Sehri's Benefits and Blessings: In the Light of Prophetic Hadiths
The act of eating at the time of dawn with the intention of fasting is called "Sehri." This practice is highly significant and full of virtues and blessings. The reward for this act is doubled by keeping in mind its blessings and virtues. We consider only fasting to be a blessed and important act, whereas the act of Sehri is also very virtuous and blessed according to Sharia. It has some blessings and virtues. Due to the importance of this act being overlooked, we make many mistakes regarding it. Some people's practice regarding Sehri is that they do not consider Sehri to be a Sunnah and a source of virtue and blessing, and they fast without Sehri, and say proudly: "I have fasted today 'without Sehri'." Or they eat in the middle of the night before going to sleep and apply the term Sehri to it, either because they fear that they will not be able to wake up in the last part of the night, or they love sleep so much that they are deprived of the blessings of Sehri, or they simply do not know about the blessings and virtues of Sehri. Therefore, first of all, it should be known that the act of Sehri is a Sunnah. It is a very virtuous act. Therefore, Sehri should be done at the last time of dawn, even if a small amount is eaten in Sehri to act upon the Sunnah; but deprivation of the blessing and virtue of the act of Sehri is a great deprivation. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Sehri is a blessing, do Sehri; because it increases strength and it is from the Sunnah, do Sehri even with a sip of water, may Allah's blessings be upon those who do Sehri." (Musnad Ibn al-Ja'd, Hadith of Bahr bin Kuniz al-Saqa, Hadith: 3391) There is blessing in Sehri, do Sehri; because it is a source of strength, it is Sunnah, even if it is with a sip of water, may Allah Almighty have mercy on those who do Sehri.
We mention below the blessings, benefits, and advantages of Sehri:
1. Fulfillment and Completion of the Messenger's Command:
For a Muslim, there is nothing greater than the command of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his order, his actions, and following him. First of all, it should be known that regarding the act of Sehri, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: "Tasahharu; fa inna fi al-suhuri barakah" (Sunan al-Nasa'i: Encouragement to Sehri, Hadith: 2144) He ﷺ encouraged Sehri and said: "Do Sehri, because this act of Sehri is a very blessed act."
2. Sehri is the Symbol of a Muslim:
The act of Sehri belongs to the symbols of Islam. This act distinguishes the fasting of a Muslim from the actions of non-Muslims, because the difference in fasting among the People of the Book, Jews and Christians, is that they do not do Sehri, and Muslims begin their fast with Sehri.
Which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated in a Hadith:
"Faslu ma baina siyamina wa siyami ahl al-kitab aklatu al-sahar" (Sahih Muslim: Chapter on the Virtue of Sehri, Hadith: 1096) (The difference between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is the meal of Sehri) i.e., we do Sehri and they do not.)
3. The betterment of the Ummah is in the act of Sehri:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has made the well-being and goodness of the Ummah dependent on the act of Sehri and Iftar, and hastening (early) in Iftar and delaying in Sehri, that is, the act of Iftar and Sehri and the Sunnah in it, i.e., hastening in Iftar and delaying in Sehri, are the cause of goodness, blessing, well-being, and goodness for the Ummah. Prophetic saying ﷺ: "La yazalu al-nas bi khair ma ajjaloo al-fitr wa akharoo al-suhur" (Muslim: Chapter on the Virtue of Sehri, Hadith: 1098) As long as people hasten in Iftar and delay in Sehri, they will remain in goodness and well-being.
4. Allah and His Angels pray for mercy for the one who does Sehri:
The act of Sehri is so virtuous and blessed that Allah Almighty Himself and innocent creatures like angels also pray for mercy on the one who does Sehri. It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Inna Allah wa malaikatahu yusalluna ala al-mutasahhirin" (Sahih Ibn Hibban, Mention of Allah Almighty's forgiveness and the angels' seeking forgiveness for those who do Sehri, Hadith: 3467) Allah and His angels pray for mercy on those who do Sehri.
5. Sehri and the Blessed Time of Dawn:
When a person wakes up for Sehri in the blessed month of Ramadan at the time of dawn, it is the time of Allah's descent (according to the Hadith, Allah Almighty descends to the lowest heaven), and it is the time of acceptance of prayers and forgiveness of slips and mistakes. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: "Allah Almighty descends to the lowest heaven every night until the third part of the night, and says: Who is there to pray and I will accept his prayer? Who is there to ask and I will grant him? And who is there to seek forgiveness so that he may be forgiven?" "Man yastaghfiruni fa aghfir lahu" (Bukhari: Chapter on Prayer in the Prayer of the Last Night, Hadith: 19653)
6. Time of Dawn is Time of Forgiveness:
The time of dawn is the time of forgiveness, it is the time of atonement and freedom from sins and mistakes, which Allah Almighty has mentioned in many places in the Holy Quran, and Allah Almighty has praised those who seek forgiveness from Allah at the time of dawn and has counted them among the true believers. Allah Almighty says: "Wa al-mustaghfirin bil-ashar" (Aal Imran) (And those who seek forgiveness at the time of dawn) and it is also said: "Wa bil-ashar hum yastaghfirun" (Al-Dhariyat: 18) They seek forgiveness at the time of dawn. The one who wakes up at the time of dawn may also be granted the ability to seek forgiveness at the time of dawn, whose praise Allah Almighty has mentioned in these verses, these people are such blessed people who pray to their Lord at the time of dawn for their forgiveness and pardon and freedom from sins.
That is why the elders of the religion and the people of Allah consider this last part of the night as an opportunity and benefit from the divine favors in it, in the presence of Allah Almighty, before Him in worship and humility and expressing their servitude through prayers and supplications and are desirous and wishful for the righteousness and success of their world and the hereafter.
7. Sehri eliminates the intensity of hunger:
One of the benefits of Sehri is that it eliminates the intensity of hunger in fasting, because when fasting is felt intensely due to not doing Sehri in the morning, a person's patience gives way and he may break the fast due to the intensity of hunger, therefore Sehri is helpful for patience and perseverance in fasting.
8. Sehri is the cause of activity:
By fasting after doing Sehri, weakness and infirmity do not enter a person, due to which he gets strength in prayer, recitation, invocations and other acts of worship, and activity and agility can remain in worship, otherwise, after becoming exhausted, even if he fasts in some way, he is deprived of other acts of worship in Ramadan.
9. Sehri is helpful for Fajr prayer:
When a Muslim wakes up for Sehri, it becomes easier for him to offer the Fajr prayer and respond to the call and voice of the muezzin and perform the Fajr prayer, etc.
10. Sehri is the reason for performing Fajr prayer in congregation:
Sehri also helps in performing Fajr prayer in congregation, which sometimes remains due to laziness or inactivity or lack of awakening, due to Sehri a person is awake and alert to perform prayer in congregation. This is the reason why the attendance of worshippers in the mosque and the number of people praying in congregation increases significantly in the month of Ramadan.
11. The act of Sehri is worship:
If the act of Sehri is done with the intention that it will help in worship and obedience, then this act itself will become "worship."
12. Sehri is the reason for the desire to fast:
By fasting after doing Sehri, one does not get bored with fasting; rather, due to this Sehri's assistance in fasting, the desire to fast increases further.
13. Sehri is a helper and assistant for other deeds:
Blessing is put in the act of the one who does Sehri from the beginning of the day by Allah, he is blessed with the ability to do good deeds throughout the day, he has ease in performing prayers due to fasting, adhering to invocations, enjoining good and forbidding evil, etc., due to abandoning Sehri, these deeds feel like a burden and heavy.
In short, this act of Sehri is a very important act and a means of assistance in performing the deeds of the day of Ramadan and a cause of goodness and blessing and a cause of prayer of goodness and mercy from Allah Almighty and the angels and a means of obtaining night worship and the pleasure of repentance and seeking forgiveness, and the greatness of this act is also doubled because the act of Sehri distinguishes the fasting of a Muslim from the fasting of non-Muslims.