Hadith 12839

Chapter 16

باب 16

(16) بَابُ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: {وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ}

(16) Chapter: The Statement of Allah Taa'la: "And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn appears to you distinct from the black."
26
حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجُ بْنُ مِنْهَالٍ، حَدَّثَنَا هُشَيْمٌ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي حُصَيْنُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ {حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ} عَمَدْتُ إِلَى عِقَالٍ أَسْوَدَ وَإِلَى عِقَالٍ أَبْيَضَ، فَجَعَلْتُهُمَا تَحْتَ وِسَادَتِي، فَجَعَلْتُ أَنْظُرُ فِي اللَّيْلِ، فَلاَ يَسْتَبِينُ لِي، فَغَدَوْتُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَكَرْتُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ " إِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ سَوَادُ اللَّيْلِ وَبَيَاضُ النَّهَارِ ".

Narrated `Adi bin Hatim:
When the above verses were revealed: 'Until the white thread appears to you, distinct from the black thread,' I took two (hair) strings, one black and the other white, and kept them under my pillow and went on looking at them throughout the night but could not make anything out of it. So, the next morning I went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and told him the whole story. He explained to me, "That verse means the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the dawn."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 1916

In-book reference: Book 30, Hadith 26

USC-MSA web (English) reference(deprecated numbering scheme): Vol. 3, Book 31, Hadith 140