Darulifta Ahlesunnat
(Dawateislami)
Question
What do the honourable Islamic scholars and Muftis
of the sacred Shari’ah say about the following issue:
What is the most superior time for offering Zuhr Salah?
بِسْمِ اللہِ
الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ
الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
In winters, it is Mustahab
to offer Zuhr Salah early, while during summer days, it is Mustahab to offer it
late. It’s challenging to specify a fixed time due to the varying beginning and
ending times of Zuhr each day. Nonetheless, ‘late’ implies dividing the entire
duration of Zuhr into two parts. After waiting for the first part to elapse,
for instance, if the total duration of Zuhr is 4 hours and 30 minutes, offering
Zuhr Salah in the second part would mean waiting for 2 hours and 15 minutes
before offering Zuhr Salah.
However, for the
individual for whom congregational Salah (Jama’at) is
Wajib, it is impermissible to forego attending the congregational Salah at its
designated time for the sake of performing it in the Mustahab time. Therefore,
even during the summer months, when the congregational Salah for Zuhr is held
at its earliest time, as is the general practice both in summer and winter, it
is absolutely prohibited to skip the congregational Salah with the intention of
offering Zuhr later. This is because a Wajib action cannot be neglected in favour of a Mustahab action.
It is stated in Fatawa Alamgiri:
ویستحب تاخیر الظھر فی الصیف و تعجیلہ
فی الشتاء ھکذا فی الکافی،سواء کان یصلی الظھر وحدہ
أو بجماعۃ کذا فی شرح المجمع لابن ملک
(Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, vol. 1, Kitab al-Salah, p. 58, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut)
It is stated in
Bahar-e-Shariat: Offering Zuhr promptly during winters is Mustahab. During
summer days, delaying Zuhr is Mustahab, whether one offers it individually or
with Jama’at [congregation]. However, if, during
summers, the Jama’at for Zuhr is held in its early
time, it is not permissible to miss the Jama’at for
the sake of the Mustahab time. The ruling of winter applies to spring and the
ruling of summer applies to autumn.(Bahar-e-Shariat,
vol. 1, part 3, p. 452, Maktaba-tul-Madinah,
Karachi)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُہ
اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم
(Allah Almighty
knows best and His Messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By:Mufti Muhammad
Qasim Attari
Ref No: FAM-099
Date: 28th Safar al-Muzaffar, 1445 Hijri/ 15th September, 2023
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