As for al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Thawr, and Dāwūd, the end of the Ẓuhr period, in their view, coincides exactly with the first instant of ʿAṣr—an indivisible moment.
Abū Ḥanīfah, as noted earlier, maintained that ʿAṣr does not begin until the shadow of every object has become twice its length; the reason for his divergence from the others was discussed previously.
Mālik’s disagreement with al-Shāfiʿī and those who follow him on this point results from an apparent clash between the ḥadīth of Jibrīl and the ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar. In the account of Jibrīl’s leadership it is related that on the second day he led the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—in Ẓuhr at the very time in which he had led him in ʿAṣr on the first day. Yet in the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “The time for Ẓuhr remains until the time for ʿAṣr arrives,” a report recorded by Muslim.
Accordingly, whoever gives precedence to the ḥadīth of Jibrīl holds that the two prayer times overlap, whereas whoever prefers the report of Ibn ʿUmar allows no overlap. Moreover, it is easier to interpret Jibrīl’s narration in light of Ibn ʿUmar’s than the reverse, for the narrator may have spoken loosely because of the nearness of the two periods. The account of Jibrīl’s leadership was declared sound by al-Tirmidhī, while the report of Ibn ʿUmar is found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
With regard to the end of ʿAṣr time, two opinions are transmitted from Mālik. According to the first, its last moment is when the shadow of each object equals twice its length—a position also adopted by al-Shāfiʿī. According to the second, its time lasts so long as the sun has not turned yellow; this is the view of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. The literalists (Ahl al-Ẓāhir) maintained that its final limit is one rakʿah before sunset.
Their divergence arises from three ḥadīths that seem, on the surface, to conflict:
- The report of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, recorded by Muslim, in which he said: “When you have performed ʿAṣr, its time extends until the sun turns yellow,” and in another wording: “The time of ʿAṣr lasts so long as the sun has not yellowed.”
- The narration of Ibn ʿAbbās about Jibrīl’s leadership, which states that on the second day “he led him in ʿAṣr when the shadow of every object was twice its length.”
- The well-known ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah: “Whoever catches one rakʿah of ʿAṣr before the sun sets has caught the ʿAṣr prayer, and whoever catches one rakʿah of Fajr before the sun rises has caught the Fajr prayer.”
Hence, whoever prefers the narration of Jibrīl’s leadership sets the preferred end of ʿAṣr at the point where the shadow reaches twice its length, while whoever