⭑ Time of ‘Asr Prayer in the Light of Authentic Ahadith ⭑
This excerpt is taken from Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله’s book Hadiyyat al-Muslimeen: Important Issues of Salah with Complete Prophetic Prayer (ﷺ).
⮚ Time of ‘Asr Prayer
«عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: أمني جبريل عند البيت مرتين .. ثم صلى العصر حين كان كل شيء مثل ظله .. إلخ»
It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهما that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Jibreel عليه السلام led me in prayer near the Ka‘bah twice… then he prayed the ‘Asr prayer when the shadow of everything was equal to its length…” etc.
[Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 1/38–39, Hadith 149 — Tirmidhi said: The Hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas is Hasan]
The chain of this narration is Hasan. It has been authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah (Hadith 352), Ibn Hibban (Hadith 279), Ibn al-Jarud (Hadith 149), al-Hakim (Vol. 1, p. 193), Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi, al-Nawawi, and others.
See Nayl al-Maqsud fi al-Ta‘liq ‘ala Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 393.
Imam al-Baghawi and al-Nimawi al-Hanafi also graded it Hasan [Athar al-Sunan, p. 89, Hadith 194].
❀ Benefits:
① From this narration and other authentic Ahadith, it is established that the time of ‘Asr begins when the shadow of an object becomes equal to its length. No single authentic or Hasan narration proves that the time of ‘Asr starts at two times the length of the shadow.
② ‘Umar رضي الله عنه also issued the same ruling — that the time of ‘Asr begins at one shadow length. [Fiqh ‘Umar, p. 426, Urdu]
③ In Sunan Abi Dawud, there is a narration:
“The Prophet ﷺ would delay the ‘Asr prayer until the sun was clear and white.” [Vol. 1, p. 65, Hadith 408]
However, this narration is very weak in terms of its chain, because both Muhammad bin Yazid al-Yamami and his teacher Yazid bin ‘Abd al-Rahman are majhool (unknown). See Taqrib al-Tahdhib (6404, 7747). Therefore, presenting such a weak narration against the authentic one-shadow Ahadith is extremely wrong and blameworthy.
