Imam Zuhri says: We were with Umar bin Abdul Aziz, and once he delayed the Asr prayer. Urwah bin Zubair said to him: Basheer bin Abi Masood Ansari narrated to me that Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) once delayed the Asr prayer. Sayyiduna Abu Masood (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Beware! By Allah! O Mughirah! Indeed, you know that Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended and led the prayer, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him, and the people prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he descended and led the prayer, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with him, and the people prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), until they counted five prayers. In one narration, it is said: He said: Thus you have been commanded. Umar bin Abdul Aziz said: Urwah! Reflect on what you have said—was it Jibreel (peace be upon him) who began the prayer by leading you? Urwah said: Basheer bin Abi Masood narrated it to me in this way. After that, Umar used to recognize the time of prayer by a sign, until he departed from this world.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that a questioner came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and asked about the times of prayers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not give him any answer and ordered Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him). So when dawn broke, he established the Fajr prayer at that time, when it was near that people could recognize each other. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered him, so he gave the Iqamah for Zuhr after the sun had declined, while someone was saying: Has the time of midday come or not? In any case, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) knew better than all of them. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered him and he established the Asr prayer when the sun was still high. Then he ordered him and he gave the Iqamah for Maghrib at the time of sunset. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered him and he established the Isha prayer at the time of the disappearance of twilight. Then on the next day, he delayed the Fajr prayer so much that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) finished it, someone was saying: The sun has risen, or it is about to rise. He delayed Zuhr until it was close to the time of Asr prayer of the previous day. Then he delayed Asr so much that when he finished it, someone was saying: The sun has turned yellow. Then he delayed the Maghrib prayer so much that it reached just before the disappearance of twilight, and he delayed the Isha prayer until the first third of the night. Then he called the questioner and said: The time is between these two times.

Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) has also narrated a similar hadith of the Prophet.