Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Performing the prayer at its earliest time is a means of attaining Allah's pleasure, and performing it at its last time is a means of receiving forgiveness from Allah."

Sayyiduna Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The beginning time of prayer is a means of attaining Allah's pleasure, and its ending time is a means of attaining Allah's forgiveness."

Ibrahim bin Abdul Malik narrates from his father, from his grandfather: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The earliest time of prayer is for Allah's pleasure, the middle time is for Allah's mercy, and the last time is for Allah's forgiveness."

Ibn Shihab narrates: Once, Umar bin Abdul Aziz was sitting on the pulpit (i.e., delivering a sermon) and he delayed the Asr prayer a little. So Urwah bin Zubair spoke up: Jibreel (peace be upon him) informed the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the timings of the prayer. Umar bin Abdul Aziz said to him: "Try to understand what you are saying." So Urwah said: I heard Bashir bin Abu Mas'ud narrate this, he says: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate this, he said: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: "Once Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended and informed me about the timings of the prayer. I prayed with him, then I prayed the next prayer with him, then I prayed the next prayer with him. He counted the five prayers on his fingers." (Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Ansari [may Allah be pleased with him] narrates:) I remember about the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he would perform the Zuhr prayer when the sun had declined, but when the heat was intense, he would delay this prayer. I saw him perform the Asr prayer when the sun was high and bright, there was no yellowness in it yet (i.e., the sunlight had not faded), and a person could reach Dhul-Hulaifah before sunset after performing the prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform the Maghrib prayer when the sun had set. He (peace be upon him) would perform the Isha prayer when the horizon had become dark, and sometimes he (peace be upon him) would delay it so that people could gather. (The narrator says: In one narration, these words are present:) Sometimes the Prophet (peace be upon him) would perform the Fajr prayer in darkness and sometimes in brightness, but then after that, he (peace be upon him) started performing it only in darkness, and this remained his practice until his passing. He never performed this prayer in brightness again.

The same narration is also transmitted with another chain, however, in it are these words: When you performed the Asr prayer, the sun would be bright and high; if a person walked, after finishing the prayer he could reach Dhul-Hulaifah, which was at a distance of six miles, and he could reach there before the sun set. In this narration, these words are also present: The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to perform the Fajr prayer in darkness, then on some days he would also perform it in light (but after that, he adopted the practice of performing it in darkness). Never again did he perform this prayer in light, and this remained his practice until his passing.

Ziyad bin Abdullah Nakhai narrates: We were sitting with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in the Great Mosque. At that time, Kufa was a settlement of huts. The muezzin came to him and said, "Commander of the Faithful! The time for Asr prayer has come." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Sit down." He sat down. He repeated the same request again, so Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Will this donkey teach us the Sunnah?" Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, led us in the Asr prayer, and after finishing the prayer, returned and sat in the same place where he had been sitting before. Then we rose on our knees to check whether the sun had set or not. The narrator of this narration, Ziyad bin Abdullah Nakhai, is unknown; only a narrator named Abbas has transmitted this narration from him.

Abdul Wahid bin Nafi narrates: I entered the mosque of Madinah Munawwarah when the muezzin gave the adhan for Asr prayer. The narrator states that there was an elderly man sitting there who reproached the muezzin and said: "My father told me that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to instruct to delay this prayer." The narrator says: I inquired about this elderly man, and people informed me: This is Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rafi' bin Khudayj (i.e., the son of the Companion of the Messenger, Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khudayj). Imam Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This son of Sayyiduna Rafi' is not strong (in narration). The narrator named Musa bin Isma'il, while transmitting this narration, mentioned: His kunyah was Abu Rimah, and likewise, there is a difference regarding his name; some narrators have reported his name as Abdur Rahman.

It is narrated about Abdur Rahman bin Rafi: Once the muezzin gave the call to prayer (adhan) for Asr, and he gave the adhan a little early. So Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Rafi rebuked him and said: "Woe to you! My father (who was a companion of the Messenger) told me this: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed the people to perform the Asr prayer with delay." This narration is also transmitted with some other chains, while from some other companions the opposite is narrated, which proves that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed to perform the Asr prayer early. The correct narration regarding Sayyiduna Rafi bin Khadij is as follows (below).

Abu Najashi reports: Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith to me. He said: We used to perform the 'Asr prayer with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then after that a camel would be sacrificed, its meat would be divided into ten portions, then it would be cooked, and before the sun set we would eat the roasted meat. The narrator named Abu Najashi is 'Ata bin Suhaib; he is trustworthy and well-known. He served Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij for six years. 'Ikrimah bin 'Ammar, Imam Awza'i, Ayyub, and others have narrated hadiths from him. The narration transmitted by this narrator from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij is better than the narration transmitted by the narrator named 'Abdul Wahid from the son of Sayyiduna Rafi'. And Allah knows best.

Urwah reports: I heard Sayyiduna Bashir bin Abu Mas’ud narrate: Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported about the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): When he performed the ‘Asr prayer, the sun would still be bright and high; a person finishing the prayer could reach Dhu’l-Hulayfah, which was six miles away, before the sun set.