Authored by: Imran Ayub Lahori
❀ Emphasis on Guarding the Asr Prayer
Islamic teachings place great emphasis on safeguarding this prayer. Allah Almighty commands:
“حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى“
“Guard strictly your prayers, especially the middle prayer.”
[al-Baqarah: 238]
There are approximately seventeen different scholarly opinions regarding which prayer is meant by the “middle prayer” (salat al-wusta), but the most authentic view is that it refers to the Asr prayer.
[Nayl al-Awtar: 1/449; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi: 3/140]
Evidence for this:
❶ It is narrated from Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه that on the Day of the Battle of Ahzab, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“May Allah fill their graves and homes with fire; they have preoccupied us from the middle prayer until the sun had set.”
[Bukhari: 2931, Kitab al-Jihad wa al-Siyar: Bab al-Du’a ‘ala al-Mushrikin bi al-Hazimah wa al-Zalzalah; Muslim: 627; Abu Dawud: 409; Darimi: 1/280; Abu Ya’la: 385; Ahmad: 1/122–144]
❷ In a narration from Hazrat Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه, he said:
“They have kept us busy from the middle prayer, which is the Asr prayer.”
[Muslim: 628, Kitab al-Masajid wa Mawadi’ al-Salah: Bab al-Dalil liman Qal al-Salat al-Wusta Hiya Salat al-Asr; Tirmidhi: 181; Ibn Majah: 686; Ahmad: 1/392; Bayhaqi: 9/460]
❸ In another narration from Hazrat Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“The middle prayer is the Asr prayer.”
[Muslim: 628; also Ahmad: 1/392 and 5/7; Tirmidhi: 182]
❹ A similar narration is also reported from Hazrat Samurah bin Jundub رضي الله عنه.
These Ahadith affirm that the middle prayer mentioned in the verse refers to the Asr prayer, and the Qur’anic verse commands its particular safeguarding. In addition, several other Ahadith emphasize its protection. For example, it is narrated from Hazrat Buraydah Aslami رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“Whoever misses the Asr prayer, his deeds are nullified.”
[Sahih: Sahih Ibn Majah: 568, Kitab al-Salah: Bab Miqat al-Salah fi al-Ghaym; Irwa’ al-Ghalil: 255; Takhrij Haqiqat al-Siyam: 41; Ibn Abi Shaybah: 1/342; Bayhaqi: 1/444]
