How long is the time for sahur?
Answer:
Allah says in the Quran: “And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread at dawn, then complete the fast until nightfall.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 187)
This verse makes it clear that the time for Suhoor is until the appearance of the light of dawn, i.e., until the dawn breaks. When the white light of dawn appears on the horizon, the time for eating and drinking ends and fasting begins.
There is a hadith that mentions how long the interval was between the end of the time for Suhoor and the call to prayer for Fajr.
Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We ate Suhoor with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Then you (peace be upon you) stood up for prayer and I asked: How much time was there between the call to prayer and Suhoor? So he said: Approximately 50 verses of recitation, i.e. 10 to 15 minutes
(Sahih Bukhari 1921)
This hadith makes it clear that the end of Suhoor was before dawn and the call to prayer for Fajr was given early after that.
Another hadith states: “Indeed, Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) calls the call to prayer at night, so continue eating and drinking until Ibn Umm Al-Maqtum calls the call to prayer.”
(Sahih Al-Bukhari 1919)
Hazrat Bilal (RA)'s call to prayer was given at the time of Tahajjud and Suhoor, while Hazrat Ibn Umm Al-Maqtoum (RA)'s call to prayer was given for Fajr prayer after dawn. This shows that when the call to prayer for Fajr was given, the time for Suhoor ended.
Note:
The time for Suhoor is before dawn. When the white light of dawn, that is, the true dawn, appears, it is necessary to stop eating and drinking. It is not permissible to eat Suhoor after the Fajr call to prayer because this is the time for the beginning of the fast.
This time is according to the way prescribed by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), and in today's era, every sect and every class has made its own time schedule, so we will not go into its details.
Therefore, those who wish to exercise caution should stop eating and drinking a few minutes before dawn to avoid any doubts in the morning.