Knowing the obligatory five Islamic prayers time is compulsory for us Muslims and we are going to discuss one of the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that explains the moment for each prayer time.
Hadith On Islamic Prayers Time (Arabic)
عن عبد الله بن عمرو رضي الله عنهما : أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، قال:
«وقت الظهر إذا زالت الشمس وكان ظل الرجل كطوله، ما لم يحضر العصر، ووقت العصر ما لم تَصْفَرَّ الشمس، ووقت صلاة المغرب ما لم يَغِبْ الشفق، ووقت صلاة العشاء إلى نصف الليل الأوسط، ووقت صلاة الصبح من طلوع الفجر ما لم تطلع الشمس، فإذا طلعت الشمس فأمسك عن الصلاة، فإنها تطلع بين قرني شيطان».
[صحيح] – [رواه مسلم]
Hadith On Islamic Prayers Time (English)
Abdullāh ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“The time for the Zhuhr prayer starts when the sun has passed its zenith and a man’s shadow is equal in length to his height, until the time for the ‘Asr prayer comes. The time for the ‘Asr lasts until the sun turns yellow. The time for the Maghrib prayer lasts so long as the dusk is not gone. The time for the ‘Ishā’ prayer lasts until midnight. The time for the Fajr prayer lasts from the break of dawn so long as the sun has not risen. When the sun rises, stop praying, for it rises between two horns of a devil.”
(Hadith 10596 – Muslim)
Explanation Of The Hadith On Islamic Prayers Time
We should know that all the obligatory prayers that we observe daily cannot be prayed at any random time. All the Islamic prayers time are ordained and fixed by Allah as He says in the Quran:
“Indeed, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed times.” (Surah An-Nisa: 103)
Their appointed times are set, and so they should not be postponed from these times. Even our prophet made us know that observing the solah at the moment among Islamic prayers time indicated for them is one of the best deeds. The Messenger of Allah (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was asked:
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, which deeds are best?” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Prayer on time.” I said,
“Then what, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Good treatment of your parents.” I said, “Then what, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “That people are safe from your tongue.”
Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir 9687 (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Let’s discuss the moment for the five Islamic prayers time
1. Zhuhr (Dhuhr) Prayer: The time for Zhuhr begins when the sun has crossed its highest point in the sky (when the sun passes its peak ) and starts to move towards the west. You can say that it’s time for Zhuhr now. You will also notice that the shadow of an upright object starts to lengthen and leans eastward.
This period continues until a person’s shadow becomes roughly equal to their height, marking the beginning of the ‘Asr prayer time.
2. ‘Asr Prayer: The time for ‘Asr starts when the shadow of an object is equal to its height and continues until the sun starts to turn yellow. This period is considered the preferred time for ‘Asr prayer. However, as mentioned by the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him):
“Whoever performs one Rak‘ah of the ‘Asr before the sun sets has prayed it within its time.” [Al-Bukhāri and Muslim].
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that as long as one has finished one Rak‘ah of ‘Asr before sunset, they have prayed within the time of ‘Asr. This means that the period lasts till sunset even though praying it at the beginning of its time is the best and it is not acceptable for someone to intentionally delay it to a later time because of any unforeseen circumstances that may later happen like death.
3. Maghrib Prayer: The time for Maghrib begins once the sun has set and continues until the evening twilight disappears. Twilight here refers to the soft light seen in the sky after sunset and before complete darkness. As long as this light is present, the time for ‘Ishā’ has not yet begun.
Also, if the sun has set partially, then the Maghrib time has not yet started and the time for Maghrib lasts as long as the dusk remains visible in the sky.
4. ‘Ishā’ Prayer: The time for ‘Ishā’ prayer starts when the twilight has completely disappeared and lasts until midnight, which is the preferred time to offer this prayer. The Sunnah is that the Prophet used to offer it early in congregation with the people but he said that observing it late at night is better. He used to pray it early because it might not be convenient for the people to come to Mosque in the late night.
5. Fajr Prayer: The time for Fajr starts at the appearance of the true dawn and continues until just before sunrise. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited praying when the sun starts to rise because it is said that the sun rises between the two horns of a devil.
During this time, the devil positions himself for those who prostrate to worship him. Therefore, this prohibition is to differentiate the worship of Allah from those who might be worshipping the sun at that time.
With the understanding of this hadith, we are going to be able to differentiate the start of the five obligatory prayers and their end, thus knowing when to offer them. We should keep to these Islamic prayers time so as to follow the hadith of our Prophet which says:
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, which deeds are best?” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Prayer on time.”
We can try to have an Islamic app like the DeenMinder App available on Playstore and Appstore to remind us of the prayer times. Deenminder App also has a lot of features that can help us in our worship like Quran memorization and reading, Dua and Adkhar, fasting reminder, do not disturb mode, Islamic quiz, Qiblah direction, Adhan, and many more.
We ask Allah to grant us steadfastness in His religion and make it easy for us to worship Him sincerely and follow the path of our Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). You can read more about Deenminder App features here.
