because he is fighting off death. This has been reported from some of the Companions, as in the hadith of Anas concerning the conquest of Tustar (1): they delayed the Fajr prayer until mid-morning, after its prescribed time had passed, until Allah granted them victory (2). The Prophet’s delaying the prayer beyond its time on the Day of the Trench is to be understood in this light (3), for the Prophet ﷺ said, “They kept us occupied from the middle prayer” (4)—that is, in such a way that he was unable to pray it within its prescribed time.
The Battle of the Trench took place in the fifth year, while the campaign of Dhat al-Riqaʿ took place, according to the well-known view, in the fourth year (5). In the latter, he performed the prayer of fear. It thus becomes clear that he delayed it during the Battle of the Trench because of intense fear. This is therefore the second exception concerning delay, and thus delaying the prayer beyond its prescribed time occurs in two cases:
(1) Khalifah stated that its conquest took place in the year 20 AH, during the caliphate of Umar. See Fath al-Bari by Ibn Rajab; Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar, commentary on hadith no. 945; Mu'jam al-Buldan, 2/29; al-Tarikh al-Islami by Mahmud Shakir, 3/179.
(2) Reported by al-Bukhari in a suspended form using a definitive wording, in the Book of Fear, chapter: “Prayer when confronting fortresses and meeting the enemy.” It was connected by Khalifah ibn Khayyat in his Tarikh, p. 146, who said: Ibn Zuray' narrated to us, from Sa'id, from Qatadah, from Anas, with this report. Its chain of transmission is sound. It was also connected by Ibn Sa'd and Ibn Abi Shaybah through another route from Qatadah. See Fath al-Bari, commentary on hadith no. 945.
(3) Reported by al-Bukhari, Book of the Times of Prayer, chapter: “Whoever leads the people in congregational prayer after its time has passed,” no. 596; and Muslim, Book of Mosques, chapter: “Evidence for those who hold that the middle prayer is the Asr prayer,” no. 631, on the authority of Jabir.
(4) Reported by Muslim, in the preceding book and chapter, nos. 627 and 628, on the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.
(5) See: Zad al-Ma'ad, 3/250; Fath al-Bari, 7/417.