morning and two rakʿas in the evening. And Allah made lawful for them in their fasting — during the three days and at the beginning of what was made obligatory upon them in Ramaḍān — eating, drinking, and intercourse with women, when they had broken their fast, so long as they had not slept; but when they slept, that was forbidden to them until the corresponding time of the following evening. And the deception of the people was that they obtained eating, drinking, and intercourse with women after sleep, and that was the deception of the people against themselves. Then Allah made that eating, drinking, and intercourse with women lawful for them until the breaking of the dawn.
— Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ, he said: The people, before this verse, were such that, when one of them slept a sleep at night, eating and drinking were no longer lawful for him, nor that he approach his wife, until the next night. Some of the Muslims fell into difficulty over that: among them was one who ate or drank after his nap, and among them one who had intercourse with his wife. Then Allah granted them a dispensation for that.
2420 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of as-Suddī, who said: Ramaḍān was prescribed for the Christians, and it was prescribed for them that they should not eat and not drink after sleep, and not have intercourse with women, during the month of Ramaḍān. For the believers it was prescribed as it had been prescribed for them, and the Muslims continued to do as the Christians did, until there came a man of the Anṣār, named Abū Qays ibn Ṣirma, who worked for wages on the gardens of Medina. He came with dates to his family and said to his wife: "Exchange these dates for flour and make of it a warm dish, so that perhaps I may eat it, for the dates have burned my insides." She went out and exchanged for him, and then prepared it, but she was slow for him and he fell asleep. When she woke him, he found it abhorrent to disobey Allah and His Messenger, and he refused to eat and began the next morning fasting. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw him in the afternoon and said: "What is the matter with you, O Abū Qays, that you enter the evening exhausted?" And he told him the story. And ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb had had intercourse with a slave-girl of his, among certain believers who had not been able to restrain themselves. When ʿUmar heard the words of Abū Qays, he feared that something might be revealed concerning Abū Qays, and he remembered (his own deed), arose, and excused himself before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I seek refuge in Allah; I had intercourse with my slave-girl and could not restrain myself last night!" When ʿUmar spoke, those (other) people also spoke. The Prophet ﷺ said: "You were not worthy of that, O son of al-Khaṭṭāb." Then that was lifted from them, and He said: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ، عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ — He says: you had intercourse with them as a deception — فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ — He says: have intercourse with them. And He returned to Abū Qays and said: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ.
2421 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ? He said: In Ramaḍān they did not touch women, did not eat, and did not drink after they had fallen asleep, until the next night; but if they touched them before they fell asleep, they saw no harm in that. Then a man of the Anṣār had intercourse with his wife after he had fallen asleep, and he said: "I have deceived myself!" Then the Qurʾān was revealed, and He made lawful for them women, eating, and drinking until the white thread should become distinct to them from the black thread of the dawn. He said: And Mujāhid said: The companions of Muḥammad ﷺ — the fasting one among them fasted in Ramaḍān, and when evening came, he ate, drank, and had intercourse with women; but when he fell asleep, all that was forbidden to him until the corresponding time of the following evening. And there were among them men who deceived themselves in that. Then He pardoned them and made it lawful for them, after sleep and before it, in the night. He said: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ ... the verse.
2422 – Al-Qāsim related to me, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima, that he said concerning this verse: أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ, the same as the saying of Mujāhid, and he added to it: that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said to his wife: "Do not fall asleep until I return from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ!" But she fell asleep before he returned, and he said to her: "You have not fallen asleep!" Then he had intercourse with her, until he came to the Prophet ﷺ and told him of that. Then this verse was revealed. ʿIkrima said: The verse وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا was revealed with regard to Abū Qays ibn Ṣirma of Banū al-Khazraj, who ate after sleep.
2423 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Ḥabbān: that Ṣirma ibn Anas came one night to his family, while he was an old man and fasting, and they had not prepared food for him. He laid down his head and dozed off. His wife came with his food and said to him: "Eat!" He said: "I have already fallen asleep." She said: "You have not fallen asleep!" But he began the next morning hungry and exhausted. Then Allah revealed: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ.
As for "al-mubāshara" (المباشرة) in the language of the Arabs: it is the coming together of skin (bashara) with skin, and the "bashara" of the man is his outer skin. Allah has only described, by His words فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ, sexual intercourse. He says: now that I have made lawful for you intercourse with your women, then have intercourse with them in the nights of the month of Ramaḍān until the dawn breaks, and that is the becoming distinct of the white thread from the black thread of the dawn. And in accordance with what we said about "al-mubāshara," a group of the people of interpretation spoke.
Mention of who said that:
2424 – Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us. And ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Sinān related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of Sufyān. And Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam related to me, saying: Ayyūb ibn Suwayd related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Al-mubāshara" is sexual intercourse, but Allah is noble and uses a euphemism.
— Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
— Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ: have intercourse with them.
— Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Al-mubāshara" is sexual intercourse (an-nikāḥ).
2425 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ concerning His saying: فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ, he said: Sexual intercourse, and everything that occurs in the Qurʾān of mention of "al-mubāshara" is sexual intercourse itself. And ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr said it, like the saying of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning eating, drinking, and women.
— Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us; and Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Al-mubāshara" is sexual intercourse, but Allah euphemizes what He wills with what He wills.
— Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Bishr informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
2426 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of as-Suddī: فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ, he says: have intercourse with them.
2427 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "Al-mubāshara" is sexual intercourse.
2428 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, something similar.
— Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of al-Awzāʿī, he said: ʿAbda ibn Abī Lubāba related to me, saying: I heard Mujāhid say: "Al-mubāshara" in the Book of Allah is sexual intercourse.
— Ibn al-Barqī related to us, ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama related to us, saying: al-Awzāʿī said: he who heard Mujāhid related to us that he said: "Al-mubāshara" in the Book of Allah is sexual intercourse.
وابتغوا ما كتب الله لكم وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ("And seek what Allah has prescribed for you")
They differed concerning the interpretation of His saying وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ. Some said: the child (offspring).
Mention of who said that:
2429 – ʿAbda ibn ʿAbd Allāh aṣ-Ṣaffār al-Baṣrī related to me, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Ziyād al-Kātib related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The child.
2430 – Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf and Abū Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, he said: I heard al-Ḥakam: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The child.
2431 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, His saying: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The child.
2432 – ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to me, saying: Muʾammal related to us, Abū Mardūd Baḥr ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḥasan ibn Abī al-Ḥasan say concerning this verse: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The child.
2433 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of as-Suddī: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ: it is the child.
2434 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to us, saying: my uncle related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, that is, the child.
2435 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The child; and if this (woman) does not bear, then that other one.
— Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
— Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, ʿAbd ar-Razzāq informed us, Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of someone who heard al-Ḥasan concerning His saying: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: It is the child.
2436 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ar-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: What is prescribed for you of offspring.
2437 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: Sexual intercourse.
2438 – I was told on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: al-Faḍl ibn Khālid related to us, saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim concerning His saying: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The child.
And some said: the meaning of it is the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr).
Mention of who said that:
2439 – Abū Hishām ar-Rifāʿī related to us, saying: Muʿādh ibn Hishām related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Mālik, on the authority of Abū al-Jawzāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The Night of Decree. Abū Hishām said: Thus did Muʿādh read it.
— Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Mālik related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Jawzāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he said: The Night of Decree.
And others said: nay, the meaning of it is: what Allah has made lawful for you and granted you of dispensation.
Mention of who said that:
2440 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ, he says: what Allah has made lawful for you.
— Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, saying: Qatāda said concerning it: Seek the dispensation that is prescribed for you.
And some read that as: وَاتَّبِعُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ("And follow what Allah has prescribed for you").
Mention of who said that:
2441 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, he said: I said to Ibn ʿAbbās: How do you read this verse — وَابْتَغُوا ("and seek") or وَاتَّبِعُوا ("and follow")? He said: Whichever of the two you wish. He (ʿAṭāʾ) said: Hold to the first reading.
And the correct view in the interpretation of it, in my judgment, is that one says: that Allah — exalted is His remembrance — said وَابْتَغُوا in the meaning of: seek what Allah has prescribed for you, that is, what Allah the Exalted has decreed for you. Allah the Exalted — exalted is His remembrance — means only: seek that which I have prescribed for you in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ) to be lawful, so that it is released to you. The seeking of the child, when the man seeks it by his intercourse with the woman, belongs to what Allah has prescribed for him in the Preserved Tablet; and likewise if he seeks the Night of Decree, then that belongs to what Allah has prescribed for him; and likewise if he seeks what Allah has made lawful and permitted, then that belongs to what He has prescribed for him in the Preserved Tablet. And in His saying وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ all the meanings of the sought good may fall, except that the meaning most consonant with the apparent form of the verse is the saying of him who said that it means: and seek what Allah has prescribed for you of offspring — because it follows His saying فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ in the meaning of: have intercourse with them. Therefore the fact that His saying وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ means: and seek what Allah has prescribed in your intercourse with them of affection and progeny, is more in accordance with the verse than the other interpretations, for which there is no indication of correctness in the apparent form of the revelation, nor a narration from the Messenger ﷺ.
وكلوا واشربوا حتى يتبين لكم الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود من الفجر The exposition of the interpretation of His saying — exalted is His remembrance: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ("And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn")
The people of interpretation differed concerning the interpretation of His saying حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ. Some said: He means by His words "the white thread": the light of day, and by His words "the black thread": the darkness of night. The interpretation of it according to the saying of him who holds this view is therefore: and eat at night in the month of your fasting, and drink, and have intercourse with your women — seeking what Allah has prescribed for you of offspring — from the beginning of the night until the light of day appears to you through the breaking of the dawn out of the darkness and blackness of the night.
Mention of who said that:
2442 – Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to me, saying: Rawḥ ibn ʿUbāda related to us, saying: Ashʿath related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning the saying of Allah — exalted is His remembrance: حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ, he said: The night from the day.
2443 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of as-Suddī: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ, he said: until the day becomes distinct to you from the night. Then complete the fast until the night.
2444 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His saying: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ, those are two clear, separate signs, so let not the call of a provoking or foolish muezzin keep you back from your suḥūr (the predawn meal), for they make the call while a long part of the night still remains. Sometimes one sees the whiteness of that which is before the dawn — which the Arabs called "the false dawn" (aṣ-ṣubḥ al-kādhib) — let that not keep you back from your suḥūr, for the (true) morning is unmistakable: a streak stretching crosswise along the horizon. Eat and drink until the (true) morning becomes clear to you; and when you see that, then refrain.
2445 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ, that is, the night from the day. He made lawful for them sexual intercourse, eating, and drinking until the morning became clear to them; and when the morning became clear, sexual intercourse, eating, and drinking were forbidden to them until they should complete the fast until the night. Thus He commanded fasting during the day until the night, and He commanded the breaking of the fast at night.
2446 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us — and it was said to him: What is your opinion concerning the saying of Allah the Exalted: الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ? He said: "You are truly broad of neck (i.e. simple of understanding)!" He said: This is the disappearance of the night and the coming of the day. It was said to him: (On the authority of) ash-Shaʿbī, on the authority of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim? He said: Yes, Ḥuṣayn related to us.
And the ground of him who held this view and interpreted the verse in this manner is that which:
2447 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth related to us, on the authority of Mujālid ibn Saʿīd, on the authority of ash-Shaʿbī, on the authority of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim, who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, the saying of Allah: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ? He said: "It is the whiteness of the day and the blackness of the night."
2448 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr and ʿAbd ar-Raḥīm ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of Mujālid, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he taught me Islam and described to me the prayers, how I should perform each prayer at its time. Then he said: "When Ramaḍān comes, eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn; then complete the fast until the night." I did not know what it was, so I made two threads, a white one and a black one, and I looked at them at dawn, but I saw them alike. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah, everything you have commanded me with I have remembered, except the white thread from the black thread. He said: "And what kept you back, O son of Ḥātim?" and he smiled as if he knew what I had done. I said: I plaited two threads, a white one and a black one, and I looked at them at night and found them alike. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed until his molars became visible, and said: "Did I not say to you: of the dawn? It is only the light of the day and the darkness of the night."
— Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Dāwūd and Ibn ʿUlayya both related to us, on the authority of Muṭarrif, on the authority of ash-Shaʿbī, on the authority of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim, who said: I said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: What is the white thread from the black thread — are they two threads, a white one and a black one? He said: "You are truly broad of neck, if you see the two threads!" Then he said: "Nay, but it is the blackness of the night and the whiteness of the day."
2449 – Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥīm al-Barqī related to me, saying: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, saying: Abū Ghassān related to us, saying: Abū Ḥāzim related to us, on the authority of Sahl ibn Saʿd, who said: This verse was revealed: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ, and مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ("of the dawn") was not revealed (at the same time). He said: When men wanted to fast, one of them would tie to his legs the black thread and the white thread, and he would keep eating and drinking until the two became distinct to him. Then Allah afterward revealed: مِنَ الْفَجْرِ, and they understood that He meant by it only the night and the day.
And the interpreters of the saying of Allah — exalted is His remembrance — حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ, that it is the whiteness of the day and the blackness of the night, (said) that the characteristic of that whiteness is that it spreads and stretches across the sky, its whiteness and its light filling the roads; but as for the radiant light (rising straight up) in the sky, that is not what Allah meant by His words الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ.
Mention of who said that:
2450 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā aṣ-Ṣanʿānī related to us, saying: Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz: The radiant light in the sky is not the (true) morning, but that is the false dawn; the (true) morning is only when the horizon breaks open.
2451 – Salm ibn Junāda as-Sawāʾī related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, who said: They did not reckon this dawn of yours as the (true) dawn; they reckoned as the dawn that which fills the houses and the roads.
— Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAththām related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim: They were only of the opinion that the (true) dawn is that which spreads across the sky.
2452 – Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to us, saying: Rawḥ ibn ʿUbāda related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ informed me that he heard Ibn ʿAbbās say: They are two dawns. As for that which shines upward into the sky, it makes nothing lawful nor forbidden; but the dawn that shows itself clearly over the tops of the mountains, that is the one which makes drinking forbidden.
2453 – Al-Ḥasan ibn az-Zibriqān an-Nakhaʿī related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī Dhiʾb, on the authority of al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Thawbān, who said: "The dawn is twofold: that which is like the tail of the wolf makes nothing forbidden; but as for the spreading one (al-mustaṭīr) which takes up the horizon — that makes the prayer lawful and the fasting forbidden."
2454 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ, Ismāʿīl ibn Ṣabīḥ, and Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Abū Hilāl, on the authority of Sawāda ibn Ḥanẓala, on the authority of Samura ibn Jundub, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Let not the call of Bilāl keep you back from your suḥūr, nor the elongated dawn (al-fajr al-mustaṭīl), but (only) the spreading dawn (al-fajr al-mustaṭīr) on the horizon."
2455 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Hishām al-Asadī related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Sawāda, he said: I heard Samura ibn Jundub mention on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ that he heard him say: "Let not the call of Bilāl deceive you, nor this whiteness, until the dawn appears and breaks open."
And others said: the white thread is the light of the sun, and the black thread is the blackness of the night.
Mention of who said that:
2456 – Hishām ibn as-Sarī related to us, saying: ʿUbāda ibn Ḥumayd related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm at-Taymī, who said: My father traveled with Ḥudhayfa. He said: He traveled on until we feared that the dawn would overtake us. He said: "Is there anyone among you who wishes to eat or drink?" He said: I said to him: As for whoever wishes to fast, no. He said: Yes indeed! He said: Then he traveled on until we considered the prayer to be late; then he dismounted and took the suḥūr.
2457 – Hannād and Abū as-Sāʾib related to us, they said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm at-Taymī, on the authority of his father, who said: I set out with Ḥudhayfa to al-Madāʾin in Ramaḍān. When the dawn came, he said: "Is there anyone among you who wishes to eat or drink?" We said: As for a man who wishes to fast, no. He said: But I do! He said: Then we traveled on until we considered the prayer to be late. He said: "Is there anyone among you who wishes to take the suḥūr?" He said: We said: As for whoever wishes to fast, no. He said: But I do! Then he dismounted, took the suḥūr, and afterward performed the prayer.
2458 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, saying: Sometimes I drank after the saying of the muezzin — that is, in Ramaḍān — "The prayer has begun (qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāh)." He said: And I have not seen anyone who did that more than al-Aʿmash, and that because of what he had heard. He said: Ibrāhīm at-Taymī related to us, on the authority of his father, who said: We traveled at night with Ḥudhayfa, and he said: "Is there anyone among you who wishes to take the suḥūr at this moment?" He said: Then he traveled on, and then Ḥudhayfa said: "Is there anyone among you who wishes to take the suḥūr at this moment?" He said: Then he traveled on until we considered the prayer to be late. He said: Then he dismounted and took the suḥūr.
2459 – Hārūn ibn Isḥāq al-Hamdānī related to us, saying: Muṣʿab ibn al-Miqdām related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of Hubayra, on the authority of ʿAlī: that he, when he had performed the morning prayer, said: This is the time at which the white thread becomes distinct from the black thread of the dawn.
2460 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn aṣ-Ṣalt related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Ḥudhayfa al-ʿAṭṭār related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said: I took the suḥūr in the month of Ramaḍān, then I went out and came to Ibn Masʿūd. He said: "Drink!" I said: I have already taken the suḥūr. He said: "Drink!" Then we drank, and afterward we went out while the people were in the prayer.
2461 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ash-Shaybānī, on the authority of Jabala ibn Suḥaym, on the authority of ʿĀmir ibn Maṭar, who said: I came to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd in his house, and he brought out a remnant of his suḥūr, and we ate with him. Then the prayer was announced (uqīmati ṣ-ṣalāh), and we went out and performed the prayer.
2462 – Khallād ibn Aslam related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Maʿqil, on the authority of Sālim, the freedman of Abū Ḥudhayfa, who said: Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq and I were on one roof in Ramaḍān. I came one night and said: "Will you not eat, O successor (khalīfa) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?" He gestured with his hand: wait. Then I came again and said to him: "Will you not eat, O successor of the Messenger of Allah?" He gestured with his hand: wait. Then I came again and said: "Will you not eat, O successor of the Messenger of Allah?" He looked at the dawn and then gestured with his hand: wait. Then I came and said: "Will you not eat, O successor of the Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Bring your meal!" He said: I brought it to him, and he ate, then performed two rakʿas, and afterward stood up for the (obligatory) prayer.
2463 – Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: The witr prayer is at night and the suḥūr is during the day. And there is also transmitted from Ibrāhīm something other than this.
2464 – Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: The suḥūr is at night, and the witr prayer is at night.
2465 – Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: The suḥūr and the witr prayer (fall) between the tathwīb (the second call) and the iqāma.
2466 – Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Shabīb ibn Gharqada, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of Ḥabbān, who said: We took the suḥūr with ʿAlī, then we went out while the prayer had already been announced, and we performed the prayer.
2467 – Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Shabīb, on the authority of Ḥabbān ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: I passed by ʿAlī while he was in the house of Abū Mūsā and was taking the suḥūr; and when I reached the mosque, the prayer was announced.
— Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū as-Safar, who said: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib performed the morning prayer and then said: This is the time at which the white thread becomes distinct from the black thread of the dawn.
And the ground of him who held this saying is that the saying concerns (only) the day and not the night. They said: and the beginning of the day is the rising of the sun, just as the end of it is its setting. They said: and if the beginning of it were the breaking of the dawn, then the end of it would necessarily have to be the disappearance of the evening twilight (al-shafaq). They said: and in the consensus of the probative authority that the end of the day is the setting of the sun, there is a clear indication that the beginning of it is its rising. They said: and in the narration from the Prophet ﷺ that he took the suḥūr after the breaking of the dawn, there is the clearest indication of the correctness of our saying.
Mention of the narrations transmitted concerning that subject from the Prophet ﷺ:
2468 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Zirr, on the authority of Ḥudhayfa, who said: I said: Did you take the suḥūr with the Prophet ﷺ? He said: Yes. He said: If I wished, I would say that it was day, except that the sun had not yet risen.
— Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, saying: [here the text ends]
