Asr Prayer Timing and the Importance of Middle Prayer

Praise be to Allah,

 

Ali (R.A) reported:

When it was the day (of the Battle) of Ahzab, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: May Allah fill their graves and houses with fire, as they detained us and diverted us from the middle prayer, till the sunset.[i]

 

Ikh-tilaaf [Difference of Opinion]

 

Which prayer is the “middle prayer’ in this Hadeeth with regards to?

It is reported that there are 17 different sayings regarding this, but the correct opinion is clear from this hadeeth – that it is Asr[ii].

 

Important Points Derived from the Hadeeth:

 

1. The salaah referred to is Asr – There is authentic hadeeth in Bukhaaree and Muslim.

Ali (R.A) had thought that the middle prayer was Fajr until he heard this hadeeth. Asr is the best of prayers and we are told to guard it. Explaining the context of this hadith, Ibn Mas’ud said,

“The idol-worshippers kept the Prophet from the afternoon prayer until the sun had become reddish and yellowish. The Messenger of Allah said,

“They kept us preoccupied from the “mid-most” prayer, the afternoon prayer–may Allah fill their bellies and graves with fire.”[iii]‘

 

2. This Hadeeth shows the permissibility of delaying the salaah from its time if unable to pray it. But this hadeeth probably took place before the command for the Salaah of Khauf, which made it obligatory to observe the prayers even on the battlefield.

 

3. If prayer was forgotten or a person was prevented from prayer for some reason then one should pray it as soon as one is able to.

 

The best and most preferred time to pray the afternoon prayer ends when the sun becomes yellowish on the horizon. This is implied by the preceding hadith of Jabir and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar. To delay the prayer until the sun becomes yellowish, although it is permissible, is greatly disliked unless there is some need to do so. Anas reported that he heard the Prophet, upon whom be peace, say,

 

“The following is the prayer of the hypocrite: he waits until the sun is between the horns of Satan, then he gets up and prays four quick rak’ah, and he does not remember Allah therein save a little bit.”[iv]

 

4. We are allowed to supplicate against oppressors to the same extent. Qisaas – where the punishment fits the crime. We should be careful not to go beyond it.

 

5. Some scholars say that this Hadeeth is proof that it is not acceptable to narrate generally, but we should narrate literally from the text.

 

 

Allaah the Exalted has said:

 

And glorify the praises of your Lord before the sun’s rise and before its setting.  [Translation 50: 39 ]

 

So this is from the virtues of the `Asr prayer because it is singled out here, in this hadeeth, from the other prayers. Similarly, it is singled out as a means for incurring a weighty punishment for the one who misses it.

 

On the authority of Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allaah ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said:

 

“Whoever misses the `Asr prayer, it is as if he lost his family and property.”[v]

 

Of the subject, Ibn al-Qayyim says,

“Leaving the prayer is of two types: leaving it completely and never praying it (which destroys all of one’s deeds), and leaving it during a particular day, which destroys all of the deeds of that day.”[vi]

 

And on the authority of Abu Maleeh that he said: we were with Buraydah in a battle on a cloudy day and he said: “Offer the `Asr prayer early because the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said:

 

“Whoever omits the `Asr prayer then all of his good deeds will be lost.”[vii]

 

 

It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said:

 

“Whoever catches a rak’ah before the rising of the sun, then he has caught the morning prayer, and whoever catches a rak’ah from `Asr before the setting of the sun, then he has caught `Asr.”[viii]

 

 

Whoever has caught a Raka’h before the time is over

 

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he said: the Messenger of Allaah ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said:

 

“If one of you catches the first sujood from the `Asr prayer before the sun sets, then he should complete his prayer, and if he catches the first sujood from the morning prayer before the sun rises, then he should complete his prayer.”[ix]

 

Allah Knows Best

 

Copied and compiled from the Sources:

[i] Saheeh Muslim, Volume 1, Book 4, Hadeeth Number 1309.

[ii] Shaykh Abdullah ibn Abdur – Rahmaan Aal Bassaam. Fiqh of Salah. PDF Page 14

[iii] Related by Ahmad, Muslim, and Ibn Majah, Quoted in Fiqh us sunnah, Sayed Sabiq, PDF, Page 50

[iv] Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani), Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 413, Quoted in Fiqh us sunnah, Sayed Sabiq, PDF, Page 50

[v] Bukhaar :552

[vi] Quoted in Fiqh us sunnah, Sayed Sabiq, PDF, Page 50

[vii] Bukhaari :553

[viii] Sunan An Nasai, Vol. 1, Book 6, Hadith 552

[ix] Sunan An Nasai, Vol. 1, Book 6, Hadith 517