One also says, “We came to our families during the midday heat,” meaning at the time of the midday heat. Tahjīr and tahajjur (1) mean travelling during that heat.
This, then, is the evidence supporting the view of the people of Medina.
The others said: The term tahjīr is like the term rawāh: it can be used to mean going early. Al-Azharī wrote in al-Tahdhīb (2): Mālik (3) narrated from Sumayy, from Abū Sālih, from Abū Hurayra, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“If people knew the reward of going early to prayer, they would race to do so.”
In another hadith traced back to the Prophet:
“One who goes early to the Friday prayer is like one who offers a camel as a sacrifice.”
He said: Many people think that tahjīr in these hadiths derives from hājira, the midday heat when the sun begins to decline. This is mistaken. The correct interpretation is what Abū Dāwūd al-Masāhifī narrated from al-Nadr ibn Shumayl, who said: Tahjīr (4) to the Friday prayer and other prayers means going early. He added: I heard al-Khalīl say this when explaining this hadith.
Al-Azharī said: This is correct. It is the usage of the people of the Hijaz and their neighbours from Qays. Labīd said:
The people of the encampment went forth early, after making an early start. (5)