The Time of the Duha Prayer and Standing in Night Prayer
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Question:
He asks about the Duha prayer and the night prayer, saying: What is the time for the Duha prayer in hours? And is it permissible for us to pray the night prayer at the beginning of the night after the Isha prayer if we are unable to pray it at the end of the night?
Answer:
The daytime prayer, whether in the Duha or the Dhuhr, is all a time for prayer, after the sun has risen the length of a spear, about a quarter of an hour, after the sunrise until its zenith, until the sun stands still before the Dhuhr, by about a third of an hour, or a quarter of an hour; because the time when the sun stands still is short, and it is its being in the middle of the sky before it leans toward the west. This is called the time of standing, a time of prohibition, and the entire Duha is a time for prayer.
And the best is at the intensity of the Duha, when the Duha becomes intense, it is better, one hour or two hours before the Dhuhr. This is the best for the Duha prayer.
And if one prays after the Isha if he fears that he will not get up at the end of the night, this is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised Abu Hurayrah, and advised Abu al-Darda to perform the Witr before sleeping, and it appears—Allah knows best—that they feared they would not get up at the end of the night; because they study the hadith at the beginning of the night. So if a person performs the Witr at the beginning of the night; it is better if he fears he will not get up at the end of the night.
As for if he hopes to get up at the end of the night and is confident in himself that he will get up; then the Witr at the end of the night is better, its being delayed to the end of the night, this is the best; due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. And due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani).
And in the other wording, He says—(Exalted and Majestic is He): And this hadith is great, a great hadith, mass-transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is the descent of the Lord—(Exalted and Majestic is He)—at the end of the night in the last third.
So it should be, O Abdullah, that you be among those who worship Allah at this time with prayer and seeking forgiveness, and recitation of the Qur'an and dhikr. It is a great time, the last third, and likewise the middle of the night. The fourth sixth, Dawud used to stand in it, he would stand half the night, he would sleep half the night, and he would stand a third of it, he would stand the fourth sixth, and the fifth sixth, and this is also a great time, combining the middle of the night, and the beginning of the last third.
And Allah, the Exalted, has encouraged His servants to worship at this time, and to supplicate and beseech Him—(Exalted and Majestic is He)—so it is fitting for the people of faith, men and women, to seek out this time, and to strive in standing in night prayer, especially in the fourth and fifth sixths, and in the entire last third with supplication, beseeching, prayer, recitation, and seeking forgiveness, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) guided to .
This descent befits the majesty of Allah; it is not of the same kind as the descent of created beings. It is a descent that befits Allah and does not resemble His creation in their descent. Allah the Exalted said: [Surah al-Shura: 11] And He the Exalted said: [Surah al-Ikhlas: 4] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [Surah al-Nahl: 74] So His descent befits Him, and He does not resemble His creation.
And likewise His rising above His Throne, and likewise His mercy and His anger and His laughter, all of it is befitting Allah, not resembling His creation And likewise all the attributes, all of them are befitting Allah, not resembling His creation in them acting in accordance with His saying—(Exalted and Majestic is He): [Al-Shura: 11].
And this is the saying of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and they are the followers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who follow them with excellence. So adhere to it, O Abdullah! Adhere to this saying, and hold onto it with your teeth, and beware of the sayings of the innovators who distort the Book of Allah, who interpret the attributes of Allah figuratively, or liken Allah to His creation. Beware of their sayings, for all of them are false.
And the truth is the saying of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and it is the saying of the followers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who follow them with excellence, and it is the saying of all the prophets and all the messengers, and it is the belief in the names and attributes of Allah that came in the great Qur'an, and the pure, authentic Sunnah, and passing them over as they came without distortion, or denial of the divine attributes, or figurative interpretation, or asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation.
Rather, it is obligatory for us to believe in them as they came, and pass them over as they came, with the belief that they are truth, and that His descent is truth, and that His rising above is truth, and that His mercy is truth, and that His anger is truth, and that His pleasure is truth, and that His mercy is truth, and likewise the rest of His attributes, from hand and foot and hearing and sight and knowledge and speech, all of them are truth, all of them are attributes befitting Allah, not resembling His creation in them .
So His speech is not of the kind of the speech of His creation, and His anger is not of the kind of their anger, and His laughter is not of the kind of their laughter, and His pleasure is not of the kind of their pleasure, and likewise, all His attributes are befitting Him not resembling His creation in them, and no one knows their modality except He .
Some people said to Malik ibn Anas, the imam of the city of migration in his time, the famous imam, and the great scholar—(may Allah have mercy on him)—some people said to him, O Abu Abdullah! Allah, the Exalted, says: [Ta-Ha: 5] So he was silent for a long time, then he said: The rising above is known, and the modality is unknown, and belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is a religious innovation, meaning asking about the modality is a religious innovation.
So the rising above is known, and it is the elevation, the rising above is the elevation and being above the Throne, it is the elevation above the Throne, and the rising, this is known, and the modality is unknown, how did He rise above? We do not know how He rose above, we do not know how He is pleased, how He is angry, how He descends, no, we do not know, but we believe that He descends to the lowest heaven every night in the last third, we know that He rose above the Throne, we know that He laughs and is pleased and is angry, but we do not know the modality of that, rather we say as He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Shura: 11] So He, the Exalted, does not resemble His servants in their attributes, and people do not know the modality of His attributes, this is the truth upon which the people of the Sunnah and the community are, we ask Allah to guide everyone to what pleases Him, yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
He asks about the Duha prayer and the night prayer, saying: What is the time for the Duha prayer in hours? And is it permissible for us to pray the night prayer at the beginning of the night after the Isha prayer if we are unable to pray it at the end of the night?
Answer:
The daytime prayer, whether in the Duha or the Dhuhr, is all a time for prayer, after the sun has risen the length of a spear, about a quarter of an hour, after the sunrise until its zenith, until the sun stands still before the Dhuhr, by about a third of an hour, or a quarter of an hour; because the time when the sun stands still is short, and it is its being in the middle of the sky before it leans toward the west. This is called the time of standing, a time of prohibition, and the entire Duha is a time for prayer.
And the best is at the intensity of the Duha, when the Duha becomes intense, it is better, one hour or two hours before the Dhuhr. This is the best for the Duha prayer.
And if one prays after the Isha if he fears that he will not get up at the end of the night, this is better. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised Abu Hurayrah, and advised Abu al-Darda to perform the Witr before sleeping, and it appears—Allah knows best—that they feared they would not get up at the end of the night; because they study the hadith at the beginning of the night. So if a person performs the Witr at the beginning of the night; it is better if he fears he will not get up at the end of the night.
As for if he hopes to get up at the end of the night and is confident in himself that he will get up; then the Witr at the end of the night is better, its being delayed to the end of the night, this is the best; due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever fears that he will not get up in the last part of the night, let him perform witr in the first part of the night. And whoever hopes to get up in the last part of the night, let him perform witr in the last part of the night, for the prayer of the last part of the night is witnessed, and that is better.
من خاف ألا يقوم من آخر الليل؛ فليوتر أوله، ومن طمع أن يقوم آخر الليل؛ فليوتر آخر الليل، فإن صلاة آخر الليل مشهودة، وذلك أفضلOur lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says: (Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?
ينزل ربنا إلى سماء الدنيا كل ليلة حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر، فيقول: من يدعوني؛ فأستجيب له؟ من يسألني؛ فأعطيه؟ من يستغفرني؛ فأغفر له؟ حتى ينفجر الفجرAnd in the other wording, He says—(Exalted and Majestic is He):
Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there anyone asking, that I may give him what he asks? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Until the dawn breaks.
هل من تائب فيتاب عليه؟ هل من سائل؛ فيعطى سؤله؟ هل من مستغفر؛ فيغفر له حتى ينفجر الفجرSo it should be, O Abdullah, that you be among those who worship Allah at this time with prayer and seeking forgiveness, and recitation of the Qur'an and dhikr. It is a great time, the last third, and likewise the middle of the night. The fourth sixth, Dawud used to stand in it, he would stand half the night, he would sleep half the night, and he would stand a third of it, he would stand the fourth sixth, and the fifth sixth, and this is also a great time, combining the middle of the night, and the beginning of the last third.
And Allah, the Exalted, has encouraged His servants to worship at this time, and to supplicate and beseech Him—(Exalted and Majestic is He)—so it is fitting for the people of faith, men and women, to seek out this time, and to strive in standing in night prayer, especially in the fourth and fifth sixths, and in the entire last third with supplication, beseeching, prayer, recitation, and seeking forgiveness, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) guided to .
This descent befits the majesty of Allah; it is not of the same kind as the descent of created beings. It is a descent that befits Allah and does not resemble His creation in their descent. Allah the Exalted said:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُNor is there to Him any equivalent."
وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌSo do not assert similarities to Allah
فَلا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الأَمْثَالَAnd likewise His rising above His Throne, and likewise His mercy and His anger and His laughter, all of it is befitting Allah, not resembling His creation And likewise all the attributes, all of them are befitting Allah, not resembling His creation in them acting in accordance with His saying—(Exalted and Majestic is He):
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُAnd this is the saying of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and they are the followers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who follow them with excellence. So adhere to it, O Abdullah! Adhere to this saying, and hold onto it with your teeth, and beware of the sayings of the innovators who distort the Book of Allah, who interpret the attributes of Allah figuratively, or liken Allah to His creation. Beware of their sayings, for all of them are false.
And the truth is the saying of the people of the Sunnah and the community, and it is the saying of the followers of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who follow them with excellence, and it is the saying of all the prophets and all the messengers, and it is the belief in the names and attributes of Allah that came in the great Qur'an, and the pure, authentic Sunnah, and passing them over as they came without distortion, or denial of the divine attributes, or figurative interpretation, or asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation.
Rather, it is obligatory for us to believe in them as they came, and pass them over as they came, with the belief that they are truth, and that His descent is truth, and that His rising above is truth, and that His mercy is truth, and that His anger is truth, and that His pleasure is truth, and that His mercy is truth, and likewise the rest of His attributes, from hand and foot and hearing and sight and knowledge and speech, all of them are truth, all of them are attributes befitting Allah, not resembling His creation in them .
So His speech is not of the kind of the speech of His creation, and His anger is not of the kind of their anger, and His laughter is not of the kind of their laughter, and His pleasure is not of the kind of their pleasure, and likewise, all His attributes are befitting Him not resembling His creation in them, and no one knows their modality except He .
Some people said to Malik ibn Anas, the imam of the city of migration in his time, the famous imam, and the great scholar—(may Allah have mercy on him)—some people said to him, O Abu Abdullah! Allah, the Exalted, says:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىSo the rising above is known, and it is the elevation, the rising above is the elevation and being above the Throne, it is the elevation above the Throne, and the rising, this is known, and the modality is unknown, how did He rise above? We do not know how He rose above, we do not know how He is pleased, how He is angry, how He descends, no, we do not know, but we believe that He descends to the lowest heaven every night in the last third, we know that He rose above the Throne, we know that He laughs and is pleased and is angry, but we do not know the modality of that, rather we say as He, the Exalted, said:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُThe presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.