سورة الإسراء

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurarah said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about the obligatory prayers. He said: "Five prayers in every night and day." I asked: "Has Allah named them and specified them in His Book?" He said: "Yes! Allah the Blessed and Exalted said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night]. The duluk of the sun means its declining and the time of noon. From this declining until midnight there are four obligatory prayers which Allah has explained and clarified and whose times He has specified. And ghasaq al-layl means midnight."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yazid ibn Khalifa said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Umar ibn Hanzala has spoken to us on your authority about the time of prayer." He said: "Then he has not lied." I said: "He told us you said: The first prayer Allah made obligatory upon His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was the noon prayer, for Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun]. When the sun declines, nothing prevents you [from praying] except your supererogatory prayer. Then the time [of noon prayer] continues until the shadow becomes the length of the [full] stature, which is the end of the time. When the shadow becomes the length of one stature, the time of the afternoon prayer begins, and the time of the afternoon prayer continues until the shadow becomes twice the stature, and that is the evening (masa')." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "He has spoken the truth."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said: I asked Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): "When was the prayer made obligatory upon the Muslims in the form and order that it has today?" He said: "In Medina, when the call [to Islam] became fully manifest and Islam became strong and Allah made jihad obligatory upon the Muslims, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) added seven rak'ahs to the prayers. He added two rak'ahs to the noon prayer and two to the afternoon prayer, one rak'ah to the maghrib prayer, and two rak'ahs to the isha prayer, and he left the dawn prayer as it had been made obligatory — two rak'ahs — because the angels of the night and the angels of the day would attend the dawn prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and [also because] the angels of the day hasten to descend from the heaven and the angels of the night hasten to ascend to the heaven. Therefore, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed] — the Muslims and the angels of the day and of the night attend his prayer."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A group of Jews came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and the most learned among them asked the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) about various matters. Among the questions he asked was: "Tell me, so that I may know: why did Allah the Mighty and Majestic prescribe these five prayers for your ummah in five appointed times throughout the day and night?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Indeed the sun, at the time of its decline, has a ring which it enters, and at that moment everything between the Throne (the heavens) and the earth opens its tongue in glorification and praise of my Lord. When it enters the ring, the decline of the sun occurs, and at that moment everything beneath the Throne [or between the earth and the Throne] opens its tongue in glorification and praise of my Lord. This is the very hour in which my Lord sends down His blessings, mercy and favours upon me, and at this time Allah has made prayer obligatory upon me and upon my ummah, and He has said: أَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night]; that is, establish the prayer from the time of the sun's decline until midnight. And this is the hour in which, on the Day of Judgement, Hell will be brought into the plain of gathering. So there is no believer who, at that hour, is in prostration or bowing or standing in prayer, except that Allah forbids his body to the Fire."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zurara said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this verse: أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night]. He said: "Duluk al-Shams means the decline of the sun from the middle of the sky; إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [till the darkness of the night] means until midnight. Allah has made obligatory between these two times four prayers: Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ [and the morning recitation]; that is, the recitation. إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [surely the morning recitation is witnessed]. At the time of the morning prayer, the guardian angels of the night and of the day come together. And when the sun passes noon, the time for the Zuhr and Asr prayers arrives. There is no nafilah (supererogatory prayer) except the recommended prayer which is sunnah to be prayed before it (the Zuhr prayer). وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ refers to the two rak'ats of the morning prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) established these prayers and specified their times for the people."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ubayd ibn Zurara narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding the verse: أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night], that he said: "Allah has made four prayers obligatory. The first of their time is the decline of the sun and the last is midnight. Among them, the time of two prayers is from the decline of the sun until its setting, one before the other, and the time of the other two prayers is from the setting of the sun until midnight, one before the other."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurara narrates: Imam Muhammad Baqir (peace be upon him) said about the verse: أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun]: "That is, the decline of the sun. إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [till the darkness of the night] means until midnight, and these four prayers were established by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), who specified their time and hour for the people. وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ [and the morning recitation] means the morning prayer."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad al-Halabi narrates from one of them: غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [the darkness of the night] means midnight, or after the night has passed its middle. Then Allah mentioned the morning prayer separately and said: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [And the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed]. The angels of the night and the day are present at the two rak'ats of the morning prayer.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ is the sun's inclining from the middle of the sky (the meridian) towards the west (the time of the legal noon). What is meant by غَسَقُ اللَّیْلِ is midnight, and what is meant by قُرْآنُ الْفَجْرِ is the two rak'ats of the morning prayer.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Duluk is the very inclining of the sun from the middle of the sky (the meridian) towards the west (the time of the legal noon).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zurarah says: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: أَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night]. He said: "When the sun inclines from the middle of the sky (the meridian) towards the west, the time for performing the Zuhr and Asr prayers has arrived."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Al-Halabi narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ means the day passing beyond its middle, and غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ is the night passing beyond its middle. He said: "Between these two times, four prayers (Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha) have been made obligatory." Then he said: "وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کانَ مَشْهُوداً [And the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed]; what is meant by the recitation of the dawn is the morning prayer, at which time the angels who are the guardians of the night gather together with the angels who are the guardians of the day [and all of them are witnesses over those who perform the morning prayer]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zurara, Humran and Muhammad ibn Muslim narrate from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): concerning the verse أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night], they said: "All the prayers have been gathered together in [this verse]. دُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ [the declining of the sun] means the sun's passing the meridian, and غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [the darkness of the night] means midnight. And a caller calls out from the sky every midnight: whoever has been heedless of the Isha prayer until this hour, may his eyes never sleep again. وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ [and the morning recitation] means the Fajr prayer, and as for Allah's saying کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [is witnessed], it means that the angels of the night and the angels of the day are present at it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ruzayq narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) used to pray in the darkness at the end of the night close to the true dawn, at the very beginning of its appearance before it spread out fully, and he would say: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed]. At the time of the rising of dawn, the angels of the night ascend to the sky and the angels of the day descend; I love that the angels of the night and the angels of the day should see my prayer and bear witness to it. And he would pray the Maghrib at the complete setting of the sun before the appearance of the stars.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night] — four prayers have been included between these two times, and Allah has singled out the Fajr prayer and said: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed]. Whoever prays before the sun's declining, it is as if he has not prayed.

Fiqh al-Rida (peace be upon him): The first prayer that Allah made obligatory upon the servants was the Zuhr prayer of Friday, as Allah has said: أَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کانَ مَشْهُوداً [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed], meaning that the angels of the night together with the angels of the day are witnesses over the Fajr prayer. And he said: "The beginning of the time of Zuhr is the sun's declining from the middle of the sky (the meridian line) toward the west, and the end of [the time of its merit] in every season is that the shadow [meaning the shadow of the gnomon set in the ground to determine the time of Zuhr] reaches, from the moment of the sun's declining from the middle of the sky, the measure of one dhira' [from the elbow to the fingertips is called a dhira'] or two steps."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Between the setting of the sun and the disappearance of the twilight is ghasaq (darkness).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The beginning of the time of the Isha prayer is the disappearance of the redness [that appears on the eastern horizon at sunset], and its final time is the utmost darkness of the night, that is, midnight.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was taken on the Mi'raj, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) returned to the earth with [the obligatory] prayers of ten rak'ats, each of two rak'ats. When Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) were born, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) added seven rak'ats [to those prayers] as thanksgiving to Allah, and Allah confirmed this act of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). He left the Fajr prayer as it was and did not add to its rak'ats because of the narrowness of its time, since at that time the angels of the night and the angels of the day are present.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In a marfu' hadith it is reported: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Why has the Maghrib prayer been set as three rak'ahs and its nafilah as four rak'ahs [two prayers of two rak'ahs each], and it is not shortened [and broken] in travel or at home?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent down every prayer as two rak'ahs upon His Prophet, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) added two rak'ahs to each prayer at home, and in travel He shortened those prayers [and dropped the two additional rak'ahs] except the Maghrib prayer and the Fajr prayer, because [one day] the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) performed the Maghrib prayer and the news of the birth of Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) reached him, and His Eminence (peace be upon him and his family), as an act of thanksgiving to Allah, added one rak'ah to the Maghrib prayer. When Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) was born, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), as an act of thanksgiving to Allah, added two rak'ahs [as nafilah] to the Maghrib prayer. After some time, when Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) was born, [again] the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), as an act of thanksgiving to Allah, added two rak'ahs [as nafilah] to the Maghrib prayer, and he recited this verse: that the share [of inheritance] of the son should be equal to the share of two daughters. (Nisa/11) [meaning that for Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) who is a daughter, one rak'ah was added, and for Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn (peace be upon them) who are sons, two rak'ahs which is double one rak'ah], and he left the Maghrib prayer and its two nafilahs as they were in travel and at home."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [And the recitation of the dawn; surely the recitation of the dawn is witnessed], and this is the fifth prayer.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ishaq ibn Ammar said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Inform me of the best time for performing the Fajr prayer." He said: "The time of the rising of dawn. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has said: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [And the recitation of the dawn; surely the recitation of the dawn is witnessed], meaning the Fajr prayer; the angels of the day and the angels of the night are present at this prayer, and when a servant performs the Fajr prayer at the time of the rising of dawn, it is recorded for him twice — the angels of the night and the angels of the day record it for him."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about this word of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کانَ مَشْهُوداً [And the recitation of the dawn; surely the recitation of the dawn is witnessed]. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "It refers to the two rak'ahs of nafilah before the Fajr prayer."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کانَ مَشْهُوداً [Surely the recitation of the dawn is witnessed]; meaning that the angels of the night and the day are witnesses to the Fajr prayer.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ [and the recitation of the dawn]; what is meant is the morning prayer. إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کانَ مَشْهُوداً [surely the recitation of the dawn is witnessed], the angels of the night together with the angels of the day are witnesses to the morning prayer.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ [and the recitation of the dawn]; what is intended is the Dhuhr prayer.

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): Ibn Khalil al-Qaysi stood up and said [addressing Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him)]: "O our master! Is the timing of the five prayers a sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), or has it been revealed in the Quran?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on you! The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) did not make anything a sunnah other than what Allah commanded him to do. As for the times of the prayers, with us the Ahl al-Bayt they are as Allah made obligatory upon His Messenger, and they are fifty-one rak'ahs at six times, and I shall explain those six times to you from the Book of Allah [the Quran]. And Allah said: ...یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا إِذا نُودِیَ لِلصَّلاةِ مِنْ یَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلی ذِکْرِ اللهِ [O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah] (Al-Jumu'ah/9), and the Muslims have agreed that [what is meant by] hastening in this verse is hastening to the Dhuhr prayer. And Allah said: أَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night], and He emphasised that the time of the Isha prayer is at the darkness of the night. These are the times of the five prayers."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): And Allah has appointed for these four obligatory duties two signs and indicators, which are the two greatest signs of the sky, namely the sun and the moon. For example, regarding prayer, which is the greatest of these four and the pillar of the religion and more noble than all religious matters, the sun is its sign, as He says in the Quran: أَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ لِدُلُوکِ الشَّمْسِ إِلی غَسَقِ اللَّیْلِ وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کانَ مَشْهُوداً [Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night, and the recitation of the dawn; indeed the recitation of the dawn is witnessed]. So the times of prayer are not known except by the sun; its first is the time of the declining of the sun from the middle of the sky, which is the time of Dhuhr. Then Asr comes after it, by the same verse. And the time of Maghrib is when the disc of the sun sets, and that is by the sign of the sun. And the time of the Isha prayer is when the brightness at the start of the night departs, which again depends on the sun. And the morning prayer is when the dawn breaks, and that too is an effect of the sun.

Imam al-Sajjad (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) added seven rak'ahs to the existing prayers; two rak'ahs to each of the Dhuhr, Asr and Isha prayers, and one rak'ah to the Maghrib prayer, and he left the morning prayer at the same two rak'ahs which had been made obligatory upon him in Makkah, on account of hastening the descent of the angels of the day to the earth and the ascent of the angels of the night to the sky; because these angels used to be present with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in the morning prayer, and for this reason Allah says: وَ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ کَانَ مَشْهُودًا [and the recitation of the dawn; indeed the recitation of the dawn is witnessed].