There’s no doubt that most of us now rely on Muslim Apps like Deen Minder App and the rest to calculate or determine the time of Solah these days. We need to know that these apps are programmed to calculate the weather based on how the sunnah of the Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) taught us the Islamic namaz time which is generally known as Islamic prayer times.
We need to know how to determine the Islamic prayer times manually by following the Sunnah way because we might find ourselves in a place where we won’t have access to our Apps like Deen Minder or Muslim Pro may be due to lack of network or electricity and we want to determine the Islamic namaz time for the prayers we want to observe.
We are going to discuss the Sunnah way of knowing the Islamic namaz time today in shaa Allah in this article and this will be an everlasting knowledge for every one of us.
Importance Of Knowing The Islamic Namaz Time
One of the major reasons that we need to know the Islamic prayer times is because Allah Subhanahu wa ta’ala who commands us to observe these five daily prayers told us that there’s time or moment for each prayer too. We cannot just observe them anytime we want. Allah says:
“Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.” (Surah An-Nisa, 4:103)
The above verse made it clear that all the five daily prayers have a specified time that we need to observe them. The question is how do we know the time?
The answer is in the Sunnah of our Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) where Allah sent Angel Jibril to come and show the Prophet the Islamic prayer times. I hope you now see that it is important to know the Islamic prayer times. Even the Prophet emphasized on praying at its first moment as one of the best deeds.
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.”
Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir 9687 (authentic) according to Al-Albani
In the narration from Bukhari and Muslim too, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (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.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
The Time Of Islamic Prayer Times As Explained In The Sunnah
One of the amazing aspects of Islam is its timeless guidance in all matters and affairs of our worship and life generally. Even before the advent of clocks or modern technology, our Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) has taught us how to determine Islamic namaz times easily and accurately. The hadith of determining the Islamic prayer times goes thus
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.”
(Muslim)
Explanation Of The Sunnah Way Of Knowing Islamic Prayer Times Anywhere
Based on the above hadith that pointed to the Islamic prayer times, we are going to deduct the beginning and the end of each solah time now.
1. Zhuhr (Dhuhr) Prayer
The Islamic namaz time for Zhuhr is when the sun has reached its highest point in the sky and starts to move towards the west side. The time for Zhuhr Solah has started now and you will be able to see that the shadow of an upright object starts to increase and leans towards the east side.
This period of the Zhuhr Solah continues until a person’s shadow becomes almost equal to their height, indicating the beginning of the ‘Asr prayer time.
2. ‘Asr Prayer
The Islamic namaz time for ‘Asr starts when the shadow of a person or an object is equal to its height and this moment continues until the sun starts to turn yellow. We should also know this ‘Asr is very important because Allah really emphasized on it so much. All the prayers are very important to observe but Allah says that we should keep the ‘Asr prayer in mind more.
Keep in mind the obligatory prayers and in particular the middle prayer [Asr prayer] and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
(Al-Quran 2:238)
The statement ‘keep in mind the obligatory prayers” means that you should always remember to perform them at their Islamic prayer times not just any random time. And the Asr prayer is later singled out in particular that we must adhere to it more at its appointed time.
3. Maghrib Prayer
The Islamic namaz time for Maghrib begins once the sun has set and this period continues until the night twilight disappears. the night twilight is the soft light seen in the sky after sunset before the complete darkness. As long as this light is present, we are still in the Maghrib time.
Also, if the sun has set partially, then the Maghrib time begins and the time for Maghrib Solah lasts as long as the twilight remains visible in the sky.
4. ‘Ishā’ Prayer
The Islamic namaz time for the ‘Ishā’ prayer starts when the twilight has completely disappeared and this period lasts until midnight, which is the most preferred time to offer this prayer. The Sunnah is that the Prophet used to pray ‘Isha in the early night in congregation with the people so as not to inconvenience them and tell them to come to the Mosque later at night.
5. Fajr Prayer
The Islamic namaz time for Fajr starts when the true dawn appears and this moment continues until just before sunrise. After the sun has risen, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited praying at this time because the sun rises between the two horns of a devil.
This prohibition is to differentiate the worship of Allah from anyone else who might be worshipping the sun at this time or those prostrating to worship the devil when it has positioned itself around the sun.
Benefits of Keeping the Islamic Prayer Times in Mind and Observing Salah at These Appointed Times
Observing salah at the appointed Islamic prayer times is a great religious obligation that will earn someone’s reward because it entails following the commandment of Allah subhanahu was ta’ala. Other benefits of keeping Islamic namaz time in mind include:
1. It increases one’s Taqwa and Eeman: Adhering to the Islamic prayer times for each Solah strengthens your connection with Allah. This means that you always remember Allah and thus it will increase your faith and piety in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Allah says:
So remember Me; I will remember you. (Al-Quran 2:152)
2. You will earn a lot of rewards: Keeping the Islamic namaz time for each prayer in mind and observing these prayers at these appointed times is one of the best deeds that Allah will reward you for. 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.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Praying Solah in the congregation has a lot of rewards unlike praying alone.
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Praying in congregation is twenty-seven degrees better than praying alone.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
3. Improve consistency in Solah and limit your mistakes: Coming to observe your Solah in the Mosque at the correct Islamic Namaz time enables you to always pray in congregation, thus improving your consistency in Solah and decreasing your chances of making mistakes unlike if you are praying alone.
We implore every one of us to study this Sunnah way of knowing the Islamic prayer times because we might need it one day when we can’t have access to our Islamic Apps.
We also implore every one of us to keep the Islamic namaz time in mind and make sure we come to the Mosque early to do some worship like Nawafil, Quran recitation or Adhkar recitation. You can also read more on the Sunnah way of knowing Islamic prayer time here too. Assalaamu Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh.
