So when the sun rises, look at it. Once it has risen by the height of a spear—that is, approximately one metre as it appears to the eye—the prohibited time has ended.

In terms of clock time, this is estimated at ten to twelve minutes; that is, it is not a long period. However, as a precaution, it is better to add up to fifteen minutes. Thus, we say that the prohibited time ends fifteen minutes after sunrise.

And when it stands at its zenith until it declines, and from the `Asr prayer until its setting, …

His statement: “And when it stands at its zenith until it declines.” “When it stands at its zenith” refers to the sun, until it declines—that is, until it inclines from the middle of the sky toward the west. This is the third period.

“Its standing” means the point at which it has reached its maximum elevation in the sky, for the sun rises in the horizon, and once it reaches its highest point, it begins to descend.

The evidence for this is the hadith of `Uqbah ibn `Amir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “There are three times during which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us to pray and to bury our dead: when the sun rises brightly until it has risen high; when the sun stands at the zenith; and when the sun inclines toward setting until it sets.” (1)

The point of evidence is his ﷺ statement: “to pray during them.” As for the period between Fajr and sunrise, and from the `Asr prayer until sunset, it is established from a number of the Companions that the Prophet ﷺ forbade prayer after Fajr—meaning, after the prayer itself, according to the stronger view—until the sun rises, and after `Asr until it sets. (2)

His statement: “And from the `Asr prayer until its setting”: this is the fourth period.