Summer ‘Ishā & Fajr Prayer Times

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All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of all things; and may His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, the final messenger to mankind.

My previous fatwa on the issue of prayer times for ‘Ishā and Fajr during summer is in accordance with the decree of the Islamic Fiqh Council. I also believe that if there is a difference between my fatwa and the one issued by the Council then the latter should be endorsed and implemented. The relevant selection of the Council’s decree from the second decree of the 19th assembly in Makkah al-Mukarramah held on 8/11/2007 concerning prayer times for countries situated between latitudes of 48 and 66 degrees North and South is as follows:

‘To clarify this decree further in order to answer the specific problematic scenario put forward to the Council, the Council views the previous decree instructing the use of referring (to other regions) for reference, for countries with latitudes between 48 and 66 degrees North and South, to be specifically for the case where astronomical signs for the times are non-existent. As for the case where the signs of prayer times do occur but the disappearance of twilight, indicating the start of ‘Ishā, is very late, the Council views it as being obligatory to pray ‘Ishā in its legally specified time. However, whoever experiences difficulty in waiting to pray it in its time, like students, office-workers and labourers during the days of their work, they can combine prayers in accordance with the textual evidences relating to the removal of burdens from the Ummah. One example of this is the narration of Ibn ‘Abbās, and others, may Allah be pleased with them, “The Messenger of Allah combined Zhuhr and ‘Asr, and Maghrib and ‘Ishā in Madīna without (cause of) fear or rain”. Ibn ‘Abbās was questioned about this to which he replied, ‘He wanted to not burden his Ummah’. The condition for this though is that the practice of combining should not be the norm for all people in that country for this whole duration because this will in effect change the concession of combining into a permanent and intended obligatory action from the onset. The Council also views the adoption of approximating and distributing the times in such a situation all the more (appropriate).’

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The fatwa issued was as follows:

The beginning of summer brings great confusion amongst many Muslims living in the UK, North America, Canada and some other European countries concerning the commencement of ‘Ishā, Maghrib and Fajr prayers. Muslims frequently enquire about the best time to pray ‘Ishā given that it starts very late. In this fatwa, I will explain the different opinions of the scholars in dealing with this issue, and thereafter, I will discuss these opinions, their evidences, and any respective criticisms made against them. Finally, I will explain the best practical opinion taking into consideration the diversity of Muslims residing in the aforementioned countries as well as the abnormal situation they face.

Firstly, it is essential to state that ‘Ishā time commences once twilight disappears. This is based on many prophetic traditions such as the statement narrated in Sahīh Muslim by ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “…and the time for Maghrib continues until the twilight does disappear”. Both Muslim and non-Muslim astronomers disagree on the time twilight disappears especially in areas of extreme latitude such as Canada and many European countries. England has a latitude of between 50 to 60 degrees. Some believe that the twilight never disappears for a certain period of time during the summer while others believe that it does disappear, but extremely late.

This disagreement is a result of different opinions concerning two main factors:

1. The linguistic interpretation of the disappearance of twilight; and,
2. The astronomical interpretation of the disappearance of twilight.

While the vast majority of scholars believe that it is the disappearance of the redness of twilight that truly signifies its ‘disappearance’, Hanafi scholars believe that it is the disappearance of the whiteness. Concerning the second reason behind this disagreement, Muslim scholars differ on which astronomical interpretation should be adopted to determine the disappearance of twilight. The resolution of the ninth Muslim World League conference held in 1406 H (March 1996) holds that 17 degrees is the correct interpretation for the disappearance of twilight. If we adopt this opinion (which in any case is the opinion of the majority of Muslim scholars as well as astronomers) then all countries located above 49 degrees latitude may well observe the phenomenon of persistent twilight until the break of dawn. If we adopt the other linguistic meaning and the second astronomical interpretation for the disappearance of twilight we allocate 15 degrees as the start of ‘Ishā time. According to this value, twilight does disappear yet it disappears very late in places located roughly at 49 or 50 degrees, but it never disappears in countries which are located at 60+ degrees latitude. According to the opinion of the vast majority of scholars and astronomers, twilight does not disappear for a period of time during summer in many European countries since many of them are located above 49 degrees latitude.

The above discussion is far from sufficient in uniting the opinions of the scholars since the difference discussed above is deeply rooted in the four acceptable official schools of thought as well as astronomical interpretation. Moreover, the wide diversity of Muslims residing in the UK and Europe, their juristic schools of thought, and the absence of any Muslim leadership for Muslims to follow makes it almost impossible to agree on specific criteria for the timings of prayer. In any case, it is almost universally accepted that twilight either does not disappear or persists until very late into the night before disappearing in many European countries. In other words, there are two aspects to this period of confusion or hardship:

1. When the legislated indications of the commencement of ‘Ishā are to be observed, but very late; and,
2. When the legislated indications for the commencement of ‘Ishā disappear completely.

Hence, irrespective of the disagreement amongst scholars and astronomers, there will be places which observe only one aspect while there will be definitely some other countries observing both aspects mentioned above. The issue is further confounded when on the one hand, some followers of some schools of thought believe that they are observing the first aspect only, while on the other hand, followers of other schools of thought in the very same locality, may believe that they are facing both situations. Now, regardless of whether we follow 17, 19, or 15 degrees as being the start of ‘Ishā, a comprehensive explanation and solution should be presented taking in consideration the diversity of understanding found amongst the Muslims.

The problem of the absence of the legislated signs indicating the start of ‘Ishā, or the very late start, leads to difficulty in understanding the correct position concerning three related issues:

1. The end of Maghrib;
2. The start of ‘Ishā; and
3. The start of Fajr.

Let us first discuss the start of ‘Ishā time since it is the main matter of concern here.

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Start of ‘Ishā time

From the previous discussion we conclude that the aspects relevant to this discussion comprise two parts:

1. The first part is when the legal sign is visible, but it starts extremely late, and,
2. The second part is when the legal sign disappears altogether.

Both cases are treated in a very similar way since the late start makes it extremely difficult to pray ‘Ishā on time. An example of this is the start of ‘Ishā time on May 20th in London just after midnight^[1] and a similar time is found on 25th July. The following options result when examining this situation in its totality, taking into consideration all of its various facets:

a) Muslims pray ‘Ishā at its stated time even if it starts very late or even if it starts after midnight^[1], which according to many scholars signifies the end of ‘Ishā time. This is based upon many prophetic traditions. Let us call this option praying at the astronomical time or praying on time;
b) Because of the difficulty involved, Muslims estimate the time for ‘Ishā prayer at odds to its actual astronomical time. Let us call this option estimation;
c) Because of the difficulty involved, Muslims combine ‘Ishā with Maghrib at the time of Maghrib. Let us call this option combination.

Discussion of the first opinion: praying on time

Scholars who hold the first option, i.e. praying on time, base their opinion on numerous evidences that clearly indicate that praying on time is the most important condition for performing prayer. Among such proofs is the Qur’ānic verse where Allah says ^[2] “Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours”. We also find that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) explained the significance of prayer at the appointed time in various ways. For example, he said, “The most beloved of actions to Allah is the prayer at its time”. However, this opinion faces problems when twilight persists. In that period, the legal sign for the start of ‘Ishā disappears, so what then should be the starting time of ‘Ishā? These scholars, in this circumstance, adopt the option of estimation yet their opinions vary as to the best way of estimating. Some scholars believe that the last time on which the legal sign appeared should be the reference time. This time should be adopted throughout the period of persistent twilight. In London, for example, the last day when the legal sign is detectable is the 25th May at 12:38 am.^[3]  According to this opinion, ‘Ishā should be prayed at 12:38 until the legal sign starts to be visible again on the 18th July. A second group of these scholars hold that the reference point should be the nearest city where the legal sign is visible. A third group of these scholars hold that we should divide the night into 3 parts and ‘Ishā should start by the end of the first third of the night. This means that Muslims living in London, for example, should pray ‘Ishā at around 10:45 pm. The fourth group of those scholars hold that Makkah should be our reference point for matters related to acts of worship as it is our Qiblah and we perform Hajj there. According to this opinion ‘Ishā commences one and a half hours after Maghrib.

Discussion of the second opinion: estimation

The second group of scholars believe that estimation is the best solution. We have seen in the previous argument the justification for such an opinion. These scholars do not accept the option of combination due to the following reasons:

a) The Sharī’ah intended to distribute the prayers over the day and night. This is why the Sharī’ah considered time a vital condition for prayer. They supported their argument by the fact that the Sharī’ah discourages people from combining unless there is a pressing need let alone the fact that many scholars prohibited the continuous practice of combining prayers over a long period of time in a manner that gives rise to a habitual action;

b) The estimation of ‘Ishā time is a valid approach since many scholars agree that ‘Ishā time starts after the end of the first seventh of the night according to an interpretation of some Shāfi’i scholars;

c) The principle of estimation, in essence, is valid since it is mentioned in the famous hadīth of the Dajjāl during the last days when Allah extends the length of the days of his presence so that one day will be as long as one complete year, another day will be equal to a month in length, and the third day as long as a week, while others are normal days in length. The Companions asked the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) about praying in these extended days. The reply of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was to command them to estimate the times of prayer. This hadīth is reported in Sahīh Muslim.

Discussion of the third opinion: combining

Those who believe that we should combine prayers during the whole period, i.e. both scenarios, base their opinion on various justifications: a) The disappearance of the legal sign leaves no option but to combine the two prayers together. b) The late start of ‘Ishā makes it extremely difficult for the vast majority of people in these countries to pray on time when the sign is visible, or at similar time when the sign can no longer be observed. This difficulty brings to attention the principle established by Islamic law to remove any hardship. There is no doubt that praying ‘Ishā after midnight, or close to midnight, in such countries is a hardship that the Sharī’ah seeks to remove. Based on this they believe that, whether the legal sign is visible or invisible, the end ruling is the same, i.e. the period of late visibility should be treated the same as the period of absence. There are numerous prophetic traditions where the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) combined Maghrib with ‘Ishā. Most of the scholars believe that the legal reasoning behind this combination is to remove hardship. For example, the prophet carried out this practice several times while he was on a journey from one city to another.^[4]

Moreover, the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) practised combination once when he was resident in the city of Madīnah neither without being sick nor in a state of fear. Ibn ‘Abbās explained the reason behind this by saying “He intended to remove hardship from his Ummah”. The scholars deduce from this that in cases of hardship or necessity it is allowed to combine between Dhuhr and Asr prayer any time between the start of Dhuhr and the end of Asr. Likewise, it is allowed to pray Maghrib and ‘Ishā together in the time of either. According to these scholars, this verdict is conditional on not making this act a habit. In a similar vein, we find that Imām Ahmad allowed the breastfeeding woman who faces difficulty in cleaning her clothes to combine between these prayers. Sa’īd ibn al-Musayyib instructed a shepherd who sought his advice to combine ‘Ishā with Maghrib before sleeping if he is afraid of missing ‘Ishā prayer due to sleepiness and tiredness. These scholars disagree with the opinion of estimating prayers, as they believe that it is baseless. They believe that this situation is different from the situation mentioned in the hadīth of the Dajjāl. These scholars explained that this analogy is unacceptable because this hadīth is only applied in the case of complete disappearance of all the legal signs. This means that we cannot extend this to cover our case when only one of the legal signs is present but appears very late or is absent altogether.

The strongest opinion concerning the start of ‘Ishā time in such countries

As we can see, all the opinions mentioned above are justified by many evidences, while at the same time, none of these opinions are free of criticism. Even if we say we must pray on time irrespective of the necessity of hardship involved in praying late at night, we will still not be safe from valid criticism. ‘Ishā might start after midnight, as is the case of cities lying above 49 degrees. Midnight according to many scholars is the end of ‘Ishā time. This means that adopting this option results in praying ‘Ishā after it has ended! Having analysed the previous argument, the following conclusion can be drawn: 1) There is no opinion free of criticism and 2) All opinions are supported by strong direct or indirect proofs and evidences. Moreover, all opinions are supported by quotations from the previous scholars. As a result, this disagreement becomes a matter of valid Ijtihād. So if someone were to ask: what shall I do and when do I pray ‘Ishā? We will give the following answer:

The male adult should join the congregational prayer in the mosque that he usually prays in whether they combine or chose any criteria for estimation;

1. Praying in congregation is compulsory upon every able male adult and it is of great significance in Islam. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) desired to punish those who did not attend the congregational prayer and he did not excuse a blind person who hears the call for Salāh from not attending it. Some scholars mentioned that attending prayer in congregation takes precedence over many conditions of Salāh. For example the adult person who is sick and will pray in a sitting posture if he joins the congregation while he could pray in a standing posture if he prays alone should join the congregation;
2. The times assigned for ‘Ishā in such countries are not definite as shown by the previous discussion. Actually, it is a matter of ijtihād as we have just stated. In such cases courses of action that maintain unity or remove disagreements should take precedence over individual opinions; and
3. The reason behind this conclusion is the fact that we cannot confirm that ‘Ishā during this period starts at a specific time which puts it within the area of ijtihād. So if it is a matter of ijtihād, one should pray in congregation even if it takes place at a time that does not match his ijtihād. This conclusion is supported by the fact that Islam aims to prevent fitnah between Muslims and block all roads leading to it.

If there isn’t a mosque nearby or the person is not an individual who must join the congregation such as a sick person, a female, or child who has yet to reach religious maturity, then he or she should delay ‘Ishā prayer as much as he or she can. The reason behind this conclusion is the fact that praying on time puts great hardship on a person yet at the same time this opinion is not free of criticism. On the other hand, combining ‘Ishā with Maghrib should not be a habit especially when there is no pressing need. Estimation, as a last resort, should take into consideration the practical side of the situation despite the fact that there is no solid foundation for any of the estimation criteria mentioned earlier. Moreover, estimation is not a very strong option during the time of late visibility since the sign is still visible. So we should pray ‘Ishā at the closest time to its legal time which starts very late provided that we do not cross midnight. The basis for this is the principle in Islam established by the Qur’ānic verse, “fear Allah as much as you can.” Also, by doing so, we are meeting the Sharī’ah’s aim of distributing the prayers over the day and night.

A related point to this is a situation where a person has the choice to join either of two congregational prayers: one praying late and the other praying early. In this case, this person should join the prayer that is taking place very close to the actual legal start of ‘Ishā time, provided that it does not cross midnight, unless there is a harm that arises from doing this. An example of this harm is a split occurring between the Muslims praying in that Mosque.

Fajr time

Another major problem occurs during summer time especially when the twilight does not disappear is determining the beginning of Fajr prayer. This is due to the fact that the continued presence of the twilight makes it impossible to determine the appearance of the white colour of the Fajr or we might even say that there is no start for Fajr. In this case what should be done? Again this is a matter of disagreement between the scholars. The previous opinions and justifications mentioned earlier when we discussed the start of ‘Ishā time are also applied here which makes it a matter of valid Ijtihād. To conclude we advise people who cannot join the congregational Fajr prayer to pray Fajr one and half hour before sunrise. Any time around that may be acceptable. Many Muslims ask if they can pray Fajr at times such as 1:15 am since many Islamic calendars show that Fajr time enters at that time in many European countries (England is one example).

The answer for this is we should pray at a time that is most likely part of the legal time. We should avoid praying and performing worship based upon our doubt concerning the time. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Leave what is doubtful for that which is not doubtful.” There is no question about the uncertain start of Fajr at 1:15am. So we should delay Fajr to a time where we are most likely sure that the time has definitely started. A good time for that is 1 ½ or 2 hours before sunrise. Another reason for that is the aim of the Sharī’ah in distributing the prayers over the day and night. The Sharī’ah seeks to establish prayer during the beginning, middle and end of the day. Allah says in the Qur’ān, “Perform al-Salāt from dulūk al-shams (midday) till the darkness of the night, and recite the Qur’ān in the early dawn. Verily, the recitation of the Qur’ān in the early dawn is ever witnessed.”^[5] The manner in which the Sharī’ah legalised combining two prayers gives us a clear indication that there are five times in normal situations and three times for abnormal situations. These are: just after the end of the night and sleep period and just before the start of the day; at midday; just after the end of the day; in the beginning of the night; and at night. However, if other factors are involved we should exercise a degree of flexibility since the matter is an issue of valid ijtihād. A critical factor in this regard is unity, what leads to it and to remove any form of fitnah.

Maghrib time

Maghrib time starts after sunset and ends when the twilight disappears according numerous prophetic traditions. This conclusion is what the scholars have agreed upon unanimously. We have mentioned earlier that scholars differ on the end of the visibility of twilight. As a result, we can conclude that they differ on when the time for the Maghrib prayer ends for us in the summer months. According to some scholars and astronomers Maghrib time ends just before midnight as twilight disappears at that time. Moreover, can someone say that Maghrib time ends before Fajr time or even after Fajr since twilight ends at that time? The answer is of course not since it is against the meaning of the time allocated for Maghrib; it will lead to changing the order of prayers and it will lead to combining Maghrib, ‘Ishā and Fajr, which is completely unacceptable.

So when shall we pray Maghrib in these situations? The answer is very simple and can be extracted from the hadīth narrated by al-Tirmidhi through Ibn ‘Abbās that the angel Gabriel led the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) to teach him the prayer times. On the first day, he prayed all the prayers at the beginning of their respective times and on the second day he delayed the prayers until just before the end of their times for all prayers except Maghrib where he instead prayed it on both days at the same time. This hadīth explains the other hadīth that shows that the Maghrib time continues until the disappearance of twilight and it is a clear indication that the time of Maghrib is very limited. That is why the Hanafi school of thought normally prays Maghrib immediately after sunset. Moreover, a deep reflection upon Qur’ānic verses and prophetic traditions shows us that the daily prayers are distributed over five different times in normal situations and three times in abnormal situations. As a result, we should pray Maghrib just after the sunset and should not delay it for more than an hour after sunset. Other guidelines provided earlier should be applied here as well.

Conclusion

We have explored the main opinions about performing ‘Ishā, Fajr and Maghrib prayers in countries located in extreme latitudes. We have seen that all of these opinions are justified by valid proofs and at the same time they are not free from valid criticism. Consequently, this existent difference of opinions which is supported by authentic evidences places this matter into the realm of valid ijtihād. In consideration of this fact, Muslims facing this situation should apply a certain degree of flexibility when dealing with other Muslims who hold different opinions as a result of valid ijtihād in this regard especially when dealing in an inappropriate manner may lead to fitnah, a split, disunity or extreme hardship.

I also advise Muslims to pray on time whenever possible. In situations of extreme hardship or invisibility of the legal signs for the start of any prayer, they should join the congregation in their localities unless they are excused from doing so such as the elderly or sick men, women, young children or very remote individuals. In this case they should strive to perform their prayers in a way very similar to the aim of the Sharī’ah in distributing the five prayers throughout the day and night.

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Source: www.islam21c.com

Originally posted on 20th May 2012.

Notes:

[1] There is a common misconception about the term ‘midnight’ from an Islamic perspective. Many people think that it is at 12:00 am while the correct time of midnight should be allocated by finding out the length of the night then adding half of it to the sunset (Maghrib) time. The length of the night can be calculated by finding the length between Maghrib and fajr. Thus, midnight in this sense actually does mean the middle of the night.

[2] Al-Qur’ān 4:103

[3] As we have said before, astronomers differ in determining this time. This information cited here is based on Central London Mosque who in turn base their information on the data given to them by Greenwich Observatory.

[4] You might refer to Sahīh al-Bukhāri and Muslim for various narrations for this practice.

[5] Al-Qur’ān 17:78