What Is Suhoor? The pre-dawn meal eaten before a day of fasting
A plain-language definition of Suhoor, its Arabic origin, and how Muslims use the term.
What Suhoor means
Suhoor is the pre-dawn meal eaten before a day of fasting. The term belongs to the basic vocabulary Muslims use to describe pillars & acts of worship. It names a specific idea or practice rather than every part of the wider subject. That distinction matters because English translations can make several related Arabic terms look interchangeable when they are not.
Arabic origin and wording
Suhoor is related to sahar, the Arabic word for the final part of the night before dawn. Transliteration into English varies, so the same word may appear with different apostrophes, vowels, or spellings. Those spelling differences usually point back to the same Arabic term; context is more useful than English spelling alone when identifying its meaning.
Suhoor in daily Muslim life
In daily Muslim life, Fasting Muslims eat and drink before Fajr, then begin the daylight fast when dawn enters. People may learn the word at home, in a mosque, in a class, or while reading translated Islamic material. Local customs and scholarly vocabulary can affect how often it is heard, but the core definition remains the one given here.
Related Islamic terms
Two useful related terms are Sawm and Iftar. Suhoor should be understood alongside them without being collapsed into either one. Together, the three entries provide a clearer map of the surrounding vocabulary and make it easier to recognize the term when it appears in prayer, study, or conversation.
Frequently asked questions
What does Suhoor mean?
Suhoor means the pre-dawn meal eaten before a day of fasting. In Islamic usage, the surrounding context helps distinguish it from related terms.
How is Suhoor used in Muslim worship?
Fasting Muslims eat and drink before Fajr, then begin the daylight fast when dawn enters. The term is also encountered in Islamic teaching and conversation.