Chapter on the Dawn and Afternoon Prayers

1047 – Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever performs the two cool prayers shall enter Paradise.” Agreed upon. The two cool prayers are the dawn (fajr) and the afternoon (ʿasr) prayers.

1048 – Zuhayr ibn ʿAmr ibn Rubayʿah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘No one who prays before the sun rises and before it sets will ever enter the Fire,’” meaning the dawn and the afternoon prayers. Narrated by Muslim.

[Commentary]
The author (may Allah have mercy on him), in his book Riyad al-Salihin, opens a chapter on the virtue of the dawn and afternoon prayers. These two prayers are distinguished by a merit found in none of the others.

Regarding the dawn prayer, Allah the Exalted says: “Establish prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of night, and the recital of dawn; surely the recital of dawn is witnessed” [Quran 17:78]. Allah Himself and His angels attend this prayer, and that is a tremendous honor.

The dawn prayer is further set apart in that it stands alone, detached from the other five prescribed prayers and assigned a time of its own. Between it and the night (ʿishāʾ) prayer lies the last half of the night, and between it and the noon (ẓuhr) prayer lies the first half of the day. The time for ʿishāʾ ends at midnight and does not extend until dawn; once midnight arrives, the period for the night prayer comes to an end, and what remains