The Book of the Times (of Prayer)

Qutaybah reported to us: Al-Layth ibn Sa‘d narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz had delayed the ‘Asr prayer somewhat. ‘Urwah said to him, “Gabriel, peace be upon him, came down and led the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in prayer.” ‘Umar said, “Be sure of what you are saying, ‘Urwah.” ‘Urwah replied, “I heard Bashir ibn Abi Mas‘ud say: I heard Abu Mas‘ud say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, ‘Gabriel came down and led me in prayer. I prayed with him, then I prayed with him, then I prayed with him, then I prayed with him, then I prayed with him’”—counting five prayers on his fingers.

Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-A‘la reported to us: Khalid narrated to us, from Shu‘bah, from Sayyar ibn Salamah, who said: I heard my father ask Abu Barzah about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I asked, “Did you hear him yourself?” He replied, “As I hear you now.” He said: I heard my father ask about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Abu Barzah said: He did not mind delaying it somewhat—that is, ‘Isha’—until halfway through the night, but he did not like sleeping before it or talking after it. Shu‘bah said: Then I met him later and asked him. He said: He used to pray Zuhr when the sun passed its zenith, and ‘Asr when a man could travel to the farthest part of Madinah while the sun was still bright and hot. As for Maghrib, I do not know what time he mentioned. Then I met him later and asked him, and he said: He used to pray Fajr; after the prayer, a man would leave, look at the face of a companion he knew, and recognize him. He said: He would recite in it between sixty and one hundred verses.

Kathir ibn ‘Ubayd reported to us: Muhammad ibn Harb narrated to us, from al-Zubaydi, from al-Zuhri, who said: Anas informed me that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out when the sun had passed its zenith and led them in the Zuhr prayer.

Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Humayd ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from Sa‘id ibn Wahb, from Khabbab, who said: We complained to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the scorching heat of the sand, but he did not grant us relief. It was asked of Abu Ishaq, “Was this about hastening the prayer?” He said, “Yes.”

‘Ubaydullah ibn Sa‘id reported to us: Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrated to us, from Shu‘bah, who said: Hamzah al-‘A’idhi told me: I heard Anas ibn Malik say: When the Prophet (ﷺ) halted at a place, he would not depart from it until he had prayed Zuhr. A man asked, “Even if it is the middle of the day?” He said, “Even if it is the middle of the day.”

‘Ubaydullah ibn Sa‘id reported to us: Abu Sa‘id, the client of Banu Hashim, narrated to us: Khalid ibn Dinar, Abu Khaldah, narrated to us: I heard Anas ibn Malik say: When it was hot, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would wait until it cooled before praying; when it was cold, he would hasten to pray.

Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id reported to us: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Ibn al-Musayyab and Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “When the heat becomes intense, delay the prayer until it cools, for intense heat is from the breath of Hell.”

Ibrahim ibn Ya‘qub reported to us: ‘Umar ibn Hafs narrated to us: my father narrated to us. (H.) Ibrahim ibn Ya‘qub also informed us: Yahya ibn Ma‘in narrated to us: Hafs narrated to us. (H.) ‘Amr ibn Mansur informed us: ‘Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us: my father narrated to us, from al-Hasan ibn ‘Ubaydullah, from Ibrahim, from Yazid ibn Aws, from Thabit ibn Qays, from Abu Musa, attributing it to the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: “Delay Zuhr until it cools, for the heat you experience is from the breath of Hell.”

Al-Husayn ibn Hurayth reported to us: Al-Fadl ibn Musa informed us, from Muhammad ibn ‘Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “This is Gabriel, peace be upon him; he has come to teach you your religion.” He prayed Subh when dawn broke, then Zuhr when the sun passed its zenith, then ‘Asr when the shadow was equal to the object's height, then Maghrib when the sun had set and it was permissible for the fasting person to break the fast, then ‘Isha’ when the evening twilight had disappeared. The next day he came and led him in Subh when it had grown a little brighter, then Zuhr when the shadow was equal to the object's height, then ‘Asr when the shadow was twice the object's height, then Maghrib at the same time as before, when the sun had set and it was permissible for the fasting person to break the fast, then ‘Isha’ after an hour of the night had passed. Then he said, “The time for prayer lies between the times of your prayer yesterday and your prayer today.”

Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Adhrami reported to us: ‘Ubaydah ibn Humayd narrated to us, from Abu Malik al-Ashja‘i, Sa‘d ibn Tariq, from Kathir ibn Mudrik, from al-Aswad ibn Yazid, from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, who said: The measure of the Messenger of Allah's (ﷺ) Zuhr prayer in summer was from three to five feet, and in winter from five to seven feet.

‘Ubaydullah ibn Sa‘id reported to us: ‘Abdullah ibn al-Harith narrated to us: Thawr narrated to us: Sulayman ibn Musa told me, from ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah, from Jabir, who said: A man asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the prayer times. He said, “Pray with me.” He prayed Zuhr when the sun passed its zenith, ‘Asr when an object's shadow was equal to its height, Maghrib when the sun set, and ‘Isha’ when the twilight disappeared. Then he prayed Zuhr when a person's shadow was equal to his height, ‘Asr when a person's shadow was twice his height, and Maghrib shortly before the twilight disappeared. ‘Abdullah ibn al-Harith said: Then, concerning ‘Isha’, [Thawr] said, “I think it was until one-third of the night.”

Qutaybah reported to us: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed ‘Asr while the sun was still in her chamber and no shadow had yet appeared there.

Suwayd ibn Nasr reported to us: ‘Abdullah informed us, from Malik, who said: Al-Zuhri and Ishaq ibn ‘Abdullah narrated to me, from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray ‘Asr, then a traveler would go to Quba. One of the two transmitters said: He would reach them while they were still praying. The other said: The sun was still high.

Qutaybah reported to us: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Anas ibn Malik, who informed him that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray ‘Asr while the sun was still high and bright; a traveler could go to al-‘Awali while the sun was still high.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Jarir narrated to us, from Mansur, from Rib‘i ibn Hirash, from Abu al-Abyad, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to lead us in the ‘Asr prayer while the sun was bright and high.

Suwayd ibn Nasr reported to us: ‘Abdullah informed us, from Abu Bakr ibn ‘Uthman ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf, who said: I heard Abu Umamah ibn Sahl say: We prayed Zuhr with ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, then went out and entered upon Anas ibn Malik, whom we found praying ‘Asr. I said, “Uncle, what prayer was this that you prayed?” He replied, “‘Asr. This is the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that we used to pray with him.”

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Abu ‘Alqamah al-Madani narrated to us: Muhammad ibn ‘Amr narrated to us, from Abu Salamah, who said: We prayed during the time of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, then went to Anas ibn Malik and found him praying. When he finished, he asked us, “Have you prayed?” We said, “We prayed Zuhr.” He said, “I have prayed ‘Asr.” They said to him, “You prayed it early.” He replied, “I pray only as I saw my Companions pray.”

‘Ali ibn Hujr ibn Iyas ibn Muqatil ibn Mushmirij ibn Khalid reported to us: Isma‘il narrated to us: al-‘Ala’ narrated to us: He visited Anas ibn Malik in his house in Basrah after Anas had finished Zuhr—his house was beside the mosque. When we entered, he asked, “Have you prayed ‘Asr?” We said, “No, we have only just finished Zuhr.” He said, “Pray ‘Asr.” So we stood and prayed. When we had finished, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “That is the prayer of the hypocrite: he sits watching for ‘Asr, and when the sun is between the horns of Satan, he gets up and pecks out four rak‘ahs, remembering Allah, Mighty and Majestic, only a little during them.”

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from his father, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who said: “Whoever misses the ‘Asr prayer, it is as though he has been deprived of his family and wealth.”

Qutaybah reported to us, from Malik, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever misses the ‘Asr prayer, it is as though he has been deprived of his family and wealth.”