Hadiths: The Times of Prayer

1. "He said, "Yahya Ibn Yahya al-Laythi related to me from Malik Ibn Ana's from Ibn Shihab that on dayUmar Ibn Abd al-Aziz delayed the prayer. Urwa Ibn az-Zubayr came and told him that al-Mughira Ibn Ahu'ba had delayed the prayer one day while he was in Kufa and Abu Mas'u al-Ansari had come to him and said, 'What's this, Mughira? Don't you know that the angel Jibril came down and prayed, and the Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed.' Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace,prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Then he prayed again, and the Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed. Them Jibril said, 'This is what you have been ordered to do.' Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz said, 'Be sure of what you relate, Urwa. Was it definitely Jibril who established the prayer for the Messenger of Allah?'"

Urwa said, "That's how it was related to Bashir Ibn Abi Mas'ud al-Ansari by his father."

2. Urwa said that Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray Asr while the sunlight was pouring into her room before the sun itself had become visible (I.e., because it was still high in the sky).

3. Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from the Marla of Abdullah Ibn Umar that Umar Ibn Al-Khattab wrote to his governors, saying, "The most important of your affairs in my view is the prayer. Whoever protects it and observes it carefully is protecting his Deen, while whoever is negligent about it will be even more negligent about other things." Then he added, "Pray dhuhr anytime from when the afternoon shade is the length of your forearm until the length of your shadow matches your height. Pray asr when the sun is still pure white, so that a rider can travel two or three farsakhs before the sun sets. Pray maghrib when the sun has set. Pray isha any time from when the redness in the western sky has disappeared until a third of the night has passed - and a person who sleeps, May he have no rest. And pray subh when all the stars are visible and like a haze in the sky.

4. Yahya related to me from Malik, from his uncle Abu Suhayl from his father that Umar Ibn al-Khattab wrote to Abu Musa saying that he should pray dhuhr when the sun has started to decline, asr when the sun is still pure white before any yellowness had entered it, maghrib when the sun had set, and to delay isha as long as he did not sleep, and to pray subh when. The stars were all visible and like a haze in the sky and to read in it two long suras from the mufassal.

5. Yahya related to me from Malik from from Rabi'a Ibn Abi Abd ad-Rahman that al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad said, "None of the companions that I met prayed dhuhr until well after noon," (I.e. Until when the sun had lost its fierceness.)"

Islam 101: The Five Islamic Prayers

The five obligatory prayers for Muslims (both males and females) are Fajar, Zuhur, Asar, Maghrib and Isha.

Fajar (pre-dawn): It is performed before sunrise. This prayer begins the day with the remembrance of Allah Almighty.

Zuhur(noon):This prayer is performed after the day’s work has begun. A Muslim breaks the day’s work in noon to offer this prayer, and seeks Allah’s guidance.

Asr (afternoon): This prayer is performed in the afternoon, when the day’s work activities are drawing towards an end. People are normally busy in bringing their kids back to their homes, and winding up work at offices. Amidst this busy time, this prayer is offered to remember Allah.

Maghrib(sunset):It is offered when the sun sets, and days draw towards an end.

Isha (evening): This prayer is offered before Muslims retire for the night. They take time out to remember God’s mercy, forgiveness and seek His guidance.

These prayers are obligatory, and their importance can be analyzed from the following Quranic ayah:

“I am Allah. There is no god but Me, so important (it is to) worship Me and establish salat to remember Me. (Surah Ta Ha).”

The five obligatory prayers are a source of purification of the heart, soul and mind of the believer. This can be supported from Hadith:

“If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?” They said, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” The Prophet added, “That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.”