because praying in congregation is obligatory, whereas delaying it is recommended, and there is no comparison between what is recommended and what is obligatory. His apparent meaning is that delaying it until after midnight is permissible, since he did not explicitly state that this is a time of necessity. Others have explicitly stated that it is a time of necessity (1), to which the prayer may not be delayed except out of necessity. It has already been mentioned that the correct view is that its time ends at midnight (2).

The time for the dawn prayer follows, lasting until sunrise.

His statement, “The time for the dawn prayer follows, lasting until sunrise”: the author did not explain when the time for the dawn prayer begins, because he holds that the time for the night prayer extends until the break of dawn. This is why he said, “The time for the dawn prayer follows”; thus, it begins with the second dawn and lasts until sunrise.

Its duration in hours varies: it may be an hour and a half, or an hour and a quarter, like the sunset prayer. Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Whoever thinks that the share of dawn is like the share of sunset has erred and been mistaken” (3). That is, some people allow an hour and a half between the break of dawn and sunrise, and an hour and a half between sunset and the disappearance of the twilight, in both winter and summer. Shaykh al-Islam says: This is mistaken and incorrect, because in winter the interval between the break of dawn and sunrise becomes longer as vapours rise upward, causing the sunlight to be reflected earlier; thus, the period of dawn becomes longer. The opposite occurs in summer. When the period of dawn is longer, the period of sunset is shorter, and vice versa. In any case, these are phenomena of the horizon.