The Prohibition of Prayer Before Dhuhr: Approximately When Does It Occur?

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the prohibition of prayer before Dhuhr, approximately when does it occur?

The Shaykh : I mean, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour at most.

The questioner : Before the adhan?

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed. – Welcome, how are you? – But here we should note something: Is the adhan now a Shari’ah adhan or not? Because the reality we observe in many Arab countries, let alone non-Arab countries, is that the adhan for the five prayers is not a Shari’ah adhan, but rather an astronomical adhan. The astronomical adhan differs greatly from the Shari’ah adhan. Perhaps this is an opportunity – in this open town where buildings have not yet grown tall – for some of you to observe the true dawn. I think you will hear the adhan – the Fajr adhan – before the true dawn rises by a significant amount of time.

The questioner : By a significant amount of time?

The Shaykh : By a significant amount of time; because this is something we have experienced in some countries, and especially the country where I currently reside, which is Amman. I live on a mountain called Mount Hamdan, so I see the rising of the dawn, the rising of the sun, and its setting every day.