delayed sehri time

[sunni slave]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Can the sehri be delayed slightly from the mosque time if one has got up late or missed their alarm call, or do we have to rush whatever we can down in minutes ?

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

Wa'laykum-as-Salaam wa Rahamatullahi wa Barakaatuhu.

It is better to be safe than sorry. If you were late in performing sehri, then you should not eat, drink or brush your teeth, but just make niyyah.

How late you are is a matter of cicumstance. If you were half an hour late, then the above applies. If you were ten minutes late, then you have no choice, but to forget eating and drinking, as you have gone over the time stipulated on your local mosque chart. If however you got up on time of closing your fast, yet you knew that if you had a drink of water, and brushed your teeth, then two or three minutes at the most, may not make a magnificent difference. Only when the time has lapsed in a great quantity.

So it is up to you to remain vigilant the night before, and that you set your alarm clock, or ask someone to get you up or give you a mis-call on your mobile, in order to perform this great sunnah.

May Allah the Almighty help us all to perform the Sunnah such as sehri, of His Beloved Messenger (peace be upon Him) Amin.

Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab.

M. Waseem Ashrafi.