As for the Ẓāhirites, they based their ruling on the ḥadīth of Abū Qatādah, arguing that it is general in wording and was related later than the ḥadīth of Jibrīl’s leadership; hence it abrogates the latter. Even were abrogation not established, the mere conflict of reports would cancel their probative force, obliging us to revert to the presumption of continuity anchored in consensus. All agree that the time for the prayer lapses once true dawn has broken; what they dispute is the period before that. We have transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās that, in his view, the time extends right up to the appearance of dawn. Accordingly, the original ruling remains in force except where unanimity attests to its cessation—and I believe this was also the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfah.

Issue Five
They concur that the first time for the Dawn Prayer (Ṣubḥ) begins with the emergence of the true dawn and that it ends with sunrise, save for what is reported from Ibn al-Qāsim and from some Shāfiʿī jurists who maintain that its final limit is full daylight (isfār).

They disagreed, however, about the preferred time for performing it. The scholars of Kūfah—Abū Ḥanīfah, his companions, al-Thawrī, and most of the Iraqis—held that praying when the sky is bright (isfār) is superior. Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī and his followers, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Abū Thawr, and Dāwūd judged that praying while it is still dark (taghlīs) is superior.

Reason for the disagreement
Their divergence stems from the different ways they reconciled the seemingly conflicting traditions. From Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj it is related that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“Pray the Dawn Prayer when the sky is bright; the brighter it is, the greater the reward.”

It is likewise reported that when he was asked, “Which deeds are best?” he replied:

“Prayer at the beginning of its appointed time.”

It is also authentically transmitted that

“He would lead the Dawn Prayer while it was still dark; the women would depart wrapped in their cloaks, unrecognized because of the darkness.”

The apparent sense of this ḥadīth is that such was his usual practice.

Hence, whoever regarded the report of Rāfiʿ as specific and the statement “Prayer at the beginning of its time” as general—and held, in line with the well-known legal principle, that the specific overrides the general—deemed the Dawn Prayer an exception to that rule. He further interpreted the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah merely as evidence of permissibility, describing something that occurred without implying that it was the Prophet’s habitual practice—peace and blessings be upon him—and concluded:

“Praying after the onset of brightness is better than praying in darkness.”

Conversely, whoever preferred the general ḥadīth—because it is corroborated by ʿĀʾishah’s report, is explicit or nearly so, and because the report of Rāfiʿ can be construed to mean no more than ensuring the certainty of dawn—saw no contradiction and therefore held:

“The best time is the earliest.”

As for the view that the final time for the prayer is the onset of brightness, its proponent interpreted the ḥadīth—namely, the Prophet’s words, peace be upon him, “Whoever catches one rakʿah of the Dawn Prayer before the sun rises …”—as applying to those in situations of necessity.