“Eat and drink, and do not let the rising vertical brightness deceive you; rather, eat and drink until the red horizontal light appears to you.”

Narrated by Aḥmad (no. 16291), Abū Dāwūd (no. 2348), with the wording being his, and al-Tirmidhī (no. 705), from the ḥadīth of Ṭalq ibn ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him.
Authenticated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ (no. 4506) and Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah (no. 2031).

Brief Explanation of the Hadith

The Islamic Sharīʿah has established precise regulation for the times of acts of worship, both at their commencement and their conclusion. Among these is fasting. In this ḥadīth, the Prophet—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—clarified the distinction between the true dawn and the false dawn, so that the matter would not become confusing for people as they would refrain from eating before the time for fasting actually begins. So, he—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Do not let the rising vertical brightness deceive you,” meaning: do not let that white light which appears vertically and ascends in the horizon disturb you or prevent you from eating and drinking. This is the false dawn, which the Arabs called the ‘tail of the wolf.’ It does not necessitate refraining from eating, and its duration is brief before it disappears.
He then said: “until the red horizontal light appears to you,” by which is meant the true dawn, namely the horizontal whiteness that spreads across the horizon from the direction of the east. It was described as “red” because the Arabs sometimes apply the term “red” to what is white, meaning the whiteness of day emerging from the darkness of night. It has also been said that what is intended is the slight redness that appears at the beginning of this whiteness, which is a sign of the true dawn.
And in the ḥadīth there is an indication of the permissibility of eating, drinking, and marital relations until the rising of the true dawn, as well as a precise regulation of the times of acts of worship in a manner that prevents error and removes confusion.

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