Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
I know you have written about this extensively, but I am still confused. there are two timings offered for asr here in the USA in various masjids. masjid A’s prayer schedule says that asr is prayed at 2:35 pm while masjid B’s schedule says 3:15 pm. if we follow the later-timing opinion, does that mean that we can pray dhur up until 3:05 or 3:10 pm? or is dhuhr over by 2:35 pm? I hope my question is not too confusing, but this issue is one that is confusing a lot of us here. if I tell people that they should pray their dhuhr by 2:30 otherwise it will be qada, they show me their mosque’s schedule and say, “no, our mosque says that we have until 3:15 pm to pray, so we are fine.” who is correct?
Walaikum assalam,
1. Both opinions are valid for a Hanafi to follow.
2. It is from taqwa not to delay one’s zuhr prayer past the earlier Asr time, as this is disliked. We leave others alone about such matters, unless we think that there will be a clear benefit (and no fitna or confusion) in telling them. The basis is that we let people be, unless Allah expects us to correct or advise them.
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.