عن زيد بن ثابت: أنهم تسحروا مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم قاموا إلى الصلاة، قلت: كم بينهما؟ قال: قدر خمسين أو ستين، يعني آية
”Zaid bin Thabit (رضی اللہ عنہ) narrated that they had Sahur (pre-dawn meal) with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Then he and his companions stood up for prayer. I (Qatadah, the follower) asked him (Anas رضي اللہ عنہ), ‘How much time was there between the Sahur and the prayer?’ He replied, ‘About the time it takes to recite fifty or sixty verses (of the Quran).’”
[Sahih Bukhari: 1/81, Hadith 575; and the wording is his, Sahih Muslim: 1/350]
Benefits:
- From this Hadith, it is evident that Fajr prayer should be performed early and in darkness.[Sahih Bukhari 1/82 Hadith 578; Sahih Muslim 1/230 Hadith 245]In a Hadith of Aisha (رضی اللہ عنہا), it is mentioned that they used to pray Fajr with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). When the prayer ended, they would return to their homes, and in the darkness, no one could recognize them or the women of the believers.
- The narration in Tirmidhi states:أسفروا بالفجر فإنه أعظم للأجر“Perform the Fajr prayer when it is light because it brings a greater reward.”[Hadith 154]This narration is abrogated by the Hadith which states:نبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وفات تک فجر کی نماز اندھیرے میں پڑھتے رہے ہیں"The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) continued to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness until his death."ثم كانت صلاته بعد ذلك التغليس حتى مات ولم يعد إلى أن يسفر"After that, his (صلى الله عليه وسلم) prayer was in darkness until he passed away, and he never performed the prayer in the light."[Sunan Abi Dawood: 1/23 Hadith 394, its chain is authentic; An-Nasikh wal-Mansukh by Al-Hazimi p. 77]
This narration is considered authentic by Ibn Khuzaymah [Vol. 1, p. 181, Hadith 352], Ibn Hibban [Al-Ihsan: Vol. 3, p. 5, Hadith 1446], Al-Hakim [1/192, 193], and Al-Khatabi. The Hadith of Usama bin Zaid al-Laythi is of Hasan grade. See Siyar A’lam an-Nubala [2/343] and others, indicating that Usama's narration is Hasan (good). - Sayyidina Umar (رضی اللہ عنہ) said:وصل الصبح والنجوم بادية مشتبكة إلخ“Perform the Fajr prayer when the stars are clearly visible and intertwined.”[Muwatta Imam Malik 1/7 Hadith 6, its chain is authentic]
In another narration, Sayyidina Umar (رضی اللہ عنہ) said:والصبح بغلس“And perform the Fajr prayer in darkness.”[As-Sunan al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi 1/456, its chain is Hasan, Harith bin Umar al-Hudhali’s narrations are of Hasan grade]
Contrary to this command of Umar (رضی اللہ عنہ), Deobandi and Barelvi scholars perform the Fajr prayer in bright light and then claim to follow the traditions of the rightly-guided caliphs. سبحان الله! - Imam Tirmidhi states:وهو الذى اختاره غير واحد من أهل العلم من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم منهم أبو بكر و عمر و من بعدهم من التابعين، وبه يقول الشافعي و أحمد و إسحاق يستحبون التغليس بصلوة الفجر“Many of the scholars from among the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) have chosen this, including Abu Bakr and Umar (رضی اللہ عنہما) and after them the followers. Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq (bin Rahwayh) also said this. They preferred to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness.”[Sunan Tirmidhi under Hadith 153]
Note: There is no explicit action of Sayyidina Abu Bakr (رضی اللہ عنہ) in this matter with an authentic chain. Also, see Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar by Al-Tahawi [1/181, 182] والله أعلم. - Sayyidina Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and Sayyidina Abdullah bin Zubair (رضی اللہ عنہما) used to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness. See Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah [1/320 Hadith 3239, its chain is authentic; Hadith 3240, its chain is authentic].
The caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz (رحمه الله) issued a command to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness. See Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah [1/320 Hadith 3237, its chain is authentic]. - Sayyidina Umar (رضی اللہ عنہ) instructed Sayyidina Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (رضی اللہ عنہ) to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness and to recite long.[Al-Awsat by Ibn al-Mundhir 2/375, its chain is authentic; Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar 1/181; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 1/320 Hadith 3235]