Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)

Al-Awza‘i said: Delaying the afternoon prayer means that you see the sunlight on the ground turning yellow.

Al-Awza‘i said: Delaying the afternoon prayer means that you see the sunlight on the ground turning yellow.

Al-Awza‘i said: Delaying the afternoon prayer means that you see the sunlight on the ground turning yellow.

Al-Awza‘i said: Delaying the afternoon prayer means that you see the sunlight on the ground turning yellow.

ʿAbd Allah ibn Maslamah narrated to us: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar ibn Ghanim narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad—meaning al-Ifriqi—who heard Ziyad ibn Nuʿaym al-Hadrami, who heard Ziyad ibn al-Harith al-Sudaʿi say: At the first call for the dawn prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered me to call it, and I did. I kept asking: ‘Shall I establish the iqamah, Messenger of Allah?’ He kept looking east toward the dawn and saying: ‘No,’ until dawn broke. He came down and went out, then returned to me when his Companions had gathered—meaning, he performed ablution. Bilal wanted to establish the iqamah, but the Prophet of Allah said to him: ‘The brother of Sudaʿ has called the adhan; whoever calls the adhan is the one to establish the iqamah.’ So I established it.

Talhah ibn Ubayd Allah said: A man from Najd, with disheveled hair, came to the Messenger of Allah. His voice could be heard but his words could not be understood until he came close. He was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allah said: “Five prayers each day and night.” The man asked: “Must I do anything else?” He replied: “No, unless you do so voluntarily.” The Messenger of Allah mentioned fasting the month of Ramadan. The man asked: “Must I do anything else?” He replied: “No, unless you do so voluntarily.” He mentioned the obligatory charity. The man asked: “Must I do anything else?” He replied: “No, unless you do so voluntarily.” The man turned away, saying: “By Allah, I will neither add anything to this nor fall short of it.” The Messenger of Allah said: “He will prosper if he is truthful.”

This report was also transmitted by Abu Suhayl, Nafi ibn Malik ibn Abi Amir, through the same chain. It adds: “He will prosper, by his father, if he is truthful; he will enter Paradise, by his father, if he is truthful.”

Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “Gabriel led me in prayer twice at the House. The first day he prayed the noon prayer with me when the sun had passed the meridian by about the length of a sandal strap; the afternoon prayer when an object’s shadow was equal to its length; the sunset prayer when the fasting person breaks the fast; the night prayer when twilight disappeared; and the dawn prayer when food and drink became forbidden to the fasting person. The next day he prayed the noon prayer when an object’s shadow equaled its length, the afternoon prayer when it was twice its length, the sunset prayer when the fasting person breaks the fast, the night prayer up to a third of the night, and the dawn prayer when it became light. Then he turned to me and said: ‘Muhammad, these are the prayer times of the prophets before you; the time is between these two limits.’”

Ibn Shihab said: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was sitting on the pulpit and delayed the afternoon prayer somewhat. Urwah ibn al-Zubayr said to him: “Gabriel informed Muhammad of the prayer times.” Umar told him: “Be careful what you say.” Urwah replied: “I heard Bashir ibn Abi Masud say that he heard Abu Masud al-Ansari say: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘Gabriel came down and taught me the prayer times, and I prayed with him’”—he counted five prayers on his fingers. “I saw the Messenger of Allah pray noon after the sun passed the meridian, sometimes delaying it when the heat was intense. I saw him pray afternoon while the sun was high and white, before it turned yellow; a man could finish the prayer and reach Dhu al-Hulayfah before sunset. He prayed sunset just as the sun set, and night when the horizon grew dark, sometimes delaying it until people gathered. Once he prayed dawn in the dark, and another time when it had grown light; after that he continued praying it in the dark until he died and did not return to praying it when it had grown light.’” Abu Dawud said: Ma‘mar, Malik, Ibn Uyaynah, Shu‘ayb ibn Abi Hamzah, al-Layth ibn Sa‘d, and others transmitted this from al-Zuhri without mentioning or explaining the times. Hisham ibn Urwah and Habib ibn Abi Marzuq likewise reported it from Urwah in the manner of Ma‘mar and his companions, but Habib did not mention Bashir. Wahb ibn Kaysan reported from Jabir, from the Prophet, the time of sunset prayer: Gabriel came the next day at the same time, after sunset. Abu Dawud said: Abu Hurayrah likewise reported from the Prophet that Gabriel led him in sunset prayer the next day at the same time. It was also reported by Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As, through Hassan ibn Atiyyah, from Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet.

Abu Musa reported: A man asked the Prophet about the prayer times, but the Prophet did not answer him until he ordered Bilal to call the dawn prayer when daybreak appeared. He prayed when a man could not recognize his companion’s face—or could not tell who was beside him. Then he ordered Bilal to call the noon prayer after the sun passed the meridian, so late that someone said, “Has midday arrived?”—though he knew best. He ordered Bilal to call afternoon prayer while the sun was high and white, sunset prayer when the sun had set, and night prayer when twilight disappeared. The next day he prayed dawn and left while we wondered whether the sun had risen. He prayed noon at the time he had prayed afternoon the day before, and afternoon when the sun had yellowed—or, according to another wording, when evening had come. He prayed sunset before twilight disappeared and night up to a third of the night. Then he said: “Where is the man who asked about the prayer times? The time is between these two limits.” Abu Dawud said: Sulayman ibn Musa reported a similar account about sunset prayer from Ata, from Jabir, from the Prophet. This version says that he then prayed night prayer; some reports say up to a third of the night and others up to half. Ibn Buraydah likewise reported it from his father, from the Prophet.

Abd Allah ibn Amr reported that the Prophet said: “The time for noon prayer lasts until afternoon prayer begins; the time for afternoon prayer lasts until the sun yellows; the time for sunset prayer lasts until twilight disappears; the time for night prayer extends to midnight; and the time for dawn prayer lasts until sunrise.”

Muhammad ibn Amr ibn al-Hasan said: We asked Jabir about the time when the Messenger of Allah prayed. He said: “He used to pray noon in the midday heat, afternoon while the sun was still bright, sunset when the sun had set, night early when many people were present and later when there were few, and dawn in the darkness.”

Abu Barzah said: The Messenger of Allah used to pray noon after the sun passed the meridian. He would pray afternoon at such a time that one of us could go to the farthest part of Medina and return while the sun was still bright. I forgot what he said about sunset. He did not mind delaying night prayer until a third of the night—or, he said, until half the night. He disliked sleeping before it and talking afterward. He would pray dawn while none of us could recognize a companion whom he knew well, and he would recite sixty to a hundred verses in it.

Jabir ibn Abd Allah said: I would pray the noon prayer with the Messenger of Allah. I would take a handful of pebbles and hold them until they cooled, then place them down and prostrate on them because of the intense heat.

Al-Aswad reported that Abd Allah ibn Masud said: The length of the shadow when the Messenger of Allah prayed was three to five feet in summer and five to seven feet in winter.

Abu Dharr said: We were with the Prophet, and the caller wanted to call the noon prayer. He said: “Let it cool.” The caller wanted to call again, and he said “Let it cool” two or three times, until we saw the shadows of the hills. Then he said: “The intensity of heat comes from the breath of Hell. When the heat is severe, delay the prayer until it is cooler.”

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “When the heat is severe, delay the prayer until it is cooler.” Ibn Mawhab’s version adds: “Delay the prayer, for intense heat comes from the breath of Hell.”

Jabir ibn Samurah reported that Bilal used to call the noon prayer when the sun had passed the meridian.

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah used to pray afternoon while the sun was high, bright, and still strong. A person would go to al-Awali and arrive while the sun was still high.