It is narrated from Muhammad bin Muslim bin Shihab Zuhri that once, when Umar bin Abdul Aziz, the Caliph of the time, delayed the Asr prayer, Urwah bin Zubair went to him and informed him that Mughira bin Shu’bah had once delayed the Asr prayer when he was the governor of Kufa. Then Abu Mas’ud Uqbah bin Amr Ansari went to him and said,“O Mughira! What is this delay in prayer? Do you not know that Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended from the sky and led the prayer (of Zuhr), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him. Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) led the prayer (of Asr), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him. Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) led the prayer (of Maghrib), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him. Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) led the prayer (of Isha), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him. Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) led the prayer (of Fajr), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him. Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): ‘This is how you have been commanded.’”Then Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Urwah,“Do you understand what you narrate? Did Jibreel (peace be upon him) establish the times of prayer for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?”Urwah said that Bashir, the son of Abu Mas’ud bin Uqbah bin Amr Ansari, used to narrate the same from his father.

And Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray Asr while the sunlight was still inside the room, before it climbed up the walls.

It is narrated from Hazrat Ata bin Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about the time of the morning prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. When the next day came, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the prayer at the break of dawn, as soon as true dawn appeared, in darkness. Then on the third day, he performed the Fajr prayer in brightness. He said: "Where is the person who asked about the time of the Fajr prayer?" And that person spoke up, "I am here, O Messenger of Allah!" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The time for the Fajr prayer is between these two."

It is narrated from Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead the Fajr prayer, then the women would finish the prayer and return wrapped in their cloaks, and they would not be recognized because of the darkness.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever catches one rak'ah of the Fajr prayer before the sun rises has caught the Fajr prayer, and whoever catches one rak'ah of the Asr prayer before the sun sets has caught the Asr prayer."

Nafi’ narrates from the freed slave (mawla) of Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to his governors that among all your duties, prayer is the most necessary and important in my view. Whoever learns the rulings and regulations of prayer and offers it at its proper time has safeguarded his religion. Whoever neglects the prayer will neglect other duties even more. Then he wrote: Perform the Zuhr prayer when the sun declines and the shadow is equal to the length of a man’s hand, until the shadow becomes equal to the man himself. And perform the Asr prayer as long as the sun is high and white, such that after the Asr prayer, a man riding a camel could travel six or nine miles before sunset. And perform the Maghrib prayer when the sun sets, and perform the Isha prayer when the twilight disappears, up to one-third of the night. Whoever sleeps before the Isha prayer, may Allah not let his eyes rest, may his eyes not rest, may his eyes not rest. And perform the Fajr prayer while the stars are still clearly visible and shining.

It is narrated from Malik bin Abi Amir Asbahi that Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, that: Perform the Zuhr prayer when the sun declines, and perform the Asr prayer while the sun is still white and clear, not allowing it to become yellow. And perform the Maghrib prayer when the sun sets. And delay the Isha prayer as long as you can stay awake. And perform the morning prayer while the stars are still clearly visible and dense, and recite two long surahs from the Mufassal in the Fajr prayer.

It is narrated from Urwah bin Zubair that Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that: Perform the Asr prayer while the sun is still white, and there is so much daylight left that a camel rider could travel nine miles after the Asr prayer. And perform the Isha prayer up to one-third of the night, at the latest up to half the night, and do not be negligent.

Abdullah bin Rafi’, who was the freed slave of the wife of the Messenger of Allah, Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), asked Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) about the time of prayer. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Shall I tell you? Pray Zuhr when your shadow becomes equal to you, and ‘Asr when your shadow becomes twice your height, and Maghrib when the sun sets, and ‘Isha at one-third of the night, and Fajr in the darkness of the dawn.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We used to perform the Asr prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Madinah, then one of us would go to the neighborhood of Banu Amr bin Awf and find them still performing the Asr prayer.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says that we used to perform the Asr prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then one of us would go to Quba and meet the people there while the sun was still high.