Can you pray nawafil between Fajr and sunrise?

Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

I heard Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) saying, ‘No Salat (prayer) is to be offered after the morning prayer (Fajr) until the sun rises, or after the afternoon prayer (Asr) until the sun sets.’ [Bukhari]

‘There is no Salat (prayer) after the Fajr (morning) prayer.’ [Muslim]

Uqba bin Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

There are three times at which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) used to forbid us to pray or bury our dead:

(a) when the sun begins to rise till it is fully up;

(b) when the sun is at its height at midday till it passes the meridian and

(c) when the sun draws near to setting till it sets.’ [Muslim]

The prohibited times of praying mentioned here by the Prophet (peace be upon him) were to prevent the Companions from imitating the pagans who were worshippers of the sun. They worshipped the sun in these particular times – when it rises and when it sets and when it’s in the middle of the sky. The Prophet (peace be upon him) therefore prohibited his Ummah to emulate them. This is why we do not pray at certain times.

In the first narration, Abu Sa’id Khudri said: ‘No Salat (prayer) is to be offered after the morning prayer (Fajr)……’ meaning once you have prayed Fajr, the sunnah and the fard, you cannot offer a voluntary salah until ten minutes after sunrise.

Can you pray a qada salah, missed prayer between Fajr and sunrise?

Yes. Though you cannot pray any voluntary (nawafil) salah at this time, a qada salah is an obligatory salah, which is being made up, so it is permitted to pray it. You may pray it either before your Fajr salah or after it.

During the prohibited times, it is also wrong to bury the dead, because these are specific times for devil worshippers, and sun worshippers etc.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave the Ummah a special identity, so you only follow monotheistic practices from the religion of Allah Almighty, which He revealed to all His messengers and all His prophets.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Sunday Hadith Class 24th March 2024

Transcribed by Rose Roslan