Suhoor (sehri), the blessed meal before dawn.

Suhoor is the meal eaten before dawn on a fasting day. The Prophet ﷺ said there is blessing in it. Here is when it ends, what the Sunnah says, and what to eat.

Build a suhoor plate

Two or three glasses of water, sipped through the meal.
A few dates. The Prophet ﷺ praised dates for suhoor.
Slow-release carbs: oats, wholegrain roti or bread, brown rice or khichdi.
Protein: eggs, yogurt, lentils (dal), beans, cheese or chicken.
Fruit or vegetables with water in them: cucumber, banana, melon, oranges.
Go easy on salty, fried and very sweet food, which make you thirsty.
Keep tea and coffee small: they can make you lose water.

Sehri times near you

New York sehri times Chicago sehri times Houston sehri times Toronto sehri times London sehri times Birmingham sehri times Dubai sehri times Abu Dhabi sehri times Riyadh sehri times Doha sehri times

All cities in the Ramadan calendar

Timing

Suhoor ends: At true dawn, the start of Fajr
Imsak time: A caution, not the deadline
Best time: Late, close to dawn
First suhoor: Before dawn, Mon 8 Feb 2027

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Guide

The sunnah of suhoor, and when it ends.

Suhoor (also written sahur or suhur, and called sehri in South Asia) is the meal eaten in the last part of the night before a fast. It is sunnah, it carries blessing, and its time ends at true dawn, when Fajr time begins. You may eat and drink right up until then.

The hadith of suhoor

تَسَحَّرُوا فَإِنَّ فِي السَّحُورِ بَرَكَةً

Tasaḥḥarū fa-inna fis-saḥūri barakah

"Eat suhoor, for in suhoor there is blessing."

Sahih al-Bukhari 1923; Sahih Muslim 1095, from Anas.

Why suhoor matters

It is blessed. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Suhoor is a blessed meal, so do not leave it, even if one of you only takes a sip of water, for Allah and His angels send blessings on those who eat suhoor."¹
It sets our fast apart. "The difference between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is the meal of suhoor."²
It gives strength for the day's work and worship, and wakes you for the last part of the night, when dua is answered. Pray tahajjud and make dua before you eat. See tahajjud time.

When does suhoor end?

Allah says: "And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]."³ The deadline is true dawn (subh sadiq), the light that spreads across the horizon, which is the start of Fajr time. It is not sunrise.

Imsak times in many calendars are 5 to 10 minutes before Fajr. They are a margin of caution, not the deadline.
The adhan: where the adhan for Fajr is called at the start of its time, stop eating when it begins. In the Prophet's ﷺ time, Bilal called an adhan before dawn to wake people, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "Eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum calls the adhan."⁴
Eat it late. Zayd ibn Thabit said they ate suhoor with the Prophet ﷺ and then stood for prayer, and the time between was about as long as reciting fifty ayat.⁵

Hanafi position

Delaying suhoor is mustahabb (recommended), as long as you are not in doubt about dawn. Eating while unsure whether dawn has come is disliked. If you ate and then learnt it was after dawn, the fast is broken: keep fasting that day and make it up, with no kaffarah.⁶

Other madhhabs

Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali: Suhoor and delaying it are sunnah in all the schools. A person who ate after dawn by mistake makes the day up in all four schools.

Suhoor and the niyyah

Waking up to eat suhoor so that you can fast is itself an intention in the Hanafi school. You do not need special words. There is no authentic dua for suhoor itself. Some people say the words of intention taught in South Asia, "Wa bi-sawmi ghadin nawaytu min shahri Ramadan" (I intend to fast tomorrow in the month of Ramadan). They are not from a hadith and are optional. See the Ramadan fasting rules for the niyyah in each madhhab.

What to eat for suhoor

The Prophet ﷺ said: "What a good suhoor for the believer dates are."⁷ Beyond that, think slow and steady: food that releases energy over hours, enough water, and not much salt. Ideas that work for many families:

Oats with milk, dates and a banana.
Eggs with wholegrain roti or bread, and cucumber.
Dal or khichdi with yogurt.
Yogurt or labneh with fruit and nuts.

Heavy fried food, such as parathas soaked in oil, and very salty food can leave you thirsty by midday. If you have a medical condition such as diabetes, ask your doctor how to plan your suhoor.

If you miss suhoor

Your fast is still valid. Suhoor is sunnah, not a condition of the fast, so if you sleep through it you still fast that day.

Musnad Ahmad, from Abu Said al-Khudri. Graded hasan by al-Albani.
Sahih Muslim 1096.
Quran 2:187, translation by Sahih International.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1918, 1919; Sahih Muslim 1092.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1921; Sahih Muslim 1097.
Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Sawm; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2345. Graded sahih by al-Albani.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know.

When does suhoor end?

At true dawn, when Fajr time begins, not at sunrise. The imsak time a few minutes earlier in many calendars is a caution, not the deadline.

Is there a dua for sehri?

There is no authentic dua for suhoor itself. The intention is in the heart. The words Wa bi-sawmi ghadin nawaytu min shahri Ramadan are a common intention, not from a hadith, and are optional.

Is my fast valid if I miss suhoor?

Yes. Suhoor is sunnah, not a condition of the fast. If you sleep through it, you still fast.

Can I eat until the Fajr adhan?

You may eat until true dawn. Where the Fajr adhan is called at the start of Fajr time, stop when it begins.

What is the best food for suhoor?

Dates, which the Prophet ﷺ praised, with water, slow-release carbs such as oats or wholegrain bread, and protein such as eggs, yogurt or lentils.