Answered by: Maulana Mustafa Umar
Question
1. How do we define an Islamic day?
2. When does it start and when does it stop?
3. From that how do we define morning and evening?
4. When should we do morning and evening (dua) invocations?
5. Can you provide the different academic views on that of the schools, or if there is unanimity?
Please can you provide a reference for each answer
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer
The Islamic day begins after sunset and ends before sunset of the next day. The ‘day’ or ‘date’ being determined by sunset does not affect the determination of the morning or evening. The word ‘day’ simply means a time span of 24 hours and does not connote light in the sky, as opposed to darkness.
Ibn al-Qayyim quoted the verse, “and glorify the Praises of your Lord, before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting’[Qaaf 50:39]and explained that it means before the sun rises and before it sets. The time for that is between dawn and sunrise, and between ‘Asr and Maghrib. [al-Waabil al-Sayyib, 200]
Only Allah knows best,
Written by Maulana Mustafa Umar
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham