The Difference Between the Rising of the Sun and the Dawn
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Fatwa No. ( 18284 )
Q: On behalf of the people of Dumat al-Jandal Province in the al-Jawf Region, I ask you about the validity of what is said: that the difference between the rising of the sun and the second dawn is an hour and a half . Is there any evidence from the Shari'ah for this? Also, is the calendar suitable for use in determining the time of prayer? Since some people have found a difference of up to fifteen minutes. Then some scholars visited us and told us: (It is necessary to delay the iqamah by twenty-five minutes from the time of the adhan in the calendar; so that the time has entered). This means: that the adhan and the prayer before the obligatory prayer and the iqamah itself would all be before the time, especially since I have come across the words of Muhammad Rashid Rida (may Allah have mercy on him), in his tafsir (Tafsir al-Manar), from the second volume, page 184, of the (Dar al-Ma'rifah) edition, regarding His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:187] the verse, he said: (... But it is in the nature of humans that some individuals are naturally inclined to strictness and asceticism, and some to leniency in all matters, and the majority are in the middle between excess and negligence... And among the exaggeration of the later generations in determining external phenomena, while being negligent in rectifying the inner self regarding righteousness and piety: they
determined the beginning of the dawn and fixed it by the minutes, and added to it in fasting twenty minutes before it; for precaution, and the reality is that the appearance of the whiteness of the day does not appear to people except after approximately twenty minutes, and as for the time of Maghrib, they add to the time of complete sunset at least five minutes, and some of the Shi'ah condition in it the appearance of some stars... ) End of quote. Until he said: And he clarified that this addition must be to alert people; in preparation for the dawn). We ask Allah, O honorable Shaykh, that you would be generous in guiding us, and then the practice among us will proceed according to what you mention, especially since, as I mentioned to you, some of the experienced people among us know the dawn and its rising by the hour and a half from the rising of the sun, and by calculation, so the dawn has entered, but is there evidence for this?
A: The criterion in determining the times of the prayers is what the Sunnah has brought regarding this, and it is established from authentic hadiths that the time of Dhuhr: is from the sun passing its zenith until the shadow of a thing becomes equal to it after the shadow cast by the sun at its zenith, and the time of 'Asr: is from the shadow of a thing becoming equal to it after the shadow of the zenith until it becomes twice its length or until the sun turns yellow, and this is the time of choice for it, and the time of necessity: is from that until the setting of the sun, and the time of Maghrib: is from the setting of the sun until the disappearance of the red twilight,
and the time of 'Isha': is from the disappearance of the red twilight to half the night, and this is the time of choice for it, and the time of necessity: is from half the night to the dawn, and the time of Fajr: is from the rising of the true dawn (which is: the white thread that crosses the darkness of the horizon in the east and splits it) to the rising of the sun. These are the Shari'ah times for the five obligatory prayers, and it is obligatory for the Muslim to perform them in their time according to the Shari'ah sign that the Sunnah has clarified, and there is no harm in benefiting from the calendars in this if their accuracy is established by their correspondence with the Shari'ah times. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: On behalf of the people of Dumat al-Jandal Province in the al-Jawf Region, I ask you about the validity of what is said: that the difference between the rising of the sun and the second dawn is an hour and a half . Is there any evidence from the Shari'ah for this? Also, is the calendar suitable for use in determining the time of prayer? Since some people have found a difference of up to fifteen minutes. Then some scholars visited us and told us: (It is necessary to delay the iqamah by twenty-five minutes from the time of the adhan in the calendar; so that the time has entered). This means: that the adhan and the prayer before the obligatory prayer and the iqamah itself would all be before the time, especially since I have come across the words of Muhammad Rashid Rida (may Allah have mercy on him), in his tafsir (Tafsir al-Manar), from the second volume, page 184, of the (Dar al-Ma'rifah) edition, regarding His saying, the Exalted:
It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah, so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous.
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُdetermined the beginning of the dawn and fixed it by the minutes, and added to it in fasting twenty minutes before it; for precaution, and the reality is that the appearance of the whiteness of the day does not appear to people except after approximately twenty minutes, and as for the time of Maghrib, they add to the time of complete sunset at least five minutes, and some of the Shi'ah condition in it the appearance of some stars... ) End of quote. Until he said: And he clarified that this addition must be to alert people; in preparation for the dawn). We ask Allah, O honorable Shaykh, that you would be generous in guiding us, and then the practice among us will proceed according to what you mention, especially since, as I mentioned to you, some of the experienced people among us know the dawn and its rising by the hour and a half from the rising of the sun, and by calculation, so the dawn has entered, but is there evidence for this?
A: The criterion in determining the times of the prayers is what the Sunnah has brought regarding this, and it is established from authentic hadiths that the time of Dhuhr: is from the sun passing its zenith until the shadow of a thing becomes equal to it after the shadow cast by the sun at its zenith, and the time of 'Asr: is from the shadow of a thing becoming equal to it after the shadow of the zenith until it becomes twice its length or until the sun turns yellow, and this is the time of choice for it, and the time of necessity: is from that until the setting of the sun, and the time of Maghrib: is from the setting of the sun until the disappearance of the red twilight,
and the time of 'Isha': is from the disappearance of the red twilight to half the night, and this is the time of choice for it, and the time of necessity: is from half the night to the dawn, and the time of Fajr: is from the rising of the true dawn (which is: the white thread that crosses the darkness of the horizon in the east and splits it) to the rising of the sun. These are the Shari'ah times for the five obligatory prayers, and it is obligatory for the Muslim to perform them in their time according to the Shari'ah sign that the Sunnah has clarified, and there is no harm in benefiting from the calendars in this if their accuracy is established by their correspondence with the Shari'ah times. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.