''Sahūr'' , ''Suhūr'', or ''Suhoor'' (; ar, سحور, suḥūr, lit=of the dawn', 'pre-dawn meal), also called Sahari, Sahrī, or Sehri (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Bangla: সেহরী) is the meal consumed early in the morning by

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

s before fasting (

sawm In Islam, fasting (known as ''Sawm'', ar, ; . Or ''Siyam'', ar, ; , also commonly known as Rūzeh or Rōzah, fa, روزه in non-Arab Muslim countries) is the practice of abstaining, usually from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity. ...

), before dawn during or outside the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic month of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. C ...

. The meal is eaten before

fajr prayer The Fajr prayer ( ar, صلاة الفجر ', "dawn prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer), to be performed anytime starting from the moment of dawn, but not after sunrise. As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Fajr pray ...

. Sahur corresponds to

iftar Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer ( ...

- the evening meal during Ramadan, replacing the traditional three meals a day (

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

lunch Lunch is a meal eaten around the middle of the day. It is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast, and varies in size by culture and region. Etymology According to the '' Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the etymolog ...

, and

dinner Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day, which is eaten in the evening. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, ...

), although in some places dinner is also consumed after iftar later during the night. Being the last meal eaten by Muslims before fasting from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, suhur is regarded by Islamic traditions as a benefit of the blessings in that it allows the person fasting to avoid the crankiness or the weakness caused by the fast. According to a

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

in ''

Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of ''sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Alo ...

'',

Anas ibn Malik Anas ibn Mālik ibn Naḍr al-Khazrajī al-Anṣārī ( ar, أنس بن مالك الخزرجي الأنصاري (c.612 – c.712 Finding the Truth in Judging the Companions, 1. 84-5; EI2, 1. 482 A. J. Wensinck J. Robson) was a well-known ''saha ...

narrated, " The Prophet said, 'take suhur as there is a blessing in it.'"

Musaharati

The musaharati is a public waker for suhur and dawn prayer during Ramadan. According to the history books, Bilal ibn Rabah was the first musaharati in Islamic history, as he used to roam the streets and roads throughout the night to wake people up. The occupation is described by a

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

musaharati: "My duty during the holy month of Ramadhan is to wake people up in the old city of Damascus for prayers and Suhur meal." According to a

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

musaharati, the attributes every musaharati should possess are physical fitness and good health, "because he is required to walk long distances every day. He should also have a loud voice and good lungs, as well as an ability to read poems. A musaharati should supplicate God throughout the night to wake the sleepers." The tradition is practiced in Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Palestine. However, there has been a gradual disappearance of the musaharati due to several factors, including: Muslims staying up later; using technology such as alarm clocks to wake for suhur; and louder and larger homes and cities that make the voice of the musaharati harder to hear. However, the old

Dhakaiya The Old Dhakaites ( bn, পুরান ঢাকাইয়া, Puran Dhakaiya) are an Indo-Aryan ethnocultural group viewed as the ''original'' inhabitants of Dhaka. They are sometimes referred to as simply Dhakaiya. Their history dates bac ...

tradition of singing

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...

s can still be found in the streets of

Old Dhaka Old Dhaka ( bn, পুরান ঢাকা, Puran Dhaka) is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar ( bn, জাহাঙ্গীরনগ� ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. In Indonesia, a kentongan is used to wake households up to eat the suhur meal.

References

External links

{{Portal, Islam, Food Breakfast Fasting in Islam Ramadan Religious food and drink Islamic terminology