Daraqutni

Ibn Shihab narrates: Once, Umar bin Abdul Aziz was sitting on the pulpit (i.e., delivering a sermon) and he delayed the Asr prayer a little. So Urwah bin Zubair spoke up: Jibreel (peace be upon him) informed the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the timings of the prayer. Umar bin Abdul Aziz said to him: "Try to understand what you are saying." So Urwah said: I heard Bashir bin Abu Mas'ud narrate this, he says: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate this, he said: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: "Once Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended and informed me about the timings of the prayer. I prayed with him, then I prayed the next prayer with him, then I prayed the next prayer with him. He counted the five prayers on his fingers." (Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Ansari [may Allah be pleased with him] narrates:) I remember about the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he would perform the Zuhr prayer when the sun had declined, but when the heat was intense, he would delay this prayer. I saw him perform the Asr prayer when the sun was high and bright, there was no yellowness in it yet (i.e., the sunlight had not faded), and a person could reach Dhul-Hulaifah before sunset after performing the prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform the Maghrib prayer when the sun had set. He (peace be upon him) would perform the Isha prayer when the horizon had become dark, and sometimes he (peace be upon him) would delay it so that people could gather. (The narrator says: In one narration, these words are present:) Sometimes the Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform the Fajr prayer in darkness and sometimes in brightness, but then after that, he (peace be upon him) started performing it only in darkness, and this remained his practice until his passing. He never performed this prayer in brightness again.

The same narration is also transmitted with another chain, however, in it are these words: When you performed the Asr prayer, the sun would be bright and high; if a person walked, after finishing the prayer he could reach Dhul-Hulaifah, which was at a distance of six miles, and he could reach there before the sun set. In this narration, these words are also present: The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness, then on some days he would also perform it in light (but after that, he adopted the practice of performing it in darkness). Never again did he perform this prayer in light, and this remained his practice until his passing.

Ziyad bin Abdullah Nakhai narrates: We were sitting with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in the Great Mosque. At that time, Kufa was a settlement of huts. The muezzin came to him and said, "Commander of the Faithful! The time for Asr prayer has come." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Sit down." He sat down. He repeated the same request again, so Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Will this donkey teach us the Sunnah?" Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, led us in the Asr prayer, and after finishing the prayer, returned and sat in the same place where he had been sitting before. Then we rose on our knees to check whether the sun had set or not. The narrator of this narration, Ziyad bin Abdullah Nakhai, is unknown; only a narrator named Abbas has transmitted this narration from him.

Abdul Wahid bin Nafi narrates: I entered the mosque of Madinah Munawwarah when the muezzin gave the adhan for Asr prayer. The narrator states that there was an elderly man sitting there who reproached the muezzin and said: "My father told me that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to instruct to delay this prayer." The narrator says: I inquired about this elderly man, and people informed me: This is Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rafi' bin Khudayj (i.e., the son of the Companion of the Messenger, Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khudayj). Imam Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This son of Sayyiduna Rafi' is not strong (in narration). The narrator named Musa bin Isma'il, while transmitting this narration, mentioned: His kunyah was Abu Rimah, and likewise, there is a difference regarding his name; some narrators have reported his name as Abdur Rahman.

It is narrated about Abdur Rahman bin Rafi: Once the muezzin gave the call to prayer (adhan) for Asr, and he gave the adhan a little early. So Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Rafi rebuked him and said: "Woe to you! My father (who was a companion of the Messenger) told me this: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed the people to perform the Asr prayer with delay." This narration is also transmitted with some other chains, while from some other companions the opposite is narrated, which proves that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed to perform the Asr prayer early. The correct narration regarding Sayyiduna Rafi bin Khadij is as follows (below).

Abu Najashi reports: Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith to me. He said: We used to perform the 'Asr prayer with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then after that a camel would be sacrificed, its meat would be divided into ten portions, then it would be cooked, and before the sun set we would eat the roasted meat. The narrator named Abu Najashi is 'Ata bin Suhaib; he is trustworthy and well-known. He served Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij for six years. 'Ikrimah bin 'Ammar, Imam Awza'i, Ayyub, and others have narrated hadiths from him. The narration transmitted by this narrator from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij is better than the narration transmitted by the narrator named 'Abdul Wahid from the son of Sayyiduna Rafi'. And Allah knows best.

Urwah reports: I heard Sayyiduna Bashir bin Abu Mas’ud narrate: Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported about the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): When he performed the ‘Asr prayer, the sun would still be bright and high; a person finishing the prayer could reach Dhu’l-Hulayfah, which was six miles away, before the sun set.

Sayyiduna Rafi‘ bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Shall I not tell you about the prayer of a hypocrite? He keeps delaying the ‘Asr prayer until, like the pecking of a cow, he performs it.” Similarly, Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) and other noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) have narrated from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the hadith regarding offering the ‘Asr prayer early.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform the ‘Asr prayer when the sun was still high and bright, and a person could go to a suburb of Madinah and reach there, and the sun would still be high. The suburb of Madinah was at a distance of six miles. This narration is also transmitted from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) through some other narrators.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform the ‘Asr prayer, then a person would go to Quba. One narrator has reported these words: When that person would reach there, the people would still be performing the prayer. Another narrator has reported these words: At that time, the sun would still be high.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I performed the Asr prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the sun was still bright. Then I came to my family, and they were sitting there. I said: "Why are you sitting? Perform the prayer, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has already performed the prayer."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the ‘Asr prayer while the sun was still bright and shining. Then I came to my family, who were sitting at the outskirts of Madinah, and they had not yet performed the prayer. I said: “Why are you sitting? Get up and perform the prayer, for the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has already performed the prayer.”

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Among the Ansar, the house of Sayyiduna Abu Lubabah was the farthest, which was in Quba, and the house of Abu Umays, which was in the locality of Banu Harithah. Both of these individuals used to perform prayer following the lead of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then would reach their respective places, and the people there had not yet performed the prayer. The reason for this was that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform this prayer quickly.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Shall I not tell you about the prayer of a hypocrite? He keeps looking at the sun until, when the sun becomes yellow and is between the two horns of Satan, that person stands up and pecks four times, and in that prayer he remembers Allah very little."

This same narration is also transmitted with another chain of narration from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform the Asr prayer while sunlight would still remain in my chamber and the shadow would not have declined.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I performed the Asr prayer behind the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). When he finished the prayer, a man from the Banu Salamah tribe said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have a camel and I want to sacrifice it. I wish that you would also be present there." So the Prophet (peace be upon him) set out from there and we also went along. Then the camel was sacrificed and it was prepared for us, and before the sun had set, we had eaten its meat. (Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, says) We used to perform the Asr prayer behind the Prophet (peace be upon him), and after that, a person could cover a distance of six miles before the sun would set.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) led us in the ‘Asr prayer. When we finished the prayer, a man from the Banu Salamah came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, we want to sacrifice a camel and we wish that you (peace be upon him) would also come there. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Alright." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went, and we also went with him. There we found that the camel had not yet been sacrificed. Then it was sacrificed, then its meat was prepared, then it was cooked, and before the sun set, we had eaten it.

Abu Qilabah says: The Asr prayer is named so because it is squeezed out.

Khalid Hadhdha reports: Hasan al-Basri, Ibn Sirin, and Abu Qilabah used to perform 'Asr prayer late.

Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah says: The 'Asr prayer is named so because it is squeezed out.

Once, Tawus performed the Asr prayer late. When he was spoken to about this, he said: It is called 'Asr' because it is squeezed out.

Abdur Rahman bin Yazid narrates: Sayyiduna Abdullah used to offer the Asr prayer with delay.