Explanation of the Book of Prayer-01

The Shaykh : He said: "It is narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr (may Allah be pleased with him both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The time of the noon prayer is when the sun passes the meridian

وقت الظهر إذا زالت الشمس

Sahih Muslim 612d

" This is the time for the midday prayer when the sun has passed its zenith. When it has passed its zenith, meaning it has tilted toward the west. This is because the sun rises from the eastern horizon until it sets in the western horizon. When it is exactly in the middle between them, that is the zenith. Its sign in the shadow is that... the shadow. As the sun rises, my brothers, as the sun rises, the shadow decreases. When it begins to increase, that is the zenith. When it begins to increase, that is the shadow. Know that it must be in the north relative to our land. It must be in the north. A shadow that lengthens in winter and shortens in summer. This shadow is not counted. The one that is counted is from when the shadow begins to increase. When it begins to increase, even if it is a hair's breadth, the sun has passed its zenith. He said: Meaning, if a man stands at the time of the zenith and marks a limit, and then the shadow extends until it goes from this limit to the end of the shadow, the length of the man, then here, what is it? The time for the midday prayer has ended. The time for the midday prayer has ended. After that, he says: Meaning, until the time for the afternoon prayer arrives. That is, the time for the afternoon prayer arrives from when the time for the midday prayer ends until when? He says: Meaning, until it is yellow. It is known that the sun is white and the eye cannot perceive it. When it approaches setting, it turns yellow. When it turns yellow, the time for the midday prayer has ended. This is the time for the afternoon prayer. But the Sunnah has indicated in another hadith: And on this basis, the afternoon prayer has two times: a time of choice until when, 'Abdullah Afghani, what is it? Until the sun turns yellow. And a time of necessity until the sun sets. From where? From the setting of the sun. It is named Maghrib (sunset) because its time is permissible at the setting of the sun. And the twilight intended here is the red twilight, which is the horizontal line that follows the sun. It remains red as long as it is red. As long as it is red, the time for the sunset prayer remains. When the redness fades, even if the whiteness remains, the time for the sunset prayer has ended and the time for the night prayer has entered. He said: From where? From the disappearance of the twilight. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention the beginning. It is known that this is based on what preceded, on the ending of the prayer before it, until the middle of the night. He said: Here, the description is explanatory, not restrictive. Because the middle of the night is the midpoint. Until the middle of the night. And the time for the dawn prayer. He said: And he did not say: The time for the dawn prayer is until the sun rises. And that is because between the time for the night prayer and the time for the dawn prayer is a period that is not a time for the night prayer nor for the dawn prayer. These are the times. The times are thus five. And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has referred to them in the Noble Book. He said, the Exalted: Allah the Exalted made that one time, from the declining of the sun, meaning its zenith, to the darkness of the night, meaning its darkness. It is known that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) did not intend the beginning of the darkness, but the end of the darkness. The end of the darkness is at the middle of the night, because that is when the sun is farthest from the earth. Then He said: So He distinguished Because what is between the middle of the night and the appearance of the dawn is not a time. This is what the Qur'an indicates and what the Sunnah indicates, as you heard in the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr.
As for the statement of some scholars that the night prayer has two times: a time of necessity and a time of choice, and that the time of choice is until the middle of the night and the time of necessity is until the appearance of the dawn, there is no evidence for this. And this disagreement is based on the following: if a menstruating woman becomes pure after the middle of the night, then according to the stronger opinion, the night prayer is not obligatory upon her because its time has ended. And according to the opinion that it extends until the appearance of the dawn, it is obligatory upon her. Then, if the night prayer becomes obligatory upon her, does the sunset prayer become obligatory upon her? There is disagreement on this, and the correct view is that it does not become obligatory upon her. That is, the correct view is that if a woman becomes pure during the time of the second prayer, the prayer before it does not become obligatory upon her, because there is no evidence for this. Now, let us return a second time and say: These times are indicated by the Qur'an in general and by the Sunnah in detail. And you have known how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) measured them. And in that time, there are no hours now measured by hours. For example, from the appearance of the dawn to the rising of the sun, the common case is that it is ninety minutes. This is the common case, and it may increase and it may decrease. And from the setting of the sun to the disappearance of the twilight, likewise, the common case is that it is ninety minutes, and it may increase and it may decrease. But the increase and decrease in the dawn prayer is not dependent on the increase and decrease in the sunset prayer. The Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Whoever thinks that their shares are one has made a clear error" Because it varies. The share between the appearance of the dawn and the rising of the sun may lengthen, and the share between the setting of the sun and the disappearance of the twilight may decrease. And they may be equal. And this may be more than that. Regarding the midday and afternoon prayers, some people say that you divide what is between the zenith and the setting into two halves by hours and add to it a third of an hour, and at that time the time for the afternoon prayer enters. But I have followed it up many times and found that it is not consistent in reality. It is not consistent because the movement of the sun varies considering summer and winter. But now, this has been studied from the perspective of astronomers with a great study, and they have explained it, and praise be to Allah, in the calendars. In the calendars, it is explained. But the calendar for the dawn is advanced. Some say it is advanced by a quarter of an hour, and some say ten minutes, and some say five minutes, and some exaggerate greatly in its advancement. But it appears to me that five minutes is certain. That the existing calendar for the appearance of the dawn is advanced by five minutes. So let this be taken into account, and let a person not rush from the moment he looks at the calendar and prays according to it, but let him delay by five minutes. And if he delays by ten minutes, and he must delay in order to perform the regular voluntary prayer of the dawn. Now, these are the times. What is the benefit of timing? Timing has two benefits. The first benefit: if a person prays before the time, his prayer is not valid. That is, it does not suffice for the obligatory prayer. If he knows that the time has not entered, he is playing with it and his prayer is invalid. And if he does not know, his prayer is voluntary and does not suffice for any obligatory prayer. The second benefit: if he prays after the time, if it is for an excuse, then there is nothing upon him, such as sleep and forgetfulness. And if it is for no excuse, the majority of scholars said: his prayer is valid, but he is sinful. And the correct view is that it is not valid. That he is sinful and it is not valid, but it is rejected, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.