Explanation of the author's statement: "…and one does not pray before it is more likely in his mind that its time has entered…"
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The Shaykh : He said "and one does not pray before it is more likely in his mind that its time has entered". "And one does not pray" — who is the doer? The doer is a person, whether he is accountable or not. That is to say, a person does not pray. Or, if you wish, you can say "one who prays does not pray," because if the pronoun has no known referent, let the referent be a description derived from the source from which the verb is derived. Did you understand this rule? If there is no known referent for the pronoun, what should the referent be? A description. No, a description derived from the source from which the verb is derived. So, for example, the verb is "prayed," and the source name is "prayer," so we say "one who prays does not pray." Now, "before it is more likely in his mind that its time has entered". Now, what if he is certain? He prays, a fortiori. If he is certain, he prays a fortiori.
The author benefited us in his statement "before it is more likely in his mind" by indicating that it is permissible to pray the prayer based on what is more likely in one's mind. That is, if it is more likely in our mind that the time has entered, it is permissible for us to pray. And in that case, it is permissible to pray if we are certain that the time has entered, and it is permissible to pray if it is more likely in our mind that the time has entered. So, if the sky is clear and we see the sun has set, we pray Maghrib. Here, are we certain that the time has entered, or not? We are certain. If the sky is cloudy and we do not see the sun, but it is more likely in our mind that it has set, we pray. And this is a prayer based on what is more likely in one's mind.
Now, as for the first case, its evidence is apparent. As for the second, which is praying based on what is more likely in one's mind, it is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast, along with his Companions, based on what was more likely in their minds, as in the hadith of Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:Sunan Ibn Majah 1674Sahih (Darussalam) It was narrated by al-Bukhari. Here, what did they break their fast based on? Based on what was more likely in their minds, certainly not on certainty. So, if it is permissible to act based on what is more likely in one's mind regarding the exit of the time, which here is the time of fasting, then it is permissible to act based on what is more likely in one's mind regarding the entry of the time. In fact, the necessary implication of that is that if they had prayed Maghrib when they broke their fast, the prayer would have been valid? Yes, the prayer is valid if the matter does not turn out to be otherwise.
Now, does one pray while in doubt about the entry of the time? One does not pray while in doubt. This is because the original state is that the time has not entered, so we do not deviate from this original state except with a legitimate legal justification. Do we pray while it is more likely in our mind that the time has not entered? We do not pray, a fortiori. Yes. Do we pray while we are certain that the time has not entered? It is not permissible. So, we do not pray in three cases, and we pray in two cases.
The cases are five: certainty that the time has entered, what is more likely in one's mind that it has entered, doubt about its entry, what is more likely in one's mind that it has not entered, and certainty that it has not entered. The cases are five. We pray in two cases and do not pray in three, and the reasoning is apparent.
Now, the author said "and one does not pray before it is more likely in his mind", and we derived from the author's words that what is more likely in one's mind has a place in the chapter of acts of worship, and that is indeed the case. What is more likely in one's mind has a place in acts of worship in many places. Although some acts of worship cannot be performed except with certainty, many acts of worship are based on what is more likely in one's mind. In fact, this is the rule. The rule in acts of worship is to build upon what is more likely in one's mind. This is the rule. For this reason, if a person doubts how much he has prayed and he has a stronger inclination, the correct view is that he acts according to what is stronger in his mind, even though the school of jurisprudence says he does not act except with certainty.
If he doubts the number of circuits of tawaf or the number of circuits of sa'y, he builds upon what is more likely in his mind, just as if he has a stronger inclination. But if he does not have a stronger inclination, he builds upon certainty.
The author benefited us in his statement "before it is more likely in his mind" by indicating that it is permissible to pray the prayer based on what is more likely in one's mind. That is, if it is more likely in our mind that the time has entered, it is permissible for us to pray. And in that case, it is permissible to pray if we are certain that the time has entered, and it is permissible to pray if it is more likely in our mind that the time has entered. So, if the sky is clear and we see the sun has set, we pray Maghrib. Here, are we certain that the time has entered, or not? We are certain. If the sky is cloudy and we do not see the sun, but it is more likely in our mind that it has set, we pray. And this is a prayer based on what is more likely in one's mind.
Now, as for the first case, its evidence is apparent. As for the second, which is praying based on what is more likely in one's mind, it is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast, along with his Companions, based on what was more likely in their minds, as in the hadith of Asma' bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
We broke our fast on a cloudy day at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), then the sun appeared.
أفطرنا على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في يوم غيْم ثم طلعت الشمسNow, does one pray while in doubt about the entry of the time? One does not pray while in doubt. This is because the original state is that the time has not entered, so we do not deviate from this original state except with a legitimate legal justification. Do we pray while it is more likely in our mind that the time has not entered? We do not pray, a fortiori. Yes. Do we pray while we are certain that the time has not entered? It is not permissible. So, we do not pray in three cases, and we pray in two cases.
The cases are five: certainty that the time has entered, what is more likely in one's mind that it has entered, doubt about its entry, what is more likely in one's mind that it has not entered, and certainty that it has not entered. The cases are five. We pray in two cases and do not pray in three, and the reasoning is apparent.
Now, the author said "and one does not pray before it is more likely in his mind", and we derived from the author's words that what is more likely in one's mind has a place in the chapter of acts of worship, and that is indeed the case. What is more likely in one's mind has a place in acts of worship in many places. Although some acts of worship cannot be performed except with certainty, many acts of worship are based on what is more likely in one's mind. In fact, this is the rule. The rule in acts of worship is to build upon what is more likely in one's mind. This is the rule. For this reason, if a person doubts how much he has prayed and he has a stronger inclination, the correct view is that he acts according to what is stronger in his mind, even though the school of jurisprudence says he does not act except with certainty.
If he doubts the number of circuits of tawaf or the number of circuits of sa'y, he builds upon what is more likely in his mind, just as if he has a stronger inclination. But if he does not have a stronger inclination, he builds upon certainty.