Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, is there any hour during the day or night in which you forbid me from performing prayer?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Yes, when you have performed the morning prayer, then refrain from praying until the sun rises." In the narration of Ibn Abdul Hakam, these words are mentioned: "Until the sun becomes high, because it rises between the two horns of Satan. Then (after that) the angels are present in the prayer and participate in it, and it is accepted until it is noon. So when it is noon, refrain from praying until the sun declines, because at that time Hell is kindled and the intense heat is due to the steam of Hell. And when the sun declines, the angels are present and participate in the prayer at that time, and it is accepted until the Asr prayer is performed. Then when you have performed the Asr prayer, refrain from praying until the sun sets." In the narration of Yunus, these words are mentioned: "Prayers (are accepted at that time)." And the words of Ibn Abdul Hakam are: "Then the angels participate in the prayer, are present in it, and it is accepted until the morning prayer is performed."

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: If it were permissible to take evidence from silence over speech, as some scholars think that silence is evidence over what is stated, then it would be permissible to take evidence from these hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he forbade praying after the Fajr prayer until the sun rises and after the Asr prayer until the sun sets. Therefore, it would be permissible to pray when the edge of the sun appears and before it becomes high, and it would also be permissible to pray before the sun declines when it is at its zenith. But this is not permissible for one who has religious understanding and insight, who reflects on the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and who is not stubborn or obstinate in taking evidence from silence against speech, nor insists on considering silence as evidence for what is stated, as some scholars think. According to the view of our opponents in this matter, the blessed statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that "there is no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises" is, in their view, evidence that when the sun rises, prayer becomes permissible. And they think that this is such evidence in which there is no other possibility. But our view is contrary to this principle. We say that undoubtedly the strength and status of the text is greater than that of evidence. And it is permissible that a deed be prohibited for a certain time and period, and the prohibition of a specific deed for a specific period and time does not prove that after that time and period has passed, that deed will become permissible, while there is evidence of its prohibition even after that time has passed, and in this matter, the two narrated reports are not contradictory, conflicting, or negating each other, as some of our opponents think in this matter.

This issue is also of the same kind, which I have explained in my book Ma'ani al-Qur'an. The statement of Allah Almighty is « فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِن بَعْدُ حَتَّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ » [ سورة البقرة : 230 ] "Then if he (the husband) divorces her (the third time), she is not lawful for him after that until she marries another husband." Therefore, according to this text of the Qur'an, Allah Almighty has made the wife who has been divorced three times unlawful for her husband until she marries another husband. And when the woman marries another husband, she will not be lawful for the first husband while she is in the marriage of that person. And it is also possible that before consummation, that person may die, or divorce her, or the marriage may be annulled for some reason that annuls the marriage. In such a case, the woman will not be lawful for the first husband until the second husband consummates with her. Then, if the husband dies, divorces her, or the marriage is annulled, she will observe the waiting period ('iddah), (then it will be permissible to marry the first husband). So if this prohibition were for a limited time, like the evidence in which there is no other possibility, then the prohibited thing would be for a fixed time, and he would pray (only) during its time, not after its time. There would be no other possibility in it. Thus, when a woman who has been divorced three times marries another husband, she would become lawful for the first husband even before consummation with the second husband, and before the death of the second husband or his divorce and the completion of her waiting period, she would become lawful for the first husband. Whoever understands the commands of Allah Almighty knows that the woman does not become lawful (for the first husband) until she marries another husband and he consummates with her. Then, if the husband dies, divorces her, or their marriage is annulled, and her waiting period is completed, (then she may marry the first husband). Soon I will explain this lengthy issue in the Book of Knowledge, inshaAllah. Some people who are unfamiliar with knowledge and jurisprudence have objected and made such a claim in this verse that it made us forget the previous statement. Their claim is that in this verse, "marriage" means consummation. Also, their claim is that the word "nikah" has two meanings: 1) contract, i.e., marriage, 2) consummation. Their claim is that the statement of Allah Almighty, "Hatta tankiha zawjan ghayrahu" (until she marries another husband) means consummation (that the woman consummates with another husband). This is such a shameful and disgraceful statement that we have not heard from any Arab person whom we have seen or whose era we have found, nor has it been reported to us that anyone before us has made such a reprehensible statement who knows the Arabic language and is proficient in it. The ancients also did not use this word in such a way as to say, "Jama'at al-mar'atu zawjaha" (the woman had intercourse with her husband). We have not heard anyone consider it correct to say, "Wati'at al-mar'atu zawjaha" (the woman had intercourse with her husband). Rather, in this context, the marriage is attributed to her, as the Arabs say « تَزَوَّجَتِ الْمَرأةُ َزَوْجَهَا » (the woman married her husband). We have not heard any Arab say that the woman had intercourse with her husband or that the woman had sexual relations with her husband. The meaning of this noble verse is as I have explained, that indeed Allah Almighty in His Book sometimes makes something unlawful for a certain time and period, and sometimes that thing remains unlawful even after that time.