Some Medical Prophetic Advice concerning (sohour-breakfast- nap)

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Some prophetic advice:
1- Having late sohour:

In this article we are going to mention some pieces of advice that Allah’s Messenger, Muhammad, (PBUH), gave to those observing the Fast. Narrated Anas Bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), said:
“You should have the Sohour (the last meal before daybreak during the month of Ramadan), for there is a Blessing therein.”
[Al-Boukhari (1823), Muslim (1095), At-Tirmithi (708), An-Nasa’i (2456) and Ibn Majah (1692)]
In another narration by An-Nasa’i:
“It (As-Sohour) is a Blessing that Allah has bestowed on you, so do not forsake it.”
[An-Nasa’i (2472)]
As used in the above Prophetic Hadith, the word “Blessing” has been taken to mean the “Divine Blessing” that Allah, Most Gracious, bestows on his devoted slaves regarding the life of the present world and the world to come. In other words, when a person gets up early before dawn in order to have Sohour (the last meal before one observes the Fast before daybreak), he will certainly perform Salat Al-Fajr (The Dawn Prayer) in a mosque with other Muslim brother.
He may hear an impressive Quranic Verse that provides him with great spiritual enhancement. He may remember his Lord, Allah, Most Gracious, in meditative seclusion and be so impressed that his eyes overflow with yearning tears. And he may read the Holy Quran and feel great comfort thereby. He may receive all such good things by getting up early in order to have Sohour. Such is spiritual “Divine Blessing” that has to do with the Hereafter.
As for the other kind of “Divine Blessing”, namely that which has to do with the mundane life of this present world, it is noticeable that when a person has his Sohour before daybreak and before he observes the Fast, he is provided with the necessary food energy that enables him to work well throughout the whole day, particularly if such work is hard manual labor. This is because the human body needs enough food energy to work well.
In fact, having food at As-Sohour just before daybreak is part of Prophetic Sunna and Tradition, whereby Muslims are strongly recommended to delay As-Sohour mealtime as much as possible. In other words, staying awake until midnight, or perhaps later, and then having Sohour and going to bed is a kind of deviation from Prophetic Tradition and most probably causes one to miss the Dawn Prayer. In this context, Abu Thar, may Allah be pleased with him, quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying,
“My nation will be prosperous so long as they hasten breakfast (at sunset in Ramadan) and delay As-Sohour.”
[Narrated by Ahmad (21350)]
In this context, it should be reiterated that if a person has As-Sohour and then immediately goes to sleep, he might have indigestion and other medical problems due to bad food habits. According to the teachings of Islam, there must always be sufficient intervals of time between having food and going to bed. In regards to the Sohour, such interval should be spent in reading the Holy Quran, remembering Allah and performing prayer.
Anas Bin Malik quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying,
“If one performs Salat (Prayer) in congregation in the early morning then sits down to remember Allah until the sun rises and then performs two Rak’as (of prayer), one is recompensed for that as much as one is recompensed for a complete Hajj and Umrah (i.e. Major and Minor Hajj).”
He, (PBUH), reiterated the word “complete” three times.
[Narrated by At-Tirmithi (586)]
Medically speaking, doctors strongly forbid going to bed right after having one’s Sohour.
2- Hastening breakfast at sunset:

Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), bids Muslims to hasten breakfast at sunset, having some dates, a sweet drink or some water, then to perform the Sunset Prayer, and, afterwards, to go back and complete their meal.
Performing prayer before going back to complete one’s meal causes the feeling of hunger to subside and gives chance to the sugar of the dates to be assimilated and carried through the blood to the different parts of the body.
This helps the body restore its normal balanced condition. This also makes one eat moderately, as if one were not fasting. Such is Prophetic Sunna and Tradition recommendable when it is easy to perform prayer before breaking the Fast. In certain situations, however, where there is embarrassment in performing the Sunset Prayer, one may have one’s breakfast first and then perform the Sunset Prayer. But in normal situations it is preferable to follow the Prophet’s Tradition by eating three dates, performing the Sunset Prayer and then going back to have the whole meal.
3- Having a midday nap:

In this context, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), bids us to have a midday nap during Fast time, because it provides our body with some rest, just as As-Sohour provides it with the necessary food energy for the rest of the day. To this effect, he, (PBUH), says,
“Have midday naps, for devils do not have midday naps.”
[Al-Firdaos (4570), Asna Al-Matalib (1/1010), Tafseer Al-Qortubi (13/23), Fatih Al-Bari (11/70), among sh3er]
Having a midday nap, even for one single hour, is very helpful in performing the Taraweeh Prayer (Prayer performed in group or individually during the nights of Ramadan). In fact, the whole Fast is meant for this Taraweeh Prayer performed after Salat Al-‘Isha’ (the Late Evening Prayer). Muslims are supposed to perform the Taraweeh Prayer in the holy month of Ramadan properly and present-heartedly, reaping the great spiritual and physical fruits of Prayer, deliberating the Quranic Verses reauthord therein, and turning to the Lord, Allah, with sincere love and truthful devotion. And since the Taraweeh Prayer is a great opportunity for spiritual enhancement, it is a good idea to get ready for it by having a midday nap.
To wrap up, the above-mentioned medical pieces of advice that have to do with breakfast and Sohour during the holy month of Ramadan are but a few golden remarks derived from the Prophetic Sunna and Tradition of Allah’s Messenger, Muhammad, (PBUH).
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations