Question
Zaid and Amr differ regarding the times of Zuhr and Asr prayers. Zaid says that at midday the shadow of a stick falls towards the north, and this shadow should not be counted; rather, when the shadow of the stick moves eastward and becomes equal to the stick, the time of Zuhr ends and the time of Asr begins. Whereas Amr says that when the shadow of the stick begins to increase after zawal and becomes equal to the stick, the time of Zuhr ends. Amr further says that nowadays the time of zawal begins after 12:30 noon, and the time of Asr begins at about 3:45. Now, the question is put to the scholars of Ahl-e-Hadith: which of these two opinions is correct?
Answer
Zaid’s view is not correct, and Amr’s view is correct according to the Hadith and the consensus of the scholars. The time of Zuhr prayer ends when the shadow of everything, apart from the original shadow, becomes equal to it, and after that the time of Asr prayer begins.
The scholars have presented several Hadiths and juristic opinions regarding the times of Zuhr and Asr prayers which confirm that:
➊ The time of Zuhr ends when the shadow of everything, apart from the original shadow, becomes equal to it.
➋ The time of Asr begins from the moment when, excluding the original shadow, the shadow of everything becomes equal to it.
In the light of Hadith:
In Abu Dawud, it is narrated from Hadrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the prayer of the Nabi (ﷺ) was measured as three to five steps in summer and five to seven steps in winter. From this it is proven that the fai’ of zawal (the shadow at the time of zawal) must be taken into account.
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in Sharh Muslim:
متی خرج وقت الظہر عصیر ظل الشیئی مثله غیر الظل الذی یکون عند الزوال
“That is, when the shadow of everything (apart from the original shadow) becomes equal to it, the time of Zuhr ends and the time of Asr enters.”
Various juristic opinions:
➊ According to the Hanafi jurisprudence, when the shadow becomes one mithl after excluding the original shadow, the time of Zuhr ends and the time of Asr begins.
➋ According to the Shafi’i jurisprudence too, the time of Zuhr ends when the shadow other than the original shadow becomes one mithl.
➌ The Maliki and Hanbali jurisprudence also hold the same position: the time of Zuhr lasts until the shadow becomes one mithl, and after that the time of Asr begins.
Excluding the fai’ of zawal (original shadow):
The jurists have explained the method of excluding the fai’ of zawal: a straight stick is planted in the ground, and when at the time of zawal the shadow of the stick becomes shortest and begins to increase again, that shadow is called the fai’ of zawal. After this, when the shadow becomes one mithl, the time of Zuhr ends.
Summary:
Zaid’s view is not correct because he did not take into account the correct calculation of the shadow. Amr’s view is correct according to the Hadith and the unanimous opinions of the scholars, that is, when after zawal the shadow becomes equal to the stick, the time of Zuhr ends and the time of Asr begins.
