أُحِلَّ لَكُمۡ لَيۡلَةَ ٱلصِّيَامِ ٱلرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَآئِكُمۡۚ هُنَّ لِبَاسٞ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسٞ لَّهُنَّۗ عَلِمَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّكُمۡ كُنتُمۡ تَخۡتَانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمۡ فَتَابَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَعَفَا عَنكُمۡۖ فَٱلۡـَٰٔنَ بَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَٱبۡتَغُواْ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡۚ وَكُلُواْ وَٱشۡرَبُواْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡخَيۡطُ ٱلۡأَبۡيَضُ مِنَ ٱلۡخَيۡطِ ٱلۡأَسۡوَدِ مِنَ ٱلۡفَجۡرِۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّواْ ٱلصِّيَامَ إِلَى ٱلَّيۡلِۚ وَلَا تُبَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمۡ عَٰكِفُونَ فِي ٱلۡمَسَٰجِدِۗ تِلۡكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَقۡرَبُوهَاۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَّقُونَ
187. It has been made lawful (419) for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives. They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them. Allah knows that you used to put your soul in defalcation (420). He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you (421). Now, copulate with them and seek what Allah has written (422) for you. And eat and drink (423) until the white thread becomes clear to you from the black thread of the dawn. Then complete (424) the fast unto the fall of night (sunset). Do not touch your women (wives) (425) while you are in the mosques in secluded devotion (I’tikaaf). These are the limits of Allah. So do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His verses to the people that they may become pious.
This verse is from the Quran, chapter 2, verse 187, which talks about the rules of fasting during the month of Ramadan. It means that the fasting person can eat and drink until the dawn breaks, and then he or she must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse until sunset. The white thread and the black thread refer to the light and the darkness of the horizon, not to literal threads. This is clarified by some hadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) that explain the context and the meaning of this verse.
Hadiths related to this verse:
One of these hadiths is narrated by Sahl bin Sa`d, who said:
The Verse “And eat and drink until the white thread appears to you distinct: from the black thread.” was revealed, but: ‘… of dawn’ was not revealed (along with it) so some men, when intending to fast, used to tie their legs, one with white thread and the other with black thread and would keep on eating till they could see the threads. Allah then revealed: ‘… of dawn’, and they came to know that meant the night and the day1
Another hadith is narrated by `Adiyy ibn Haatim, who said:
When the verse in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread at dawn.} [Quran 2:187] was revealed, I took two 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 and told him the whole story. He explained to me, “That verse means the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the dawn.” 2
These hadiths show that the companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, misunderstood the verse at first and thought that they had to use physical threads to determine the time of fasting. However, the Prophet, peace be upon him, corrected them and taught them that the verse meant the natural signs of the day and the night. This also shows the honesty and sincerity of the companions, who followed the Quran literally and did not hesitate to ask the Prophet, peace be upon him, for clarification.
Mercy and wisdom of Allah
The verse also shows the mercy and wisdom of Allah, who made fasting easy and flexible for the believers, and who revealed the Quran gradually and in stages, according to the needs and situations of the people. Allah also made clear His limits and boundaries for the fasting person, so that he or she does not transgress them or fall into sin. Allah says in the same verse:
These are the limits [set by] Allah , so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous. [Quran 2:187]
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam and one of the most rewarding acts of worship. It teaches the believer patience, self-control, gratitude, and compassion. It also brings the believer closer to Allah and purifies his or her soul from sins and evils. Allah says in another verse:
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous. [Quran 2:183]
May Allah accept our fasting and forgive our sins. Ameen.
