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:

Assallamu Aleikum

I have 2 questions –

(1) A person who alwys keeps an habit of delay in praying 5 times exactly after 1 or 2 hours from the correct timing of 5 time prayer we should have to pray, is his prayer is accepectable?
(2) A person who doesnot know the correct procerure in the prayers what our muhammad(SAWS) thought us ,can we follow him (as immam) in the prayer , is that prayer is accepected? 

(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:

Delay prayer an hour habit

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 (1): A person who alwys keeps an habit of delay in praying 5 times exactly after 1 or 2 hours from the correct timing of 5 time prayer we should have to pray, is his prayer is accepectable?
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 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.

Some prayers (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha) have a longer time band than others (Fajr, Magrib); and as recommended and as preferred the offering of one’s obligatory prayers at its earliest times may be, if one offers their prayers during the time band allowed, their prayers will be considered on-time and acceptable to Allah Subhanah, Insha Allah.

Your Question (2): A person who doesnot know the correct procerure in the prayers what our muhammad(SAWS) thought us ,can we follow him (as immam) in the prayer , is that prayer is accepected? 

The procedure or ritual of prayer can basically be divided into two categories:

1. The Acts or Rites which are obligatory, meaning if even one amongst them is violated, it would effect the validity of the prayers…. (eg. valid wudu, facing the Qibla, the declaration of takbeer, the recitation of Surah al-Fatihah, etc.)
2. The Acts or Rites which are non-obligatory; meaning if one makes an error thereby, it would not effect the validity of their prayers.

If the believing authorities of the land have appointed an Imam to lead the believers in prayer in a particular masjid, or the believers have chosen an Imam amongst themselves to lead them in prayer, and if the believers realize that the Imam is making some errors in the procedure of prayers, it would be the duty of the knowledgeable believers to politely but firmly make the Imam aware of his mistakes in the prayers.

But, regardless of whether the Imam is appointed or chosen by consensus amongst the believers, it would be incumbent for the believers to offer their prayers in congregation behind the chosen Imam.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2527 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘Striving in the path of Allah (jihad) is incumbent on you along with every ruler, whether he is pious or impious; the prayer is obligatory on you behind every believer, pious or impious, even if he commits grave sins; the (funeral) prayer is incumbent upon every Muslim, pious and impious, even if he commits major sins.’

Even if the Imam were to make an error while leading the prayer, he alone will bear its responsibility and it would not effect the reward or the validity of the prayers offered by the believers behind him in the least.

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