Times of the Prayers

Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man kissed a woman (unlawfully), so he came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and told him of what he did. Thereupon Allah, the Almighty revealed the verse: {And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds.} [Sūrat Hūd: 114]. The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, is this (verse) for me?" He replied: "For everybody of my Ummah, all of them."

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): Which deed is dearest to Allah? He said: "Offering prayer at its earliest appointed time." I said: Then, what comes next? He said: "Dutifulness to one's parents." I said: Then, what comes next? He said: "Jihad in the way of Allah." He said: These were the things he said to me, and if I had asked him for more, he would have given me more.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "What if there was a river at the door of any of you wherein he takes a bath five times a day? Would there remain any of his filth?" They said: Nothing of his filth would remain. He said: "This is similar to the five prayers by means of which Allah erases sins."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, Abu Hurayrah, and Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the heat is intense, delay the prayer until it becomes fairly cool, for intense heat is from the boiling and breathing of Hellfire."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, Abu Hurayrah, and Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the heat is intense, delay the prayer until it becomes fairly cool, for intense heat is from the boiling and breathing of Hellfire."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, Abu Hurayrah, and Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the heat is intense, delay the prayer until it becomes fairly cool, for intense heat is from the boiling and breathing of Hellfire."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Fever is from the searing heat of Hell, so cool it off with water."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, Abu Hurayrah, and Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the heat is intense, delay the prayer until it becomes fairly cool, for intense heat is from the boiling and breathing of Hellfire."

Abu al-Minhāl Sayyār ibn Salāmah reported: I went with my father to Abu Barzah al-Aslami, and my father asked him: "How did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) use to perform the obligatory prayers?" Abu Barzah said: "He used to pray Zhuhr, which you call ‘the first one’, as the sun declined at noon, and he prayed ‘Asr at a time after which one of us could go to his house at the farthest place in Madīnah while the sun was still hot." I forgot what he had said about the Maghrib prayer. "And he liked to delay the ‘Ishā' prayer, which you call ‘Atamah, and he disliked to sleep before it and talk after it. After the Fajr prayer, he would leave when a man could recognize the one sitting beside him. He used to recite 60 to 100 verses.'"

Buraydah ibn al-Hasīb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Offer the ‘Asr prayer early, for the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever abandons the ‘Asr prayer, his deeds will be rendered worthless."

Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were in the presence of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when he looked at the moon when it was full, and he said: "You will see your Lord as you see this moon, you will not have any difficulty in seeing Him. So if you are able to not be overcome in observing a prayer before sunrise (the Fajr) and a prayer before sunset (the ‘Asr), then do so." Then, he recited: "{And glorify the praise of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset.}"

Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj al-Anṣāri al-Awsi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We used to pray the Maghrib prayer with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and when one of us left he could still see where his arrow landed.

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Zhuhr prayer at the time of intense heat, and the ‘Asr prayer at the time when the sun was clear, and the Maghrib prayer when its time was due, and as for the ‘Ishā' prayer, he would sometimes hasten to offer it when he saw them already gathered, and at other times he would delay it when they had not gathered yet. As for the Fajr prayer, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer it at the time when darkness at the end of the night mixed with the faint light of the morning.

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Zhuhr prayer at the time of intense heat, and the ‘Asr prayer at the time when the sun was clear, and the Maghrib prayer when its time was due, and as for the ‘Ishā' prayer, he would sometimes hasten to offer it when he saw them already gathered, and at other times he would delay it when they had not gathered yet. As for the Fajr prayer, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer it at the time when darkness at the end of the night mixed with the faint light of the morning.

Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were in the presence of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when he looked at the moon when it was full, and he said: "You will see your Lord as you see this moon, you will not have any difficulty in seeing Him. So if you are able to not be overcome in observing a prayer before sunrise (the Fajr) and a prayer before sunset (the ‘Asr), then do so." Then, he recited: "{And glorify the praise of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset.}"

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever prays the Bardayn (Fajr and ‘Asr prayers) will enter Paradise."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever catches one Rak‘ah before sunrise, he has caught the Fajr prayer, and whoever catches one Rak‘ah of the ‘Asr prayer before sunset, he has caught the ‘Asr prayer."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: "Some trustworthy men, and the most trustworthy among them in my eyes was ‘Umar, testified before me that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade praying after the Fajr prayer up until the sun rises, and after the‘Asr prayer until the sun sets." Abu Sa‘īd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There should be no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises high, and there should be no prayer after the ‘Asr prayer until the sun sets.”

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb came cursing the disbelievers of Quraysh after the sun had set on the Day of the Trench, and he said: "O Messenger of Allah, I could not offer the ‘Asr prayer till the sun had set." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah! I have not yet prayed it either." So we went to But-hān, and he performed ablution and so did we, and then he offered the ‘Asr prayer after the sun had set and then followed it with the Maghrib prayer.

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever forgets a prayer should perform it as soon as he remembers it; there is no expiation for it except that: {and establish prayer to remember me.} [Surat Tā-ha: 14]"