Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
bukhari:621Aḥmad b. Yūnus > Zuhayr > Sulaymān al-Taymī > Abū ʿUthmān al-Nahdī > ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd

The Prophet ﷺ said, "The Adhan pronounced by Bilal should not stop you from taking Suhur, for he pronounces the Adhan at night, so that the one offering the late night prayer (Tahajjud) from among you might hurry up and the sleeping from among you might wake up. It does not mean that dawn or morning has started." Then he (the Prophet) pointed with his fingers and raised them up (towards the sky) and then lowered them (towards the earth) like this (Ibn Masʿud imitated the gesture of the Prophet). Az-Zuhri gestured with his two index fingers which he put on each other and then stretched them to the right and left. These gestures illustrate the way real dawn appears. It spreads left and right horizontally. The dawn that appears in the high sky and lowers down is not the real dawn) .  

البخاري:٦٢١حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ التَّيْمِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ النَّهْدِيِّ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ لاَ يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ أَوْ أَحَدًا مِنْكُمْ أَذَانُ بِلاَلٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ فَإِنَّهُ يُؤَذِّنُ أَوْ يُنَادِي بِلَيْلٍ لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمَكُمْ وَلِيُنَبِّهَ نَائِمَكُمْ وَلَيْسَ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْفَجْرُ أَوِ الصُّبْحُ وَقَالَ بِأَصَابِعِهِ وَرَفَعَهَا إِلَى فَوْقُ وَطَأْطَأَ إِلَى أَسْفَلُ حَتَّى يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَقَالَ زُهَيْرٌ بِسَبَّابَتَيْهِ إِحْدَاهُمَا فَوْقَ الأُخْرَى ثُمَّ مَدَّهَا عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَشِمَالِهِ  


See similar narrations below:

Collected by Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥibbān
bukhari:7247Musaddad > Yaḥyá > al-Taymī > Abū ʿUthmān > Ibn Masʿūd

Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The (call for prayer) Adhan of Bilal should not stop anyone of you from taking his Suhur for he pronounces the Adhan in order that whoever among you is praying the night prayer, may return (to eat his Suhur) and whoever among you is sleeping, may get up, for it is not yet dawn (when it is like this)." (Yahya, the sub-narrator stretched his two index fingers side ways).  

البخاري:٧٢٤٧حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ عَنْ يَحْيَى عَنِ التَّيْمِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لاَ يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ أَذَانُ بِلاَلٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ فَإِنَّهُ يُؤَذِّنُ أَوْ قَالَ يُنَادِي لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمَكُمْ وَيُنَبِّهَ نَائِمَكُمْ وَلَيْسَ الْفَجْرُ أَنْ يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَجَمَعَ يَحْيَى كَفَّيْهِ حَتَّى يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَمَدَّ يَحْيَى إِصْبَعَيْهِ السَّبَّابَتَيْنِ  

muslim:1093aZuhayr b. Ḥarb > Ismāʿīl b. Ibrāhīm > Sulaymān al-Taymī > Abū ʿUthmān > Ibn Masʿūd

The dawn is not like it, as one says (and he lifted his hand) till he (dispersed his fingers) and said: It is like this.  

مسلم:١٠٩٣aحَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ التَّيْمِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ؓ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لاَ يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدًا مِنْكُمْ أَذَانُ بِلاَلٍ أَوْ قَالَ نِدَاءُ بِلاَلٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ فَإِنَّهُ يُؤَذِّنُ أَوْ قَالَ يُنَادِي بِلَيْلٍ لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمَكُمْ وَيُوقِظَ نَائِمَكُمْ وَقَالَ لَيْسَ أَنْ يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَصَوَّبَ يَدَهُ وَرَفَعَهَا حَتَّى يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَفَرَّجَ بَيْنَ إِصْبَعَيْهِ  

abudawud:2347[Chain 1] Musaddad > Yaḥyá > al-Taymī [Chain 2] Aḥmad b. Yūnus > Zuhayr > Sulaymān al-Taymī > Abū ʿUthmān > ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ as saying: The summons (adhan) of Bilal should not restrain one of you from taking a meal shortly before dawn, for he utters adhan or calls (for prayer) so that the man at prayer may return, and the man asleep may get up. Dawn is not (the whiteness) which indicates thus (in perpendicular) - the narrator Musaddad said: Yahya joined his palms (indicating the spread of whiteness vertically - until it indicates thus - and Yahya spread out two ring-fingers of his (demonstrating the spread of whiteness horizontally)l  

أبو داود:٢٣٤٧حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى عَنِ التَّيْمِيِّ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ التَّيْمِيُّ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لاَ يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ أَذَانُ بِلاَلٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ فَإِنَّهُ يُؤَذِّنُ أَوْ قَالَ يُنَادِي لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمُكُمْ وَيَنْتَبِهَ نَائِمُكُمْ وَلَيْسَ الْفَجْرُ أَنْ يَقُولَ هَكَذَا قَالَ مُسَدَّدٌ وَجَمَعَ يَحْيَى كَفَّيْهِ حَتَّى يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَمَدَّ يَحْيَى بِأُصْبَعَيْهِ السَّبَّابَتَيْنِ  

ahmad:3717Ibn Abū ʿAdī > Sulaymān > Abū ʿUthmān > Ibn Masʿūd

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Let not the call to prayer of Bilal prevent any of you from eating suhoor (pre-dawn meal), for he calls to the prayer to wake up your sleepers and bring awareness to your non-awake ones, not to say 'this is the time for suhoor' but rather until he says so, and Ibn Abi Adiy, Abu Amr, clenched his fingers and straightened them, and spread his index and middle fingers apart to demonstrate the time of dawn."  

أحمد:٣٧١٧حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ

أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ لَا يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ أَذَانُ بِلَالٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ فَإِنَّهُ إِنَّمَا يُنَادِي أَوْ قَالَ يُؤَذِّنُ لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمُكُمْ وَيُنَبِّهَ نَائِمَكُمْ لَيْسَ أَنْ يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَلَكِنْ حَتَّى يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَضَمَّ ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ أَبُو عَمْرٍو أَصَابِعَهُ وَصَوَّبَهَا وَفَتَحَ مَا بَيْنَ أُصْبُعَيْهِ السَّبَّابَتَيْنِ يَعْنِي الْفَجْرَ  

ibnhibban:3468Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. al-Muthanná > Abū Khaythamah > Ismāʿīl b. Ibrāhīm > Sulaymān al-Taymī > Abū ʿUthmān > Ibn Masʿūd

The dawn is not like it, as one says (and he lifted his hand) till he (dispersed his fingers) and said: It is like this. (Using translation from Muslim 1093a)  

ابن حبّان:٣٤٦٨أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْمُثَنَّى قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو خَيْثَمَةَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانَ التَّيْمِيَّ عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ «لَا يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدًا مِنْكُمْ أَذَانُ بِلَالٍ أَوْ قَالَ نِدَاءُ بِلَالٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ فَإِنَّهُ يُؤَذِّنُ أَوْ قَالَ يُنَادِي بِلَيْلٍ لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمَكُمْ وَيُوقِظَ نَائِمَكُمْ» وَقَالَ «لَيْسَ الْفَجْرُ أَنْ يَقُولَ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا» وَضَرَبَ يَدَهُ وَرَفَعَهَا «حَتَّى يَقُولَ هَكَذَا» وَفَرَّجَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ