Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 682
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رُمْحٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّهُ أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ كَانَ يُصَلِّي الْعَصْرَ وَالشَّمْسُ مُرْتَفِعَةٌ حَيَّةٌ فَيَذْهَبُ الذَّاهِبُ إِلَى الْعَوَالِي وَالشَّمْسُ مُرْتَفِعَةٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Ramh narrated to us: Al-Layth ibn Sa'd informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from Anas ibn Malik, who told him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray 'Asr while the sun was still high and bright. A person could then go to al-'Awali while the sun was still high.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Al-'Awali is retained as a place name; the Arabic describes the sun as high and حيّة (literally ‘alive’).
وَالشَّمْسُ مُرْتَفِعَةٌ حَيَّةٌ
The unusual adjective حيّة literally means ‘alive’; its intended sense in this description is uncertain.
Should حيّة be rendered ‘bright’, ‘hot’, or retained more literally?