Times of Prayer

that he visited Anas bin Malik at Damascus and found him weeping and asked him why he was weeping. He replied, "I do not know anything which I used to know during the life-time of Allah's Apostle except this prayer which is being lost (not offered as it should be)."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whenever anyone of you offers his prayer he is speaking in private to his Lord. So he should not spit to his right but under his left foot." Qatada said, "He should not spit in front of him but to his left or under his feet." And Shu`ba said, "He should not spit in front of him, nor to his right but to his left or under his foot." Anas said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He should neither spit in the direction of his Qibla nor to his right but to his left or under his foot."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever misses the `Asr prayer (intentionally) then it is as if he lost his family and property."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night. They worked till midday and they said, 'We are not in need of your reward.' So the man employed another batch and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed (for the first batch). They worked until the time of the `Asr prayer and said, 'Whatever we have done is for you.' He employed another batch. They worked for the rest of the day till sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches."

We used to pray the Maghrib prayer with the Prophet (ﷺ) when the sun disappeared from the horizon.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whenever you hear the Adhan, say what the Mu'adh-dhin is saying.

When any one amongst you squats for answering the call of nature, he should neither turn his face towards the Qibla nor turn his back towards it.

I went up to the roof of the house of my sister Hafsa and saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) relieving himself facing Syria. with his back to the Qibla.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: None of you should hold penis with his right hand while urinating, or wipe himself with his right hand in privy and should not breathe into the vessel (from which he drinks).

When anyone amongst you enters the privy he should not touch his penis with his right hand.

Bakr reported that he had heard from the son of Mughira that verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed ablution and wiped over his forehead and wiped over his turban and over his socks.

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray while on his animal when he was coming back from Makkah to Madinah. Concerning this, the verse was revealed: So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah.'" [1] [1] Al-Baqarah 2:115.

"Sayyar bin Salamah, narrated to us, he said: 'I heard my father ask Abu Barzah about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' I said: 'Did you really hear him?' He said: 'As I can hear you now.' He said: 'I heard my father ask about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' He said: 'He would not mind if he delayed it - meaning 'Isha' until midnight, and he did not like to sleep before it or speak after it.'" Shu'bah said: "Then I met him later on and asked him. He said: 'He used to pray Zauhr when the sun had passed its zenith, and (he would pray) 'Asr and a man could walk to the farthest point in Al-Madinah and the sun would still be clear and hot. And Maghrib, I do not know the time he mentioned.' After that I met him and asked him, and he said: 'He used to pray Fajr then after the prayer a man could regarding it, sitting next to him, look at the face of someone he knew and he could recognize it.' He said: 'And he used to recite in it between sixty and one hundred (verses).'"

"We prayed at the time of 'Umar bin 'Abdul-'Aziz, then we went to Anas bin Malik and found him praying. when he finished he said to us: 'Have you prayed?' We said: 'We prayed Zuhr.' He said: 'I prayed 'Asr.' They said: 'You have prayed early.' He said: 'Rather I prayed as I saw my companions pray.'"

"A man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked him about the times of prayer. He said: 'Stay with us for these two days.' Then he told Bilal to say the Iqamah at dawn and he prayed Fajr. Then he told him to do that when the sun had passed its zenith and he prayed Zuhr. Then he told him to do that when the sun was still bright, and he said the Iqamah for 'Asr. Then he told him to do that when the last part of the sun had dissapeared, and he said the Iqamah for Maghrib. Then he told him to do that when the twilight had disappeared and he said the Iqamah for 'Isha'. The following day, he prayed Fajr when there was light, then he delayed Zuhr until it was cooler, and waited until it was much cooler before praying 'Asr but the sun was still clear, so he prayed 'Asr later than on the first day. Then he prayed Maghrib before the twilight disappeared. Then he told him to say the Iqamah for 'Isha' when one-third of the night had passed, and he prayed, then he said: 'Where is the one who was asking about the times of prayer? The times of your prayer are between the times you have seen.'"

"Sometimes he (Qatadah, his teacher) narrated it as a Marfu' report and sometimes he did not" - "The time for Zuhr prayer is until 'Asr comes, and the time for 'Asr prayer is until the sun turns yellow. the time for Maghrib is until the twilight disappears, and the time for 'Isha' is until the night is halfway through, and the time for Subh is until the sun rises."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Gabriel (ﷺ) led me in prayer at the House (i.e. the Ka'bah). He prayed the noon prayer with me when the sun had passed the meridian to the extent of the thong of a sandal; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when the shadow of everything was as long as itself; he prayed the sunset prayer with me when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when the twilight had ended; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when food and drink become forbidden to one who is keeping the fast.

On the following day he prayed the noon prayer with me when his shadow was as long as himself; he prayed the afternoon prayer with me when his shadow was twice as long as himself; he prayed the sunset prayer at the time when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he prayed the night prayer with me when about the third of the night had passed; and he prayed the dawn prayer with me when there was a fair amount of light.

Then turning to me he said: Muhammad, this is the time observed by the prophets before you, and the time is anywhere between two times.

Umar b. 'Abdul 'Aziz was sitting on the pulpit and he somewhat postponed the afternoon prayer. 'Urwah b. al-Zubair said to him: "Gabriel informed Muhammed (ﷺ) of the time of prayer". So 'Umar said to him: "Be sure of what you are saying". 'Urwah then replied: "I heard Bashir b. Abu Mas'ud say that he heard Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari say that he heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Gabriel came down and informed me of the time of prayer, and I prayed along with him, then prayed along with him, then I prayed along with him, then I prayed along with him, then I prayed along with him, reckoning with his fingers five times of the prayer.' I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offering the Duhr prayer when the sun had passed the meridian. Sometimes he would delay it when it was sever heat ; and I witnessed that he prayer the 'Asr prayer when the sun was high and bright before the yellowness had overcome it; then a man could go off after the prayer and reach Dhu'l-Hulaifah before the sunset, and he would pray Maghrib when the sun had set ; and he would pray the 'Isha prayer when darkness prevailed over the horizon; sometime he would delay it until the people assembled; and once he prayer the fair prayer in the darkness of dawn and at another time he prayed it when it became fairly light; but later on he continued to pray in the darkness of dawn until his death; he never prayed it again in the light of the dawn."

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted from al-Zuhri by Ma'mar, Malik, Ibn 'Uyainah, Shu'aib b. Abi Hamzah, and al-Laith b. Sa'd and others; but they did not mention the time in which he (the Prophet) had prayer, nor did they explain it. And similarly it has been narrated by Hisham b. 'Urwah and Habib b. Abu Mazruq from 'Urwah like the report of Ma'mar and his companions. But Habib did not make a mention of Bashir. And Wahb b. Kaisan reported on the authority of Jabir from the Prophet (ﷺ) the time of the Maghrib prayer. He said: "Next day he (Gabriel) came to him at the time of the Maghrib prayer when the sun had already set. (He came both days) at the same time."

Abu Dawud said: Similarly, this tradition has been transmitted by Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: "Then he (Gabriel) led me in the sunset prayer next day at the same time."

Similarly, this tradition has been narrated through a different chain by 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr b. al-'As, through a chain from Hassan b. 'Atiyyah, from 'Amr b. Shu'aib, from his father, on the authority from the Prophet (ﷺ).

We were in the company of the Prophet (ﷺ). The mu'adhdhin intended to call for the Zuhr prayer. He said: Make it cooler. He then intended to call for prayer. He said twice or thrice: Make it cooler. We then witnessed the shadow of the mounds. He then said: The intensity of heat comes from the bubbling over of the Hell ; so when the heat is violent, offer (the Zuhr) prayer when it becomes cooler.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would offer the Zuhr prayer while the sunlight was present in her apartment before it ascended (the walls).

[He said:] There are narrations on this topic from 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, and Wathilah bin AI-Asqa.

the Prophet said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) led me (in Salat) twice at the House. So he prayed Zuhr the first time when the shadow was similar to (the length of) the strap a sandal. Then he prayed Asr when everything was similar (to the length of) its shadow. Then he prayed Maghrib when the sun had set and the fasting person breaks fast. Then he prayed Isha when the twilight had vanished. Then he prayed Fajr when Fajr (dawn) began, and when eating is prohibited for the fasting person. The second time he prayed Zuhr when the shadow of everything was similar to (the length of) it, at the time of Asr the day before. Then he prayed Asr when the shadow of everything was about twice as long as it. Then he prayed Maghrib at the same time as he did the first time. Then he prayed Isha, the later one, when a third of the night had gone. Then he prayed Subh when the land glowed. Then Jibril turned towards me and said: "O Muhammad! These are the times of the Prophets before you, and the (best) time is what is between these two times."

Allah's Messenger said: "Indeed for (the time of) Salat (there is a) beginning and an end. The beginning of the time for the Zuhr prayer is when the sun passes the zenith, and the end of its time is when the time for Asr enters. The beginning of the time for the Asr [prayer] is when its time enters, and the end of its time is when the sun yellows (turns pale). The beginning of the time of Maghrib is when the sun as set, and the end of its time is when the twilight has vanished (i.e., the horizon is invisible because of darkness). The beginning of the time for Isha, the later one, is when the horizon has vanished, and the end of its time is when the night is at its half. The beginning of the time for Fajr is when Fajr begins, and its end is when the sun rises."

"I have not seen anyone who hastened Zuhr more than Allah's Messenger nor Abu Bakr, nor Umar."

"A man came to the Prophet and asked him about the times of the prayer. He said: 'Pray with us for two days.' When the sun passed its zenith he commanded Bilal to call the Adhan, then he commanded him to give the Iqamah for Zuhr; then he commanded him to give the Iqamah for 'Asr when the sun was high and clearly white. Then he commanded him to give the Iqamah for Maghrib when the sun had set; then he commanded him to give the Iqamah for 'Isha' when the red afterglow had disappeared; then he commanded him to give the Iqamah for Fajr when dawn came. On the following day he commanded him to give the Adhan for Zuhr when the extreme heat had passed and it had cooled down; then he prayed 'Asr when the sun was still high, but he delayed it more than he had done the day before; then he prayed Maghrib before the red afterglow disappeared; he prayed 'Isha' when one-third of the night had passed; and he prayed Fajr at the time when it was already light. Then he said: 'Where is the one who was asking about the times of Prayer?' The man said: 'Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'The times of your prayer are between the times you have seen.'"

"We complained to the Messenger of Allah about the heat of the sunbaked ground, but he did not respond to our complaint."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'My Ummah will continue to adhere to the Fitrah so long as they do not delay the Maghrib until the stars have come out."

(Hasan)Abu 'Abdullah bin Majah said: I heard Muhammed bin Yahya saying: 'The people in Baghdad were confused in narrating this Hadith. Abu Bakr Al-A'yan and I went to 'Awwam bin 'Abbad bin 'Awwam and he brought out to us the book of his father, and this Hadith was in it.'"

He said, "Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi related to me from Malik ibn Anas from Ibn Shihab that one day Umar ibn Abdal-Aziz delayed the prayer. Urwa ibn az-Zubayr came and told him that al-Mughira ibn Shuba had delayed the prayer one day while he was in Kufa and Abu Masud al- Ansari had come to him and said, 'What's this, Mughira? Don't you know that the angel Jibril came down and prayed and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed.' Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed. Then Jibril said, 'This is what you have been ordered to do.' Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said, 'Be sure of what you relate, Urwa. Was it definitely Jibril who established the time of the prayer for the Messenger of Allah?' " Urwa said, "That's how it was related to Bashir ibn Abi Masud al-Ansari by his father."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Ata ibn Yasar said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked him about the time of the subh prayer. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not answer him, but in the morning he prayed subh at first light. The following morning he prayed subh when it was much lighter, and then said, 'Where is the man who was asking about the time of the prayer?' The man replied, 'Here I am, Messenger of Allah.' He said,'The time is between these two.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar and from Busr ibn Said and from al-Araj-all of whom related it from Abu Hurayra - that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whoever manages to do a raka of subh before the sun has risen has done subh in time, and whoever manages to do a raka of asr before the sun has set has done asr in time."

When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) missed the optional night Salat (Tahajjud) due to pain or any other reason, he would perform twelve Rak'ah during the day time.

[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not ask me unnecessarily about the details of the things which I do not mention to you. Verily, the people before you were doomed because they were used to putting many questions to their Prophets and had differences about their Prophets. Refrain from what I forbid you and do what I command you to the best of your ability and capacity".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Straighten your rows (during Salat) or Allah would create dissension amongst you".

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In another narration reported by Muslim, Nu'man bin Bashir (May Allah be pleased with them) narrated: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to straighten our rows (in Salat), as if he was straightening an arrow with their help until he saw that we had learnt it from him. One day he came out, stood up (for Salat) and was about to say: Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest), (marking the beginning of the prayer) when he saw a man, whose chest was bulging out from the row. He said, "Slaves of Allah, you must straighten your rows or Allah would create dissension amongst you."

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded the licking of fingers (after eating) and the cleaning of the dish, saying: "You do not know in what portion the Blessing (of Allah) lies".

[Muslim].

In another narration, Jabir said: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a morsel of any of you falls down, you should pick it up and remove any dirt or dust on it and then eat it; and don't leave it for Satan; and do not wipe your hand with the towel until you have licked your fingers, for you do not know in what portion of the food the Barakah* (of Allah) lies".

* Barakah is the Abundance of goodness and its continuity.