The Beginning Time of Ẓuhr Prayer in Light of Hadith
Taken from: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
When does the first time for Ẓuhr prayer begin?
❖ Answer:
The time for Ẓuhr prayer begins immediately after the sun passes its zenith (zawāl).
Evidence from Hadith and Athar
❀ ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (RA):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"The time for Ẓuhr begins when the sun passes the zenith."
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 612)
❀ Anas ibn Mālik (RA):
"When we prayed Ẓuhr behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in intense heat, we would prostrate upon our garments to avoid the scorching ground."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 542; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 620)
❀ Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (RA):
"We complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the extreme heat during (Ẓuhr) prayer, but he did not accept our complaint."
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 619)
❀ ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA):
He wrote to Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī (RA):
"Pray Ẓuhr when the sun has declined (from its zenith)."
(Muwaṭṭa’ Mālik, 1/7 – with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
❀ From the Tābi‘ī Suwayd ibn Ghaflah:
He used to pray Ẓuhr right at zawāl. Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf told him not to pray before the authorities. Suwayd replied:
"I prayed it this way with Abū Bakr and ‘Umar (RA). Death is closer to me than delaying the prayer."
(Kitāb al-Ṣalāh by Abū Nu‘aym, p. 344; Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, 1/323 – with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
❀ Abū Hurayrah (RA):
He said:
"When the sun declines from midday and the shadow is the length of a sandal strap, then Ẓuhr has begun."
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, 1/323 – with a ṣaḥīḥ chain)
Scholarly Consensus
❀ Imām Ibn Ruslān (844 AH):
"The beginning of Ẓuhr is immediately after zawāl, by consensus of the jurists."
(Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 3/110)
Conclusion:The first time of Ẓuhr prayer begins right after the sun passes its zenith. This is supported by clear aḥādīth and the ijmā‘ of the fuqahā’.
