Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I stay in bombay. how soon can i say my zohar namaz? what is this mentioned in the calender - zahve kubra and zawal? sundays i play cricket so i have to come home to pray in the middle of the game.

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Answer:

Whole earth mosque

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: i stay in bombay. how soon can i say my zohar namaz? what is this mentioned in the calender - zahve kubra and zawal?

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, although the prayers times themselves are accurate, the terminology used by the calendars which publish prayer times differs according to the publishers of the calendar. When the term ‘zawaal’ is used in Islamic ‘fiqh’ terminology, it means the exact time when the sun is at its absolute zenith or meridian at mid-day; but we are not entirely sure what the publishers mean by the term ‘zahve-kubra’.

The prayer times of the day in Islam are determine by the movement of the sun, and the noon or ‘dhuhr’ prayer time starts as soon as the sun has moved a little west from its exact meridian (or zawaal), and ends when the shadow of an object is the same length as its height.

Abdullah ibn Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "The time of the noon (dhuhr) prayer starts when the sun passes the meridian, and ends when a shadow is the same length as its height.”

Related by Muslim.

Your Question: i play cricket so i have to come home to pray in the middle of the game.

Narrated Abu Dharr al-Ghaffari (r.a.) that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Wherever you may be, at the time of salah, you may pray, for it [the whole earth] is all a masjid."

Related by Bukhari and Muslim

Beloved brother in Islam, it is ‘wajib’ and an absolutely preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) for the believing men to offer their prayers in congregation at the dedicated places of worship or ‘masjids’. If one is unable to attend the congregation of an obligatory prayers for a valid reason in one of the dedicated ‘masjids’, one may offer their prayers wherever on the earth they may be, for Allah Subhanah has blessed the whole earth to be a ‘masjid’.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan