Chapter: The Times (1) of Prohibition
Prayer is forbidden at certain moments for reasons known to the Lawgiver, such as avoiding any resemblance to the worship of the unbelievers.
The prohibited times are three:
- From the end of the dawn prayer (Fajr) until the sun has risen above the horizon by the length of a spear.
- When the sun reaches the height of its ascent (the zenith) until it begins to decline.
- From the end of the afternoon prayer (ʿAṣr) until sunset.
First ḥadīth
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “Trustworthy men testified before me—and the most trustworthy of them in my sight was ʿUmar—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises, and after the afternoon prayer until it sets.” Other narrations convey the same meaning.
Second ḥadīth
Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is to be no prayer after the dawn prayer until the sun has risen, and no prayer (2) after the afternoon prayer until the sun has set.”
The compiler added: “On this subject there are also reports from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, Abū Hurayrah, Samurah ibn Jundub, Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ, Zayd ibn Thābit, Muʿādh ibn Jabal, Kaʿb ibn Murrah, Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī, ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah al-Sulamī, ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with them all), and al-Ṣunābihī—who did not hear directly from the Prophet ﷺ, so his report is mursal (interrupted).”