The Need for Prayer Schedules

I - Prayer Time - Sun Indication

The Muslims have never differed over the fact that the five daily prayers have specific times that have been
legislated in the Sharee'ah. (2) Allaah, the Almighty, has said, "Verily, prayers have been prescribed upon
the believers at set times."

The following is a listing of the times of the five daily prayers, with a brief reference to their relative proofs from
the Book and the Sunnah: (3)

(a) Thuhr ("Noon") Prayer: It begins just after the sun's zenith (or "high noon"), as soon as it begins to decline, as
the scholars have unanimously agreed. (4) Its time extends until the entrance of 'Asr Prayer, according to the
hadeeth, "The (time of) Thuhr is when the sun has begun to decline, until one's shadow is as long as
his height, until the entrance of 'Asr time." (5)

(b) 'Asr (Afternoon) Prayer: As mentioned clearly in the previous hadeeth, the time of 'Asr Prayer begins at a
mid-way point between Thuhr and Maghrib, when a person's shadow is as long as his height.(6) The time of
'Asr extends until sunset. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever has prayed one rak'ah (unit) of the 'Asr Prayer
before sunset has caught the (time of) 'Asr." (7)

(c) Maghrib ("Sunset") Prayer: It begins after the sun has completely set, according to scholarly concensus.(8)
Its time extends until the entrance of 'Eshaa' Prayer. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "And the time of Maghrib Prayer
extends so long as there is some glow left on the (Western) horizon." (9) This period of time is usually a little
over an hour in most places.

(d) 'Eshaa' (Evening) Prayer: It begins after the last glow of the sun has left the Western horizon. Its time extends
until half of the night. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "And the (time of) 'Eshaa' extends to half the night." (10)

(e) Fajr (Dawn) or Subh Prayer: It begins at the first light of the dawn of the sun, the first glow on the Eastern
horizon where the sun will rise from. This is understood from the Verse, "Until the white thread (of the dawn)
becomes distinguishable from the black thread." (11) It extends until the sun begins to rise, according to the
hadeeth, "And the (time of) Subh Prayer is from the first light of dawn until sunrise." (12) This period of time
is usually a little over an hour in most places.

These are the times of the five daily prayers in Islaam, as Jibreel (ra) taught Muhammad (pbuh). The times of the
prayers are all based on the positions of the sun, in a way that makes it easy for the majority of the people on
earth to know them without any difficulty whatsoever.

As stated by the Permanent Committee of Scholars for Research and Fatwaa: "The easy way that is in line
with the fitrah (the natural state things are created upon) is to rely on the indications in nature (the positions
of the sun) that have been indicated in the Islaamic Legislation to determine the times of the prayers." (13)


II. The Need for Prayer Schedules and Their Benefits

In light of what has preceded, what then could the need be for prayer schedules? The following list shows a
number of benefits achieved through the use of prayer schedules:

- Blind and visually impaired people can receive alerts based on them.

- Some people can not see the horizon clearly for Fajr and Maghrib, due to a view obstructed by buildings,
mountains, or even air pollution.

- Some people work or live in places without access to a view of the sky, like underground floors of a large
building, mines, or submarines.

- Some people live in excessively cloudy or smog-ridden cities, and can not often get a good view of the
sun's positions.

- Travelers can have an idea about the times of the prayers before they go to a new location.

- Islaamic center organizers can plan congregational prayers and events around them, even when the events
are many months away.


True story:
About 12 years ago in America: a few minutes before sunset, A group of Muslims had already prayed maghrib.
The sun just above the horizon. It was the day after the time change caused by Daylight Savings Time in the
spring. So everyone put their clocks ahead by one hour, and apparently this was not reflected in the prayer
schedule, so without paying attention to the sun's position, they prayed according to the schedule which is wrong.



Footnote:
(02) Refer to: al-Mughnee (2/8).
(03) Interesting Benefit: When discussing the times of the five prayers, the scholars customarily begin with
Thuhr Prayer, since Jibreel began with it when he taught the Messenger (pbuh), who also began with it when
he taught his companions, who similarly began with it when they taught their students.
(04) Refer to: al-Mughnee (2/9).
(05) Saheeh Muslim (#612)
(06) Aboo Haneefah (ra) considered the time of 'Asr to begin some time considerably after this point, however,
"He has opposed the narrations and the rest of the scholars, and thus his own students opposed him in this,"
as Ibn 'Abdil-Barr said. Refer to al-Mughnee (2/14).
(07) Saheeh Muslim (#608)
(08) Refer to: al-Mughnee (2/24).
(09) Saheeh Muslim (#612)
(10) Saheeh Muslim (#612)
(11) Al-Quran 2:187
(12) Saheeh Muslim (#612)
(13) Fataawaa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah (6/141)