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:

assalaamu alaikkum,

bismillaahi rahmaani rraheem,

hope everything is fine with u as is with us by the grace of Allah. my doubt is about prayer in jama-ath. how long is the validity for each prayer to be prayed in jama-ath, especially subahi and maghrib. i was denied to pray jama-ath at a few places for maghrib, saying it is too late. please advice.

jasaak Allah khair.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Prayer times

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: ….my doubt is about prayer in jama-ath. how long is the validity for each prayer to be prayed in jama-ath, especially subahi and maghrib.

Jarir ibn Abdullah narrated that the Angel Jibrael (a.s.) came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said to him, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the noon (dhuhr) prayer when the sun had just passed its meridian. He then came to him (saws) for the afternoon (asr) prayer and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the afternoon (asr) prayer while the length of a shadow of something was similar to the length of the object. Then he came at sunset and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the sunset (magrib) prayer when the sun had just disappeared. Then he came at night and said, "Stand and pray" and they prayed the night (isha) prayer when the twilight had disappeared. He came again when dawn broke (and they prayed the morning (fajr) prayer). Then Jibrael (a.s.) came on the next day at noon and said (to the Messenger of Allah (saws)), "Stand and pray," and they prayed the noon (dhuhr) prayer when the length of the shadow of something was close to the length of the object. Then he came for the afternoon prayer and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the afternoon (asr) prayer when the shadow of something was twice as long as the length of the object. Then he came at the same time (as the previous day) for the sunset (magrib) prayer, without any change. Then he came for the night (isha) prayer after half (or a third) of the night had passed. Then he came when the sky was very yellow and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the morning (fajr) prayer. Then Jibrael (a.s.) said, "Between these times are the times for the prayers.”

Related by Bukhari, Ahmad, an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi.

In light of the above guidance, if one prays the prescribed prayer between the two specified periods, their prayer will be considered on-time; and it was the preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to offer the prescribed obligatory prayers at its earliest times.

Thus in light of the above guidance the valid prayer ‘time-bands’ are as follows:

Fajr: Starts at the very first break of dawn, and ends when the sun starts rising from the horizon.

Dhuhr: Starts when the sun moves a little west from its absolute zenith, and ends when the shadow of an object is equal to the height of the object.

Asr: Starts when the shadow of an object is exceeds the height of the object and ends when the sun starts to set on the western horizon.

Magrib: Starts when the sun has completely set until the twilight disappears.

Isha: Starts when the twilight completely disappears and is dark, and ends when half the night has passed.

Your Question: ….i was denied to pray jama-ath at a few places for maghrib, saying it is too late.

Respected brother in Islam, in principle no believer has a right to stop or deny another believer from offering their prayer in congregation just because the stipulated prayer time has elapsed!

For example, if two (or more) believers perchance for whatever reason happen to miss offering their ‘fajr’ (or any other) prayer on time, they are well within their rights to form a congregation and pray their delayed obligatory prayer in congregation.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 1448 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) returned from the expedition to Khaybar, he (saws) travelled one night, and stopped for rest when he became sleepy. He (saws) told Hadrat Bilal (r.a.) to remain on guard during the night, while the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his companions (r.a.) slept. When the time for dawn approached Hadrat Bilal (r.a.) leaned against his camel facing the direction from which the dawn would appear. However he was overcome by sleep while he was leaning against his camel, and neither the Messenger of Allah (saws) nor Bilal, nor anyone else among his companions, rose until the sun shone on them. Allah's Messenger (saws) was the first of them to awake up and, being startled, he called to Bilal who said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws)! May my father and mother be offered as ransom for thee, the same thing overpowered me which overpowered you (ie. sleep)!’ The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Lead the beasts on.’ So they led their camels to some distance. The Messenger of Allah (saws) then performed ablution and gave orders to Hadrat Bilal (r.a.) who pronounced the Iqamah, and then the Prophet (saws) led the believers in the morning prayer (in congregation). When he (saws) finished the prayer he (saws) said: ‘When anyone forgets the prayer, he should observe it when he remembers it.’

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