Suhoor is Sunnah
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Eat suhoor, for in suhoor there is blessing.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1923; Muslim, 1095)
This hadeeth about suhoor indicates that the fasting person is commanded to eat suhoor because it contains much goodness and blessing, both spiritual and worldly. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned the blessing to encourage us to eat suhoor.
Jaabir that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever wants to fast, let him eat something for suhoor.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 14533; classified as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2309)
The injunction here is in the sense that it is mustahab, not obligatory, based on the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his Companions observed continuous fasting, i.e. fasting two or more days without breaking the fast in between, so in other words they fasted day and night.
Blessings of suhoor
There is a great amount of blessings in suhoor which includes benefits both in this world and in the Hereafter. These blessings include the following:
1- It gives strength for worship and helps one to obey Allaah during the day by praying, reading Qur’an and remembering Allaah (dhikr). One who is hungry may become lazy in worship, just as he may become lazy in his daily work, this is something that is known.
2- Suhoor wards off the bad attitude that can be provoked by hunger, so the one who eats suhoor will be in a good mood and will get along well with others.
3- The one who eats suhoor will be encouraged to fast more, because fasting is less difficult for the one who eats suhoor, so he will be encouraged to fast and it will not be so difficult for him.
4- Eating suhoor is following the Sunnah, so if the one who eats suhoor intends to obey the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and follow his example, then his suhoor is an act of worship, so he will be rewarded accordingly. If he thereby aims to gain physical strength for fasting and praying qiyam, then he will be rewarded accordingly.
5- The person who eats suhoor, gets up at the end of the night to remember Allah, makes du’aa’ and prays because that is the time when prayers are answered and it is the time when Allah and the angels give blessings on those who eat suhoor. This is all mentioned in the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed (may Allah be pleased with him) which will be quoted later.
6- Eating suhoor distinguishes one from the people of the Book. The Muslim is obliged not to imitate them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The difference between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is eating suhoor.”
7- Another blessing of suhoor is to pray Fajr in the congregation at the right time. Hence you see that in Ramadan there are more believers who pray Fajr than in other months because they have risen for suhoor.
In summary:
The fasting person should be eager to eat suhoor and he should not miss it because he feels too sleepy or for any other reason. He should be easygoing when awakened for suhoor and in a good mood, happy that he is following the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and eager for the goodness and barakah ( blessing) from it, because our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) confirmed and enjoined the importance of suhoor, and explained that it is the symbol of the Muslims’ fast that distinguishes their fast from that of the People of the Book, and he has told us not to skip suhoor.
Suhoor can be done with the least amount of food or drink a person consumes, it does not have to be a specific type of food.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best suhoor for the believer is dates.” Narrated Abu Dawood, 2345)
It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Suhoor is a blessed meal, so do not omit it, even if one of you takes only one sip of water, for Allah and His angels send blessings on those who eat suhoor.” Narrated Ahmad, 11003
