The Explanation of Prayer Times
❀ Allah, the Most High, says:
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا
Indeed, prayer has been made obligatory upon the believers at its appointed time.
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, led the five prayers one day at their earliest times and on the next day at their latest times. Then he said: “The time for prayer is between these two times.”
❀ When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about the most virtuous deed in the sight of Allah, he said:
الصلاة فى أول وقتها
“To perform the prayer at its earliest time.”
❀ Some people delay the prayer without any valid excuse. This is not correct. Prayer has been made obligatory at its appointed time; therefore, they should perform it on time.
The Time of Fajr Prayer
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
وقت صلاة الصبح من طلوع الفجر ما لم تطلع الشمس
“The time of Fajr prayer is from the appearance of dawn until sunrise.”
❀ In the morning, two types of light appear. The first light rises straight from the earth towards the sky and does not spread. The second light rises from the earth and spreads across the horizon of the sky. After this second light appears, the time of Fajr prayer begins.
❀ Prayer should only be performed after the true dawn has clearly appeared. One should not perform the prayer after seeing the first light, otherwise that prayer will not be valid.
The instruction of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, is:
أصبحوا بالصبح، فإنه أعظم لأجوركم
“Pray Fajr when the morning has become clearly apparent, for this will bring a greater reward for you.”
Some brothers understood from this hadith that Fajr should be prayed when there is a lot of light, whereas this meaning goes against many authentic hadiths which state that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray Fajr in darkness. Sayyiduna Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
والصبح كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يصليها بغلس
“The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray the morning prayer in darkness.”
❀ Sayyiduna Abu Barzah al-Aslami, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
كان ينفتل من صلاة الغداة حين يعرف الرجل جليسه، ويقرأ بالستين إلى المائة
“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, would recite between sixty and one hundred verses in the Fajr prayer, and when he finished, a person could recognize the one sitting beside him.”
If a person manages to pray one rak‘ah before sunrise, he receives the reward of having prayed on time. The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
من أدرك من الصبح ركعة قبل أن تطلع الشمس فقد أدرك الصبح
“Whoever catches one rak‘ah of Fajr before the sun rises has caught Fajr.”
The Time of Zuhr Prayer
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
وقت الظهر إذا زالت الشمس وكان ظل الرجل كطوله
“The time of Zuhr is when the sun has passed its zenith until a man’s shadow becomes equal to his height, apart from the original shadow.”
❀ Some people say that the time of Zuhr begins after the shadow of everything becomes equal to it. This statement is against the authentic hadith, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, would pray Zuhr as soon as the sun had passed its zenith.
❀ However, in extremely hot weather, Zuhr should be performed when it becomes slightly cooler, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
إذا اشتد الحر فأبردوا بالصلاة
“When the heat becomes intense, then delay the prayer slightly until it becomes cooler.”
❀ Regarding delaying Zuhr slightly in summer, Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the estimate of the Messenger of Allah’s Zuhr prayer was that in summer the shadow would be between three and five steps, and in winter between five and seven steps. Meaning, it should not be prayed immediately as soon as the sun declines; rather, it should be delayed slightly.
❀ The ruling of delaying Zuhr slightly in summer is not specific to travel; rather, the same ruling applies while resident as well.
The Method of Determining the Original Shadow
❀ Before the sun passes its zenith, a stick should be fixed into an open and level piece of ground. The shadow of this stick will gradually begin to decrease, until at the time of zenith it becomes as short as possible. This shadow should be measured. When the shadow begins to increase in the opposite direction, this is a sign that the time of zenith has occurred. Then when the shadow increases so much that it becomes equal to the stick, after excluding the shadow that was measured at the time of zenith, that will be the time of one equal shadow.
Another method mentioned is that before midday, one or two handspans of ground should be levelled, and a straight line should be drawn on it from north to south. A compass may be used to guide this line. Then a straight stick should be fixed at the southern point of this line. Since this will be before midday, the shadow of the stick will not be exactly on this line; rather, it will be slightly inclined towards the west. Then it will gradually begin to come onto this line until it comes exactly upon it. At that time, mark the end of the shadow and measure this shadow with another stick, and keep that measure preserved. This will be the exact time of midday. After this, the shadow will begin to grow towards the east. This will be the beginning time of Zuhr. Then, as the shadow continues to grow, when it extends beyond the mark of the original shadow by an amount equal to the stick with which the original shadow was measured, that will be the ending time of Zuhr and the beginning time of Asr.
The Time of Asr Prayer
❀ The time of Asr prayer is from when the shadow of everything becomes equal to it until the sun becomes yellow. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
وقت الظهر إذا زالت الشمس وكان ظل الرجل كطوله، ما لم تحضر العصر، ووقت العصر ما لم تصفر الشمس
“The time of Zuhr begins when the sun has passed its zenith and remains until a man’s shadow becomes equal to his height, as long as the time of Asr has not arrived; and the time of Asr remains until the sun becomes yellow.”
❀ Sayyidah Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, would pray Asr at a time when the sun was so high that it seemed as though it was still inside my chamber and had not gone outside.”
❀ Sayyiduna Buraydah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, performed Asr prayer while the sun was clear, with no yellowishness mixed in it at all, and it was still high.
❀ If one rak‘ah is performed before sunset, then the reward of praying on time is obtained. The statement of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, is:
من أدرك ركعة من العصر قبل أن تغرب الشمس فقد أدرك العصر
“Whoever catches one rak‘ah of Asr before the sun sets has caught Asr.”
❀ Delaying Asr prayer until its last time without reason is a sign of a hypocrite. The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
تلك صلاة المنافق، يجلس يرقب الشمس، حتى إذا كانت بين قرني الشيطان، قام فنقرها أربعا
“That is the prayer of the hypocrite: he sits watching the sun, until when it is between the two horns of Satan, he stands and pecks four times.”
The Time of Maghrib Prayer
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
وقت صلاة المغرب إذا غابت الشمس، ما لم يسقط الشفق
“The time of Maghrib prayer is from when the sun has set until the redness after sunset disappears.”
❀ Sayyiduna Rafi‘ ibn Khadij, may Allah be pleased with him, said: We used to pray Maghrib with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, and after the prayer there would still be enough light that if one of us went and shot an arrow, he could see where it landed.
❀ Jibril, peace be upon him, led the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, in Maghrib prayer at the same time on both days, meaning at the earliest time.
The Time of Isha Prayer
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
وقت صلاة العشاء إلى نصف الليل الأوسط
“The time of Isha prayer is until the exact middle of the night.”
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, liked to perform Isha prayer later.
❀ One day, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, led Isha prayer when part of the night had passed. Then he said:
لولا أن أشق على أمتي لأمرتهم أن يصلوها هكذا
“If it were not difficult for my ummah, I would have commanded them to pray it like this,” meaning later.
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, would take the worshippers into consideration in Isha prayer. If the people gathered early, he would lead the congregation early; and if the people delayed, he would lead the congregation later.
Areas Where Day and Night Differ From the Normal Pattern
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said while mentioning the Dajjal:
He will remain in the world for forty days. The first day will be equal to one year, the second day equal to one month, the third day equal to one week, and the remaining days will be like normal days.
The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, asked: On the day that is equal to a year, will one day’s prayer, meaning five prayers, be enough for us? He, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: No, rather estimate the prayers within it and continue to perform them.
From this, it is established that in countries where time differs from the normal pattern, meaning places where there are six months of day and six months of night, or more or less than that, people should estimate and perform the five prayers every day. Countries where day and night differ from the normal pattern are of two types. In some areas, there is a slight difference between day and night through a small amount of light; in such places, prayer times will be determined according to that difference. In some areas, there is no difference at all between day and night; in such places, the prayer times should be determined according to the nearest area where day and night follow the normal pattern.
The Forbidden Times for Prayer
❀ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
صل صلاة الصبح، ثم أقصر عن الصلاة حتى تطلع الشمس حتى ترتفع ثم صل، فإن الصلاة مشهودة محضورة، حتى يستقل الظل بالرمح، ثم أقصر عن الصلاة فإن حينئذ تسحر جهنم، فإذا أقبل الفيء فصل، فإن الصلاة مشهودة محضورة، حتى تصلى العصر، ثم أقصر عن الصلاة حتى تغرب الشمس
“Pray the Fajr prayer, then refrain from prayer until the sun rises and becomes high. Then pray, for the prayer at that time is witnessed and attended by the angels. Then when, at midday, the shadow of a spear comes to its head, refrain from prayer, because at that time Hell is kindled. Then when the shadow begins to move forward, pray, for the prayer at that time is witnessed and attended by the angels, until you pray Asr. Then refrain from prayer until the sun sets.”
Meaning, prayer is forbidden at three times:
➊ When the sun is rising, until it has fully risen.
➋ At midday, from when the sun is exactly overhead until it passes the zenith.
➌ From when the sun begins to set until it has completely set.
❀ However, after Asr, if the sun is high and clear, then voluntary prayer is permitted. Sayyidah Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
ما ترك النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم السجدتين بعد العصر عندي ما قط
“The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, never left the two rak‘ahs after Asr in my house.”
❀ Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن صلاة بعد العصر إلا أن تكون الشمس بيضاء نقية مرتفعة
“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, forbade prayer after Asr, except when the sun is white, clear, and high.”
If Fajr prayer becomes delayed to the point that the sun begins to rise, then one should refrain from prayer until the sun has fully risen. Similarly, if Asr becomes delayed to the point that the sun begins to set, then one should refrain from prayer until the sun has completely set. The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
إذا بدا حاجب الشمس، فأخروا الصلاة حتى تبرز، وإذا غاب حاجب الشمس، فأخروا الصلاة حتى تغيب
“When the edge of the sun begins to appear, delay the prayer until it has fully emerged; and when the edge of the sun begins to disappear, delay the prayer until it has fully disappeared.”
❀ On Friday, it is permissible to come to the mosque at the time of zenith and pray. Details may be seen in the chapter on Jumu‘ah.
❀ In the Haram of Makkah, there is no forbidden time. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said:
لا تمنعوا أحدا يطوف بهذا البيت ويصلي أى ساعة شاء من ليل أو نهار
“Do not prevent anyone from performing tawaf around this House and praying at any hour he wishes, whether by night or by day.”
❀ If one begins the prayer at the correct time and then the forbidden time begins, he should complete the prayer.
