Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that a few individuals from among the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) told me, among whom was Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is the most beloved and preferred to me among them, that the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade praying at two times: after the Asr prayer until the sun sets, and after the Fajr prayer until the sun rises. The words of Janab San‘ani are: A few people narrated the hadith to me, among whom Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is the most beloved to me.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that I heard from several companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), among whom Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) is also included, and he is the most beloved to me among them, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade (performing voluntary) prayer after the Fajr prayer until the sun rises and after the Asr prayer until the sun sets.

Abu Bakr said: The report of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: «مَنْ نَسِيَ صَلَاةً، فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا» is an indication, and the consensus of all the Muslims is that if someone forgets an obligatory prayer, and then remembers it after Fajr or after Asr, it is incumbent upon him to perform it before sunrise if he remembers it after Fajr, and before sunset if he remembers it after Asr; because «النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّمَا نَهَى عَنِ التَّطَوُّعِ بَعْدَ الصُّبْحِ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ، وَبَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ قَبْلَ غُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ» , for if his prohibition was regarding all prayer, both obligatory and voluntary, it would not be permissible to perform an obligatory prayer after Fajr before sunrise, nor after Asr before sunset, even if one had forgotten it and then remembered it in one of these two times. The second evidence is that he only intended some voluntary prayers, not all of them; I will clarify this in its place in this book, if Allah wills.

And the evidence that silence is not contrary to speech, and it is not permissible to use silence as proof against speech as some of those who claim knowledge imagine, is that if it were permissible to use silence as proof against speech, then in his saying: "There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun rises," there would be permission for prayer when the sun rises, even if the one praying intends with his prayer the rising of the sun.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Do not intend or aim to perform your prayer at the time of sunrise or sunset. For it sets between the two horns of Satan." Also, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When the edge of the sun appears, refrain from prayer until it becomes fully risen. And when the edge of the sun sets, refrain from prayer until it is completely set." This is the narration of Bundar, and the wording of the narration from Abu Kuraib is: "Indeed, it rises between the two horns of Satan."

Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub رضي الله عنه narrates from the Noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that he صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "When the sun is rising and when it is setting, do not perform prayer, because it rises between the two horns of Satan and it sets between the two horns of Satan." And in the narration of Janab Sanabihi from the Noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, these words are mentioned: "Indeed, the sun rises and with it are the horns of Satan. Then when the sun becomes high, it separates from it." In this is evidence that when the Noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forbade prayer at this hour (the time of sunrise), he also forbade prayer after the sun has risen until it becomes high. Similarly, in the narration of Janab Amr bin Abasah, these words are mentioned: "Until the sun becomes high." I have mentioned these two hadiths in another chapter besides this chapter as well.

And this is of the same kind as what I have informed you: that using silence as evidence against speech is not permissible. For if it were permissible to use silence as evidence against speech, then it would be permissible to use the reports of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:“There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun rises, and no prayer after Asr until the sun sets,”to say: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was silent in these reports about forbidding voluntary prayer when the sun is at its zenith. So it could be said: prayer at that time is permissible, or it could be said: these reports are contrary to the reports in which there is prohibition of prayer when the sun is at its zenith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, is there any hour during the day or night in which you forbid me from performing prayer?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Yes, when you have performed the morning prayer, then refrain from praying until the sun rises." In the narration of Ibn Abdul Hakam, these words are mentioned: "Until the sun becomes high, because it rises between the two horns of Satan. Then (after that) the angels are present in the prayer and participate in it, and it is accepted until it is noon. So when it is noon, refrain from praying until the sun declines, because at that time Hell is kindled and the intense heat is due to the steam of Hell. And when the sun declines, the angels are present and participate in the prayer at that time, and it is accepted until the Asr prayer is performed. Then when you have performed the Asr prayer, refrain from praying until the sun sets." In the narration of Yunus, these words are mentioned: "Prayers (are accepted at that time)." And the words of Ibn Abdul Hakam are: "Then the angels participate in the prayer, are present in it, and it is accepted until the morning prayer is performed."

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: If it were permissible to take evidence from silence over speech, as some scholars think that silence is evidence over what is stated, then it would be permissible to take evidence from these hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he forbade praying after the Fajr prayer until the sun rises and after the Asr prayer until the sun sets. Therefore, it would be permissible to pray when the edge of the sun appears and before it becomes high, and it would also be permissible to pray before the sun declines when it is at its zenith. But this is not permissible for one who has religious understanding and insight, who reflects on the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and who is not stubborn or obstinate in taking evidence from silence against speech, nor insists on considering silence as evidence for what is stated, as some scholars think. According to the view of our opponents in this matter, the blessed statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that "there is no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises" is, in their view, evidence that when the sun rises, prayer becomes permissible. And they think that this is such evidence in which there is no other possibility. But our view is contrary to this principle. We say that undoubtedly the strength and status of the text is greater than that of evidence. And it is permissible that a deed be prohibited for a certain time and period, and the prohibition of a specific deed for a specific period and time does not prove that after that time and period has passed, that deed will become permissible, while there is evidence of its prohibition even after that time has passed, and in this matter, the two narrated reports are not contradictory, conflicting, or negating each other, as some of our opponents think in this matter.

This issue is also of the same kind, which I have explained in my book Ma'ani al-Qur'an. The statement of Allah Almighty is «‏‏‏‏فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِن بَعْدُ حَتَّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة البقرة: 230 ] "Then if he (the husband) divorces her (the third time), she is not lawful for him after that until she marries another husband." Therefore, according to this text of the Qur'an, Allah Almighty has made the wife who has been divorced three times unlawful for her husband until she marries another husband. And when the woman marries another husband, she will not be lawful for the first husband while she is in the marriage of that person. And it is also possible that before consummation, that person may die, or divorce her, or the marriage may be annulled for some reason that annuls the marriage. In such a case, the woman will not be lawful for the first husband until the second husband consummates with her. Then, if the husband dies, divorces her, or the marriage is annulled, she will observe the waiting period ('iddah), (then it will be permissible to marry the first husband). So if this prohibition were for a limited time, like the evidence in which there is no other possibility, then the prohibited thing would be for a fixed time, and he would pray (only) during its time, not after its time. There would be no other possibility in it. Thus, when a woman who has been divorced three times marries another husband, she would become lawful for the first husband even before consummation with the second husband, and before the death of the second husband or his divorce and the completion of her waiting period, she would become lawful for the first husband. Whoever understands the commands of Allah Almighty knows that the woman does not become lawful (for the first husband) until she marries another husband and he consummates with her. Then, if the husband dies, divorces her, or their marriage is annulled, and her waiting period is completed, (then she may marry the first husband). Soon I will explain this lengthy issue in the Book of Knowledge, inshaAllah. Some people who are unfamiliar with knowledge and jurisprudence have objected and made such a claim in this verse that it made us forget the previous statement. Their claim is that in this verse, "marriage" means consummation. Also, their claim is that the word "nikah" has two meanings: 1) contract, i.e., marriage, 2) consummation. Their claim is that the statement of Allah Almighty, "Hatta tankiha zawjan ghayrahu" (until she marries another husband) means consummation (that the woman consummates with another husband). This is such a shameful and disgraceful statement that we have not heard from any Arab person whom we have seen or whose era we have found, nor has it been reported to us that anyone before us has made such a reprehensible statement who knows the Arabic language and is proficient in it. The ancients also did not use this word in such a way as to say, "Jama'at al-mar'atu zawjaha" (the woman had intercourse with her husband). We have not heard anyone consider it correct to say, "Wati'at al-mar'atu zawjaha" (the woman had intercourse with her husband). Rather, in this context, the marriage is attributed to her, as the Arabs say «‏‏‏‏تَزَوَّجَتِ الْمَرأةُ َزَوْجَهَا» ‏‏‏‏ (the woman married her husband). We have not heard any Arab say that the woman had intercourse with her husband or that the woman had sexual relations with her husband. The meaning of this noble verse is as I have explained, that indeed Allah Almighty in His Book sometimes makes something unlawful for a certain time and period, and sometimes that thing remains unlawful even after that time.

The intention of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was to prohibit some voluntary prayers, not to prohibit all voluntary prayers. And I have already mentioned in the previous chapter that by this, the intention of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was also not to prohibit the obligatory prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr because he had not been able to pray any (Sunnah or Nafl) prayer after the Zuhr prayer.