Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: Just as the Shari‘ah has prescribed regular Sunnah (sunan ratibah) prayers for Dhuhr, Maghrib, and ‘Isha, it has not prescribed any such regular prayers after Fajr and ‘Asr. However, the Sunnah prayers of Fajr were performed in the presence of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and he did not prohibit it. Similarly, after ‘Asr, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) himself performed the Sunnah prayers that are offered after Dhuhr, from which it is understood that if there arises a reason (sabab) for prayer during these times, then such a prayer is permissible. However, without any reason or cause, merely out of enthusiasm for voluntary (nafl) prayer, it is not correct to perform them at these times.

Hadith Commentary:
By "morning" and "afternoon" are not meant the times themselves, but rather the Fajr prayer and the Asr prayer, as is explicitly stated in Sahih Muslim. The same is found in a narration of Sahih Bukhari (1197).

The meaning of not performing any prayer after these prayers is that no general voluntary (nafl) prayers should be performed.

These two times are not like the strictly prohibited times of actual sunrise and sunset.

This is also supported by a hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Do not perform prayer after the morning and afternoon prayers except when the sun is clear and high." (Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Tatawwu', Hadith: 1274)

From this hadith, it is understood that the word "after" mentioned in the hadith is not in its general sense, but rather refers to the time of sunrise or sunset.

The relevance of the hadith to the chapter heading is as follows: when performing prayer after Fajr and Asr is invalid, then what sense does it make to strive to perform such a prayer? A sensible person does not do something that has no benefit.

(Fath al-Bari: 2/82)

«وَأَوْقَاتُ الْكَرَاهَةِ بَعْدَ الْفَجْرِ حَتَّى تَرْتَفِعَ الشَّمسُ وَعِندَ الزَّوَالِ وَبَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ حَتَّى تَغُرُبَ»
The disliked times are as follows: from Fajr until the sun has fully risen, and (except for Friday) at the time of zenith, and after Asr until sunset.
➊ It is narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir radi Allahu anhu that there are three times in which the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to forbid us from performing prayer and from burying the deceased «حسين تطلع الشمس بازغة حتى ترتفع وحين يقوم قائم الظهيرة حتى تزول الشمس وحين تتضيف الشمس للغروب»: “When the sun is rising until it becomes high, when the sun is at its zenith until it declines, and when the sun is setting.”
➋ It is narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu that I heard the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say «والا صلاة بعد الصبح حتى تطلع الشمس ولا صلاة بعد العصر حتى تغيب الشمس»: “After performing the morning prayer, there is no (permissible) prayer until the sun rises, and likewise, after performing the Asr prayer, there is no other (permissible) prayer until the sun sets.”
[بخاري 586، كتاب مواقيت الصلاة: باب لا تتحرك الصلاة قبل غروب الشمس، مسلم 827، أبو عوانة 380/1، نسائي 567، أحمد 95/3، أبو داود 2417، ابن ماجة 1249، بيهقى 452/2]
➌ Ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhuma says «كنا ننهى عن الصلاة عند طلوع الشمس وعند غروبها ونصف النهار»: “We were forbidden from praying at the time of sunrise, at the time of sunset, and at midday.” [شرح معاني الآثار للطحاوى 304/1]
The prohibition of prayer at midday is excepted for the Friday prayer, as narrated from Abu Qatadah radi Allahu anhu that «ان كره ان يصلي نصف النهار إلا يوم الجمعة»: “He sallallahu alayhi wa sallam disliked praying at midday except on the day of Jumu‘ah (Friday).”
[ضعيف: ضعيف أبو داود 236، كتاب الصلاة: باب الصلاة يوم الجمعة قبل الزوال، أبو داود 1083، ضعيف الجامع 1849، المشكاة 1047، بيهقى 193/3]
Although this narration is weak, this matter is established by another hadith.
It is narrated from Salamah ibn al-Akwa‘ radi Allahu anhu that we used to perform the Friday prayer with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam «ثــم نــنـصـرف وليس للمحيطان فيني»: “Then we would return and at that time there would be no shade of the walls.”
[صحيح: صحيح أبو داود 961، كتاب الصلاة: باب وقت الجمعة، أبو داود 1085]

567. Commentary: After ‘Asr and Fajr, performing voluntary (nafl) prayers has been absolutely prohibited, because if voluntary prayers were permitted during these times, then necessarily prayers would also be performed at the time of sunrise and sunset. This is because the definite sighting of sunrise and sunset is not possible from inside the mosque (or even in homes). Most likely, to eliminate this possibility, a general prohibition has been established.

The Chapters of the Hadith Scholars: “First and After?!”

Question:

Ilyas Ghuman Sahib has said in one of his speeches that the Ahl-e-Hadith act upon abrogated (mansukh) narrations, while we Deobandis act upon abrogating (nasikh) narrations.

And he presents a rule and principle, stating that the noble hadith scholars (muhaddithin), rahimahumullah ajma‘in, in their books of hadith, first brought the abrogated narrations or actions, and then they collected the abrogating narrations.

Is this really correct?

And while giving an example, he states that the hadith scholars, in their books, first mentioned the narrations about performing raf‘ al-yadayn (raising the hands in prayer), and then mentioned the narrations about not performing it, i.e., raf‘ al-yadayn is abrogated and not performing raf‘ al-yadayn is the abrogating. Similarly, the hadith scholars first mentioned the narrations about reciting al-Fatihah behind the imam, and then the narrations about not reciting al-Fatihah behind the imam. The Ahl-e-Hadith act upon abrogated narrations and we act upon the abrogating.

Is the rule and principle stated by Ilyas Ghuman Sahib really the rule of the majority of hadith scholars, and do the Deobandis act upon this rule, and are the Ahl-e-Hadith opposed to this rule? Please clarify this.

Answer:

The aforementioned statement of Ghuman Sahib is incorrect for several reasons; however, first, in relation to the chapter arrangement (tabwib) of the hadith scholars, ten (10) references are presented for your consideration:

6) Imam al-Nasa’i established a chapter prohibiting the performance of supererogatory prayers (nawafil) after the ‘Asr prayer:

«النَّهْيُ عَنِ الصَّلَاةِ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ»

[سنن النسائي ص 78 قبل ح 567]

And afterwards, he established a chapter permitting prayer (nawafil) after ‘Asr:

«الرُّخْصَةُ فِي الصَّلَاةِ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ»

[سنن النسائي ص 79 قبل ح 574]

According to Ghuman Sahib’s principle, is the hadith prohibiting supererogatory prayer after ‘Asr abrogated?!

For the original article, see Fatawa ‘Ilmiyyah, also known as Tawdhih al-Ahkam [جلد 3 صفحه 250 تا 259]
Research and Scholarly Articles (Volume 4, pages 482 to 488) by Shaykh Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai rahimahullah

Lexical Explanation:
«لَا صَلَاةَ» means not voluntary (nafl) prayer.
«بَعْدَ الصُّبْحِ» means after the performance of the Fajr prayer. However, by this is meant any prayer other than the Sunnah of Fajr, because making up the Sunnah of Fajr after the Fajr prayer is permissible. Besides this, after the appearance of dawn, performing any voluntary prayer without a specific reason is generally disliked.
«نَقْبُرَ» Both damma and kasra on the letter "ba" are correct. The meaning is that we carry out the burial.
«مَوْتَانَا» «مَوْتَيٰ» is the plural of mayyit (deceased). Refers to your deceased ones...
«بَازِغَةٌ» Shining, bright.
«اَلظَّهِيرَةِ» Nisf an-nahar, i.e., the time of midday.
«قَائِمُ الظَّهِيْرَةِ» refers to the shadow at noon, and «قَائِمُ الظَّهِيرة» standing and being upright means that when the sun stands straight for a few moments, at that time the shadow of everything is directly above it, not leaning here or there, neither towards the east nor the west.
«تَزُولُ» To incline from the middle (center) of the sky to the other side.
«تَتَضَيَّفُ» is also used in the meaning of inclining.
«وَالْحُكْمُ الثَّانِي», i.e., the prohibition of praying at the exact time of midday, because in the narration of Sayyiduna Uqbah radi Allahu anhu, this ruling comes second.
«وَكَذَا لِأَبِي دَاوُدَ» In Abu Dawud, from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah radi Allahu anhu, it is likewise that on the day of Jumu'ah, prayer is permitted at the time of midday.
«نَحْوُهُ» Just as it is in the narration of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu. However, the narrations from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah radi Allahu anhuma are weak, so from these, the permissibility of praying at the time of zawal (midday) on Friday is not established. Even on Friday, performing voluntary prayers at the time of zawal is prohibited. The opinion of Imam Shafi'i and others, which is based on weak ahadith, is less preferred.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ In this hadith, the actions that are prohibited during the forbidden times are mentioned.
➋ The prohibited actions are that we should neither perform prayer nor bury the deceased during these times.
➌ Here, burial also refers to the funeral prayer (salat al-janazah), meaning that during these forbidden times, neither the funeral prayer should be performed nor the deceased buried. However, if there is a necessity, then it is permissible. The first time is at sunrise: when the sun is rising, prayer and funeral rites are prohibited until it rises high. The second time is at midday, when the sun is at the very center of the sky and has not yet inclined towards the west; at such a time, (voluntary) prayer or funeral prayer and burial are also prohibited. The third time is at sunset, during which funeral prayer or burial is also prohibited.
➍ In the hadith, after sunrise, «تَرْتَفِعَ» is mentioned, that it should rise high. What is meant by this elevation? In the narration of Abu Dawud and Nasa'i, this height is estimated as the measure of one or two spears. When the sun rises above the eastern horizon by the height of one or two spears, then prayer is permitted.

Hadith Narrator:
(Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir al-Juhani radi Allahu anhu) There is a damma on the letter "Ayn" and the "Qaf" is sakin (silent). His kunyah was Abu Hammad or Abu Amir. He was among the early companions who excelled in migration, companionship, and embracing Islam. He was a reciter of the Book of Allah and a renowned scholar of inheritance law and jurisprudence. Along with being a jurist, he was also a poet. In the Battle of Siffin, he was with Sayyiduna Amir Muawiyah radi Allahu anhu. He was governor of Egypt on his behalf for three years, and also the commander of the naval expedition (ghazwat al-bahr). He passed away in Egypt in 58 AH and was buried in Muqattam.