Indeed, if he were to pray facing a direction other than the qiblah without an excuse, his prayer could only be invalid. The same applies if, without an excuse, he prayed before the shared time began—for example, performing the noon prayer before the sun passed its zenith or the sunset prayer before sunset. This remains so even if he acted on an interpretation, as in the case of a prisoner who believed that Ramadan had begun and therefore fasted, or a traveler on a cloudy day—or others like them—who exercised their judgment and performed the noon prayer before the sun passed its zenith or the sunset prayer before sundown. Scholars hold two well-known views on whether such people must repeat the act of worship. This issue is disputed within the schools of Mālik and al-Shāfiī. The established position in Ahmad’s school is that it does not suffice for them.

If, however, they did so during the shared time—such as performing the afternoon prayer during the noon-prayer period or the night prayer before the twilight had disappeared—then sound analogy within Ahmad’s school dictates that it suffices, for the person combined the prayers due to an excuse, and Ahmad does not require an intention to combine them. He expressly stated that if a traveler performed the night prayer before the twilight had disappeared, it would suffice because he is permitted to combine prayers, even if he had not performed it together with the sunset prayer. Hence, it is recommended for him and others in similar circumstances to delay the noon prayer and perform the afternoon prayer early, and to delay the sunset prayer and perform the night prayer early, as has been transmitted from the early Muslims. This demonstrates that, when the second prayer is performed here before its exclusive time begins, it suffices.

They said:

“The disagreement over the validity of a prayer such as this is like the disagreement over stoning the pillars [which is not performed after its prescribed time] (1).”

The first group replied:

“The Friday prayer, pilgrimage, and stoning of the pillars—to which you drew an analogy—cannot under any circumstances be performed after the time prescribed by the Sacred Law, whether by someone with an excuse or someone without one (2). It is therefore evident that these acts are restricted to a particular time just as they are restricted to a particular place.”