Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibreel led me in prayer twice at the Sacred House (the Ka'bah). He led me in the Zuhr prayer when the sun had declined the length of a sandal strap. He led me in the Asr prayer when the shadow of everything was equal to its length. He led me in the Maghrib prayer when the fasting person breaks his fast. He led me in the Isha prayer when the redness (in the sky) disappeared. And he led me in the Fajr prayer when eating and drinking became forbidden for the fasting person. On the second day, he led me in the Zuhr prayer when the shadow of everything was equal to its length. He led me in the Asr prayer when the shadow of everything was twice its length. He led me in the Maghrib prayer when the fasting person had broken his fast. He led me in the Isha prayer after one-third of the night had passed, and he led me in the Fajr prayer after it had become bright. Then he turned to me and said: 'O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the time for prayer is between these two times. This is your time and the time of the noble Prophets (peace be upon them) before you.' These are the words of the hadith of Ahmad bin Abadah. In Waki’s narration, it is Hakim bin Hakim bin ‘Abbad bin Hanif. The statement of the Imam, as he has mentioned at the end of this chapter, will be written at this place, insha’Allah. (That is, the previous commentary of the Imam will be mentioned here.)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When you have performed the Fajr (morning) prayer, its time remains until the first ray of the sun appears. Then, when you have performed the Zuhr (noon) prayer, its time remains until the Asr (afternoon) prayer is performed. Then, when you have performed the Asr prayer, its time remains until the sun turns yellow. Then, when the sun sets, that is the time for (the Maghrib prayer), until the redness disappears. Then, when the redness disappears, that is the time for (the Isha prayer) until midnight."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "Which deed is the best?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "To perform the prayer at its earliest time (is the best)."

Because the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) informed about performing the Zuhr prayer later during intense heat, and he also stated that if it were not for considering the weakness of the weak and the illness of the sick, he (peace be upon him) would have delayed the Isha prayer until midnight.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Mu’adhdhin of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called the adhan for Dhuhr, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Cool it, cool it,”or he said,“Wait, wait.”Then he said:“Indeed, the severity of heat is from the steam of Hell, so when the heat is intense, cool the prayer.”Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: (Therefore, we would perform the Dhuhr prayer) when we saw the shade of the mounds.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: "When the heat becomes intense, delay the prayer until it cools down, for the severity of heat is from the steam of Hell."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, the severity of heat is from the steam of Hell. Perform the prayer after cooling down during intense heat."

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: "In the heat, delay the Zuhr prayer until it becomes cooler."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to perform the Asr prayer at a time when the sun would be shining in my room (that is, there would still be sunlight), and the shadow would not have spread. Ahmad says "hajrat-ha," meaning the shadow would not have spread in her room. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that among the Arabs, the word "zuhur" has two meanings. One meaning is that something becomes apparent until it is visible and clear, with no obscurity remaining. The second meaning is that something prevails over another. Just as the Arabs say that so-and-so has become "zahir" over so-and-so, and so-and-so's army has become "zahir" over another's army, meaning it has prevailed over them. Therefore, the statement of Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) «‏‏‏‏لم يظهر الفيء بعد» ‏‏‏‏ means that the shadow had not prevailed over the sunlight in her room. That is, at the time of the Asr prayer, the shadow in the room was not greater than the sunlight.

And the explanation of the evidence that in the hadith of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, the statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, "Then when you have performed the Asr prayer, its time remains until the sun becomes yellow," by this, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, meant the time of Asr prayer for one who has an excuse, necessity, or forgets, that if he remembers before the sun becomes yellow or when it becomes yellow, then he should perform the prayer. Similarly, by his statement, "Whoever catches one rak'ah of the Asr prayer before the sun sets, he has caught it completely," he meant that this is the time for one who has an excuse, necessity, or forgets the Asr prayer, that when he remembers, if it is possible for him to perform one rak'ah before the sun sets, then he should perform it. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did not mean that he has made it permissible for one without any excuse, necessity, or who remembers the Asr prayer, to delay the Asr prayer until the sun becomes yellow or to perform one rak'ah before the sun sets and the remaining three rak'ahs after sunset.