dawn.” What ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd meant was that he would delay Fajr beyond the first appearance of dawn until it became distinct, clear and apparent. On that day, however, he offered it earlier. Understood in this way, the meanings of the hadiths of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, are reconciled.

If, however, someone delays the prayer for a reason that warrants doing so—for example, someone who ordinarily performs dry ablution delays it so that he can pray toward the end of its time after performing ablution with water; someone praying alone delays it so that he can pray in congregation toward the end of its time; or someone will be able to pray standing toward the end of its time but can only pray sitting at the beginning—or for similar reasons whose merit outweighs that of praying at the beginning of the time, then delaying it for that reason is preferable. And Allah knows best.

He was asked about the saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Offer Fajr when it grows light, for that brings greater reward.”

He replied:

As for the saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Offer Fajr when it grows light, for that brings greater reward,”

it is an authentic hadith. Yet it is widely reported of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“He used to offer Fajr while it was still dark, so that the believing women would leave wrapped in their cloaks, and no one could recognize them because of the darkness.”

For this reason, they interpreted that hadith in two ways: