the Friday prayer with Abu Bakr, and his sermon and prayer were before midday. Then I attended it with Umar, and his sermon and prayer lasted until I would say: the day has reached its midpoint. Then I attended it with Uthman, and his sermon and prayer lasted until I would say: the sun has passed the meridian. I did not see anyone criticize or object to that.” Reported by al-Daraqutni and Ahmad, who cited it as evidence (1).

However, this hadith cannot validly be used as evidence that the time for the Friday prayer begins when the sun has risen to the height of a spear, for the following reasons:

First: The report is weak, as al-Nawawi and others stated. Its narrator is described by al-Bukhari as someone whose reports are not corroborated.

Second: Even if this report were authentic, it contains no proof that the time for the Friday prayer begins when the sun has risen to the height of a spear. His statement, “His sermon and prayer were before midday,” indicates that they were close to midday, which is the time when the sun passes the meridian. Had they been at the beginning of the day, he would have said, “His prayer and sermon were at the beginning of the day.” There is a difference between saying “before midday” and saying “from the beginning of the day,” because “before midday” means that it was close to it. This is why he said: “Then I attended it with Umar, and his sermon and prayer lasted until I would say: the day has reached its midpoint. Then I attended it with Uthman, and his sermon and prayer lasted until I would say: the