كتاب وقوت الصلاةThe Times of Prayer

He said, "Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi related to me from Malik ibn

Anas from Ibn Shihab that one day Umar ibn Abdal-Aziz delayed the

prayer. Urwa ibn az-Zubayr came and told him that al-Mughira ibn Shuba

had delayed the prayer one day while he was in Kufa and Abu Masud 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. Then 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

time of the prayer for the Messenger of Allah?' " Urwa said, "That's

how it was related to Bashir ibn Abi Masud al-Ansari by his father."

Urwa said that A'isha, 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).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Ata ibn

Yasar said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him

and grant him peace, and asked him about the time of the subh prayer.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did

not answer him, but in the morning he prayed subh at first light. The

following morning he prayed subh when it was much lighter, and then

said, 'Where is the man who was asking about the time of the prayer?'

The man replied, 'Here I am, Messenger of Allah.' He said,'The time is

between these two.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Amra bint

Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless

him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, used to pray subh and the women would

leave wrapped in their garments and they could not yet be recognised

in the darkness."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn

Yasar and from Busr ibn Said and from al-Araj-all of whom related it

from Abu Hurayra - that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him

and grant him peace, said, "Whoever manages to do a raka of subh

before the sun has risen has done subh in time, and whoever manages to

do a raka of asr before the sun has set has done asr in time."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi', the mawla 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 any time 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, 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."

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 had started to decline, asr when the

sun was 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.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his

father that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to Abu Musa al-Ashari that he

should pray asr when the sun was still pure white so that a man could

ride three farsakhs (before maghrib) and that he should pray Isha

during the first third of the night, or, if he delayed it, then up

until the middle of the night, and he warned him not to be forgetful.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad that Abdullah

ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the

prayer. Abu Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray dhuhr when the length

of your shadow matches your height, asr when your shadow is twice your

height, maghrib when the sun has set, isha in the first third of the

night, and subh in the very first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn

has definitely come.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi

Talha that Anas ibn Malik said, "We would pray asr and anyone who then

went to the Bani Amr ibn Awf would find them praying asr."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Anas ibn

Malik said, "We would pray asr and anyone who then went to Quba would

arrive there while the sun was still high."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-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).

Yahya related to me from Malik from his uncle Abu Suhayl ibn

Malik that his father said, "I used to see a carpet belonging to Aqil

ibn Abi Talib spread out on the day of jumua up to the west wall of

the mosque. When the shadow of the wall covered the whole carpet, Umar

ibn al-Khattab would come out and pray the jumua prayer."

Malik, Abu Suhayl's father, added, "We would then return after the

jumua prayer and take our midday sleep."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Amr ibn Yahya ibn Yahya al-

Mazini from Ibn Abi Salit that Uthman ibn Affan prayed jumua in Madina

and asr in Malal (a place seventeen miles from Madina).

Malik

commented, "That was by praying jumua just past midday and then

travelling fast."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Salama

ibn Abdar-Rahman from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may

Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "Whoever catches a raka of

the prayer has caught the prayer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar

ibn al-Khattab used to say, "If the ruku has passed you by, so has the

sajda."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abdullah

ibn Umar and Zayd ibn Thabit used to say, "Whoever catches the raka`ah

has caught the sajda."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Abu Hurayra

used to say, "Whoever catches the ruku has caught the sajda and

whoever misses the recitation of the umm al-Qur'an has missed much

good."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar

used to say, "Duluk ash-shams begins from when the sun passes the

meridian."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Da'ud ibn al-Husayn said that

someone had told him Abdullah ibn Abbas used to say, "Duluk ash-shams

begins from when the sun passes the meridian. Ghasaq al-layl is the

gathering of the night and its darkness."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar

that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

said, "If someone misses the asr prayer it is as if he has suffered a

great misfortune in his family and wealth ."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that once Umar

ibn al-Khattab left after doing the asr prayer and met a man who had

not been there. Umar asked him what had kept him from the prayer and

eventhough the man gave a good reason, Umar said, "You have given

yourself short measure."

Yahya added that Malik commented,

"It is said that everything has a short measure and a full measure."

Yahya related to me from Malik thatYahya ibn Said used to say,

"Even if someone manages to pray before the time of the prayer has

passed, the time that has passed him by is more important, or better,

than his family and wealth."

Yahya said that Malik said, "If

the time for a prayer comes and a traveller delays a prayer through

neglect or forgetfulness until he reaches his family, he should do

that prayer in full if he arrives within the time. But if he arrives

when the time has past, he should do the travelling prayer. That way

he only repays what he owes."

Malik said, "This is what I

have found the people and men of knowledge doing in our community."

Malik explained that shafaq was the redness in the sky after the sun

had set, and said, "When the redness has gone then the isha prayer is

due and you have left the time of maghrib."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that one time Abdullah

ibn Umar fainted and lost his senses and he did not make up the

prayer.

Malik commented, "We consider that that was because,

and Allah knows best, the time had passed. Someone who recovers within

the time has to pray."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-

Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace, travelled by night on the way back from Khaybar.Towards the

end of the night he stopped for a rest and told Bilal to stay awake to

keep watch for the subh prayer. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, and his companions slept. Bilal stayed

on guard as long as was decreed for him and then he leant against his

riding camel facing the direction of the dawn and sleep overcame him

and neither he nor the Messenger of Allah nor any of the party woke up

until the sun's rays had struck them. The Messenger of Allah, may

Allah bless him and grant him peace, was alarmed. Bilal excused

himself, saying, "Messenger of Allah! The One who took your self was

the One who took myself. "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him

and grant him peace, ordered the party to move on and so they roused

thei r mounts and rode on a short distance. The Messenger of Allah,

may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered Bilal to give the

iqama and then led them in the subh prayer. When he had finished he

said, "Anyone who forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers.

Allah theBlessed and Exalted says in His book, 'Establish the prayer

to remember Me.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik that Zayd ibn Aslam said, "The

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stopped

for a rest one night on the way to Makka and appointed Bilal to wake

them up for the prayer. Bilal slept and everyone else slept and none

of them woke up until the sun had risen. When they did wake up they

were all alarmed. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, ordered them to ride out of the valley, saying that

there was a shaytan in it. So they rode out of the valley and the

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered

them to dismount and do wudu and he told Bilal either to call the

prayer or to give the iqama. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless

him and grant him peace, then led them in the prayer. Noticing their

uneasiness, he went to them and said, 'O people! Allah seized our

spirits (arwah) and if He had wished He would have returned them to us

at a time other than this. So if you sleep through the time for a

prayer or forget it and then are anxious about it, pray it as if you

were praying it in its time.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless

him and grant him peace, turned to Abu Bakr and said, 'Shaytan came to

Bilal when he was standing in prayer and made him lie down and lulled

him to sleep like a small boy.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, then called Bilal and told him the same

as he had told Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr declared, 'I bear witness that you

are the Messenger of Allah.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn

Yasar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him

peace, said, "Scorching heat is a part of the blast of Jahannam. So,

when the heat is fierce, delay the prayer until it gets cooler."

He added in explanation, "The Fire complained to its Lord and

said, 'My Lord, part of me has eaten another part,' so He allowed it

two breaths in every year, a breath in winter and a breath in summer."

Malik related to us from Abdullah ibn Yazid the mawla of al-Aswad

ibn Sufyan, from Abu Salama ibn Abd ar-Rahman from Muhammad ibn Abd

ar-Rahman ibn Thawban from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah,

may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the heat is

fierce delay the prayer until it gets cooler, for scorching heat is a

part of the blast of Jahannam."

He added, "The Fire

complained to its Lord, so He allowed it two breaths in each year, a

breath in winter and a breath in summer."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj from

Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace, said, "When the heat is fierce, wait until it gets cooler

before you do the prayer, for scorching heat is from the blast of

Jahannam."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-

Musayyab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace, said, "Anyone who eats this plant should not come near our

mosques. The smell of the garlic will offend us."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Mujabbar

that he used to see Salim ibn Abdullah pull the cloth away fiercely

from the mouth of any man he saw covering his mouth while praying.