The Necessary Time for the Prayers of Dhuhr, Asr, and Maghrib
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: The questioner: Y. A. from Khartoum, the Republic of Sudan, says: I hope you will inform me about the necessary time for each of the Dhuhr, Asr, and Maghrib prayers.
A: As for Dhuhr: it has no necessary time; rather, its entire time is voluntary. When the sun passes its zenith, the time for Dhuhr begins, and the time remains voluntary until the shadow of every object becomes equal to its height after the shadow of the zenith. All of this is voluntary time, but it is better to perform it at the beginning of the time, after the adhan and the rawatib prayer. The imam should pause for a short while so that the people can gather; this is what is best.
As for Asr: it has a voluntary time and a necessary time. The voluntary time is from the beginning of the time until the sun turns yellow. When the sun turns yellow, that is the time of necessity until the sun sets. It is not permissible to delay it until then. If one prays it in that time, he has performed it within its time, but it is not permissible to delay it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that delaying it is the description of the hypocrites. So the believer does not delay it until the sun turns yellow, but he hastens to pray it before the sun turns yellow, in the time of choice.
As for Maghrib: its entire time is also a time of choice, from when the sun sets until the twilight disappears. All of this is a time of choice, but it is better to perform it at the beginning of the time, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray it at the beginning of the time. When the sun set and the mu'adhdhin called the adhan, he would wait a little, then give the iqamah (peace and blessings be upon him) and pray it at the beginning of the time. If he delays it a little, there is no harm, as long as he performs it within its time. Its time ends when the twilight disappears. When the twilight disappears—and it is the redness in the direction of the west—the time for Maghrib ends and the time for Isha begins until the middle of the night. What is after the middle of the night is the time of necessity for Isha, so it is not permissible to delay it until after the middle of the night. However, everything between the disappearance of the twilight and the middle of the night is a time of choice for Isha. If one prays it after the middle of the night, he has performed it within its time, but he commits a sin because he delayed it until the time of necessity.
As for Fajr: its entire time is voluntary, from the appearance of the dawn until the sun rises. All of this is a time of choice, but it is better to perform it at the beginning of its time and not delay it from the beginning of its time, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this, because he used to pray it in the darkness after the dawn had become clear.
And success is from Allah.
A: As for Dhuhr: it has no necessary time; rather, its entire time is voluntary. When the sun passes its zenith, the time for Dhuhr begins, and the time remains voluntary until the shadow of every object becomes equal to its height after the shadow of the zenith. All of this is voluntary time, but it is better to perform it at the beginning of the time, after the adhan and the rawatib prayer. The imam should pause for a short while so that the people can gather; this is what is best.
As for Asr: it has a voluntary time and a necessary time. The voluntary time is from the beginning of the time until the sun turns yellow. When the sun turns yellow, that is the time of necessity until the sun sets. It is not permissible to delay it until then. If one prays it in that time, he has performed it within its time, but it is not permissible to delay it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The time for Asr is until the sun turns yellow. And regarding the hypocrite, he said: "That is the prayer of the hypocrite, that is the prayer of the hypocrite. He watches the sun until it is between the horns of Shaytan, then he stands and prays four rak'ahs, not mentioning Allah in them except a little."
وقت العصر ما لم تصفر الشمس ويقول في المنافق: تلك صلاة المنافق تلك صلاة المنافق يرقب الشمس حتى إذا كانت بين قرني الشيطان قام فنقر أربعا لا يذكر الله فيها إلا قليلاAs for Maghrib: its entire time is also a time of choice, from when the sun sets until the twilight disappears. All of this is a time of choice, but it is better to perform it at the beginning of the time, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray it at the beginning of the time. When the sun set and the mu'adhdhin called the adhan, he would wait a little, then give the iqamah (peace and blessings be upon him) and pray it at the beginning of the time. If he delays it a little, there is no harm, as long as he performs it within its time. Its time ends when the twilight disappears. When the twilight disappears—and it is the redness in the direction of the west—the time for Maghrib ends and the time for Isha begins until the middle of the night. What is after the middle of the night is the time of necessity for Isha, so it is not permissible to delay it until after the middle of the night. However, everything between the disappearance of the twilight and the middle of the night is a time of choice for Isha. If one prays it after the middle of the night, he has performed it within its time, but he commits a sin because he delayed it until the time of necessity.
As for Fajr: its entire time is voluntary, from the appearance of the dawn until the sun rises. All of this is a time of choice, but it is better to perform it at the beginning of its time and not delay it from the beginning of its time, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this, because he used to pray it in the darkness after the dawn had become clear.
And success is from Allah.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.