the original; for when a person exercises independent judgment for himself, he is acting on the original basis, whereas when he relies on another person’s report, this is secondary. Thus, if someone says, “I think the sun has set,” should his statement be acted upon?

The answer is: it should not be acted upon, according to what is implied by the author’s words.

His statement, “trustworthy,” means someone whose word may be relied upon because he is legally accountable and truthful—that is, an adult of sound mind who is not known for lying, hastiness, or rashness.

However, the view adopted by the author—that the report of a trustworthy person must be based on certainty—is open to question.

The correct view is that if someone whom you trust informs you, it is permissible to pray on the basis of his report, whether he is reporting certainty or a preponderant likelihood. For if you do not know the time, and we were to say that you may not rely on another person’s report when he has exercised independent judgment, this would cause hardship. Muslims have always acted upon the calls to prayer given by the muezzins, and many muezzins sometimes give the call based on a preponderant likelihood, since clouds may be abundant and they do not have timepieces by which to determine the time precisely.

Thus, we say: a person may know that the prayer time has begun either through his own independent judgment, if he is qualified to exercise such judgment because he knows the beginning and ending times of the prayers, or through the report of someone whose word he trusts, whether that person reports on the basis of probability or certainty.

His statement, “or the report of a trustworthy person,” includes a woman. Thus, if a trustworthy woman informs you that the time has begun, you may act upon her statement, because this is a religious report, not legal testimony.

“If he begins the prayer on the basis of independent judgment and it becomes clear that it was before the time, then it is voluntary; otherwise, it is obligatory.”

His statement, “If he begins the prayer on the basis of independent judgment and it becomes clear that it was before the time, then it is voluntary; otherwise, it is obligatory,” means that he exercises independent judgment to determine the time, and it then becomes clear that he began the prayer—that is, pronounced the opening takbir—before the prayer time began. His prayer is then counted as voluntary, and he is not deprived of its reward.