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Text and translation
English translation
503. It was narrated that Abû Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said: This is Jibrîl, peace be upon you, he came to teach you your religion. He prayed Subh when the dawn appeared, and he prayed Zuhr when the sun had (passed its zenith), and he prayed Asr when he saw that the shadow of a thing was equal to its height, then he prayed Maghrib when the
sun had set and it is permissible for the fasting person to eat. Then he prayed 'Ishâ' when the twilight had disappeared. Then he came to him the following day and prayed Subh when it had got a little lighter, then he prayed Zuhr when the shadow of a thing was equal to its height, then he prayed 'Asr when the shadow of a thing was equal to twice its height, then he prayed Maghrib at the same time as before, then he prayed 'Ishâ' when a short period of the night had passed. Then he said: "The prayer is between the times when you prayed yesterday and the times when you prayed today." (Hasan)
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Footnotes
1
[1] Meaning he attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ.
Commentary
1. The terminal time of the Zuhr prayer and the first moment of the time of the 'Asr prayer, according to this Hadith and all other authentic Ahâdith is Mithl Awwal, which means when the length of every shadow becomes equal to the height of the corresponding object, but this correspondence ought to be after taking away the shadow of the meridian. The shadow of the meridian signifies that shadow which is formed as soon as the sun begins to decline from the meridian [just enough to lengthen a shadow by the width of the strap of a sandal (Shirâk)]. The time of Zuhr prayer ends when besides this shadow, the length of every shadow becomes equal to the height of the corresponding object, and the time of 'Asr begins. This is the (view) of the majority of scholars, the Prophet's ﷺ Companions, the successors, the traditionists, and the jurists.
2. The most meritorious and preferred time of 'Asr prayer ends when the shadow has come to be twice as long as the corresponding object. The overall time for 'Asr prayer, however, continues to remain valid until sunset for one who has an excuse or is driven by dire compulsion.
3. He ﷺ performed the sunset prayer (Maghrib) nearly at the same time on both days (as he prayed on the previous occasion). This is because the time of the sunset prayer is very brief.
4. The beginning time of the first day's prayer and the ending time of the second day's prayer: the length of time between these two timings is the overall time for this prayer.
