Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Athan for Fajr was called out and at that moment I needed to drink water because I was afflicted by coughing and a cold. I stood up to drink water because I knew that the athan had not ended and as far I know this is permitted at that moment. What is your opinion on this matter? May Allah reward you with goodness. شربت الماء مع أذان الفجر فما حكم صيامي

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: Allah the Exalted said in His Book which is full of wisdom, “and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night),” [al-Baqarah 2: 187]. The verse indicates that when dawn appears it is not permitted to eat, drink or have sex. There is no difference of opinion among the scholars about this issue. This is supported by what was transmitted in the Sahihayn from the hadith of ibn ‘Amr on the authority of ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said, “The Messenger of Allah said, “"Bilal pronounces the Adhan when it is still night (before dawn), so eat and drink till Ibn Um Maktum pronounces the Adhan” [al-Bukhari (2656) and Muslim (1092)].  What has been transmitted in Sunan Abi Dawud from the hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When any of you hears the summons to prayer while he has a vessel in his hand, he should not lay it down till he fulfils his need” [Abu Dawud (2350)], is a weak hadith, which was graded as weak by Abu Hatim in his book al-‘Ilal. The hadith was graded as authentic by al-Hakim in his book al-Mustadarak. He said, “This hadith is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim and the Shaikhain did not transmit it”. In al-Furu’  (3/70) Ibn al-Muflih said, “If this hadith is authentic then it means that the appearance of dawn has not been established.” In as-Sunan (4/218) al-Bayhaqi said, “If this hadeeth is authentic then it is interpreted by the majority of the scholars to mean that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that the muezzin was making the Adhan before the appearance of dawn in and a person could drink something a little while before the Fajr prayer. Thus, based on this, if the muezzin makes the Adhan based on a timetable which does not establish the appearance of Fajr, I do not see a problem in eating and drinking during the time of Adhan. However, the safest thing is not to do so. And Allah knows best. Dr. Khalid al-Mosleh   26/09/1424