The time of Maghrib

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) led me in prayer twice near the House (of Allah)." He then narrated the hadith, and in it is: "Then he led me in Maghrib when those fasting had broken their fast," and on the second occasion he said: "Then he led me in Maghrib when those fasting had broken their fast."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the sun had declined and said: "O Muhammad! Stand and pray Zuhr." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and prayed Zuhr when the sun had declined. Then he waited until a man's shadow became equal to him; he came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Stand and pray Asr." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and prayed Asr. Then he waited until the sun had disappeared, and Jibril (peace be upon him) said: "Stand and pray Maghrib." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and prayed it when the sun had completely disappeared. Then he waited until the redness of twilight had gone; he came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Stand and pray Isha." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed. Then he came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) when the dawn began to spread for Subh and said: "O Muhammad! Stand and pray." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and prayed Subh. Then on the second day he came when a man's shadow had become equal to him and said: "O Muhammad! Stand and pray Zuhr." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and prayed Zuhr. Then he came when a man's shadow had become twice his length and said: "O Muhammad! Stand and pray." He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and prayed Asr. Then he came for Maghrib at one and the same time, when the sun had disappeared, and said: "Stand and pray Maghrib." Then he came for Isha when the first third of the night had passed and said: "Stand and pray Isha." Then he came for Subh when it had become very light, and Jibril (peace be upon him) said: "Stand and pray Subh." Then he said: "Between these two times is the time of prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to teach him the prayer. When the sun had declined, Jibril (peace be upon him) stepped forward, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was behind him and the people were behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he led Zuhr. Then he came when the shadow had become equal to a man's height; Jibril (peace be upon him) stepped forward, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was behind him and the people were behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he led Asr. Then he came when the sun had set; Jibril (peace be upon him) stepped forward, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was behind him and the people were behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he led Maghrib. Then he mentioned the rest of the hadith, and in it is that on the second day he came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) at one and the same time, when the sun had set. Jibril (peace be upon him) stepped forward, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was behind him and the people were behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he led Maghrib. And at its end he said: "Between the times of these two (prayers) is the time of prayer." A man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the prayer, so he led them in prayer just as Jibril (peace be upon him) had led him, and then said: "Where is the one who asked about the prayer? Between the times of the two (prayers) is the time of prayer."

Amr bin Shu'ayb (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his grandfather (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the prayers. He (peace and blessings be upon him) led Zuhr when the shadow had begun to return, led Asr when the shadow of everything had become equal to it, led Maghrib when the sun had set, led Isha when the redness of twilight had disappeared, and led Subh when the first light of dawn appeared. Then on the second day he led Zuhr when the shadow of everything had become equal to it, led Asr when the shadow of everything had become twice its length, led Maghrib when the sun had set, led Isha in a third of the night, and led Subh after it had become light. Then he said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) led me in prayer so that he may teach you that between these two times is the time of prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is Jibril (peace be upon him); he has come to teach you your religion." Then he described the times of prayer, then mentioned that he led Maghrib when the sun had set, and then, when he came the next day, he led Maghrib at the same time, when the sun had set.

Muhammad heard from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) came and led me in the prayers at two times, except for Maghrib. He came to me at Maghrib and led me in prayer at the moment the sun set; then on the second day he came to me at Maghrib and led me in prayer at the moment the sun set; he did not change it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salamah bin al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We used to pray Maghrib with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when the sun had hidden behind the veil (of the horizon).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We used to pray Maghrib in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and one of us would go back and could still see where his arrow fell.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: We used to pray Maghrib with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then we would come to Banu Salimah, and if we shot arrows we could see where they fell.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Khalid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We used to pray Maghrib with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then we would come to the market, and if we shot arrows we could see where they fell.

Marthad bin Abdullah al-Yazani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us on a military campaign, and Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) was in Egypt in those days. He delayed Maghrib, so Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) went up to him and said: "O Uqbah! What prayer is this?" He said: "We were kept busy." Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah! I would have no regret at all, except that people will think that you saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) doing (it this way), and then it will be done this way. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'My Ummah will remain upon goodness, or upon the fitrah (natural way), as long as they do not delay Maghrib until the stars appear thickly in the sky.'"

Abu Suhayl bin Malik narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him): Lead Zuhr when the sun has declined; Asr while the sun is white and clear, before any yellowness enters it; Maghrib when the sun has set; Isha as long as you have not slept; and lead Subh while the stars are still visible, and recite in it two long surahs of the Mufassal.

Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to lead Maghrib while we could see that the sun was about to set. One day we looked towards it, and he said: What are you looking at? They said: We are looking at the sun. Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah, besides whom there is no god, this is the time of this prayer. Then he said: "Establish the prayer from the declining of the sun until the darkness of the night" [Surah al-Isra: 78]; "the declining of the sun" (duluk al-shams): "This is the sun's going down."