As-Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah. My question is regarding Salatud-Dhuha – the `chasht prayer`. I`d like to know how many minutes before zenith I can pray it (in the U.K) and how many minutes after sunrise. Can you please give me a timespan for when I can pray it? JazakAllahu Khayr
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The time for observing Salah al-Ishraq commences approximately twenty minutes after sunrise[1] when the sun is above the horizon by the length of a spear and the sun becomes very bright so much so that it becomes difficult to directly look at with the naked eye[2] and ends at mid-morning (halfway between sunrise and zenith). However, it is virtuous to observe it immediately after its time sets in[3].
The time for Salah ad-Dhuha prayer (Chasht prayer) is after the time of Salah al-Ishraq, from mid-morning, until mid-day (Zawal). It is more virtuous to observe it after a quarter of the day has passed by[4].
For example, presently in winter, if sunrise in U.K is at 8:25am and Zawal (midday) is at 12:12pm (with Zohar beginning time at 12:22pm), the time of Salah al-Ishraq will be from at around 8:45am; while Salah ad-Dhuha could be observed anytime between approximately 10:15am till 12:12pm.
NB: the time at which mid-morning transpires will alternate throughout the year depending on the sunrise and mid-day timings and thus should be calculated in order to determine the time for Salah ad-Dhuha.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Hanif Yusuf Patel
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
References
[1] After sunrise, 12-15 minutes[Fatawa Rahimiyyah, 4: 82, Dar al-Isha`at, Karachi]; cautiously 20 minutes [Fatawa Mahmudiyyah, 21: 463; 5: 334, Dar al-Iftaa Jamiah Faruqiyyah, Karachi]
[2] عند طلوع الشمس إلى أن ترتفع الشمس وتبيض قدر رمح أو معين
[Tahtawi ala al-Falah, p.106; Al-Bahr ar-Ra`iq, 1: 434, Maktabah Rashidiyyah; Radd al-Muhtar ala ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, 1: 371, H. M. Saeed Company; Hashiyat at-Tahtawi ala ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, 1: 179-80, Dar al-Ma`rifah, Beirut; Fatawa Qadhi Khan ala Hamish al-Hindiyyah, 1: 74-5, Maktabah Rashidiyyah; Al-Halabiy al-Kabir, p.246, Suhail Academy Lahore; Fatawa Mahmudiyyah, 5: 334, Dar al-Iftaa Jamiah Faruqiyyah, Karachi]
[3] [Ahsan al-Fatwa, 3: 467, H. M. Saeed Company; Behishti Zewar, 2: 23, Maktabah al-Ilm, Lahore]
قال في العلائية وندب أربع فصاعدا في الضحى علي الصحيح من بعد الطلوع إلى الزوال ووقتها المختار بعد ربع النهار
[Radd al-Muhtar ala ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, 1: 639]
[Ahsan al-Fatwa, 3: 467, H. M. Saeed Company]