There are numerous verses, prophetic sayings and practices narrated from the Messenger of Allah that clarify the time of dawn prayer.  One of the relevant verses is the following one

أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

“Keep up the prayer from decline of Sun until the pitch-dark of night, and during the accumulation of dawn. The accumulation of dawn is visible by eye.” (Al-Isra / The Night Journey 17:78)

The part of the verse relevant to the issue is the concept of “accumulation of dawn”. Accumulation corresponds to the meaning of the word قرآن (qur’an). Because qur’an refers to something that accumulates.[1] As a noun, fajr (الْفجْر) refers to the redness of dawn that reaches from the Sun to the eastern horizon during early hours of the morning.[2] That is fajr is the morning light, which is also called subh = الصُّبْح.[3]  الصُّبْح= subh basically means redness. The dark redness on hair is called الصَّبَحُ = sabah,[4] a lion feather of which is the mixture of red and while from birth is called  asbah = الأَصْبَحُ.[5] All of these indicate that the accumulation, which is the sign of morning, is to be sought in red light; and it is called mashhood (مشهود) since it is seen by eye.

Fajr (الْفجْر), as an infinitive; means splitting, shedding and eruption.[6] Lights of the sun start to erupt from the horizon until the end of night.  These create a weak light dome resembling a dome created by waters eruption from thin pipes laid in a single row.  Red and white colored lights mix into the darkness of the night.  As the sun approaches to the horizon, colors start to become clear and distinguished.  Thereafter, a light accumulation occurs which looks like the waters erupting from pipes that turn into a pond below.  The expression qur’an al-fajr  =قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ  in the verse states for accumulated red lights.  The time of prayer has not yet occured before this accumulation, the moment prior to that is called the pseudo-dawn (fajr al-kazib), and the one after that is called the real dawn (fajr al-sadik).[7] The following saying of the Messenger of Allah explains this situation:

ليس الفجر المستطيل في الأفق ولكنه المعترض الأحمر

“The light that stretches upwards in the horizon is not the dawn. Dawn is the redness that stretches transversely.”[8]

This saying of the Prophet is a varied expression of the foregoing verse.  During that moment, white lights coming from the sun become intensified, creating a second line on the redness.

The following verse expresses the white and black light lines that occur together with the redness that accumulates in the horizon.

و كلوا واشربوا حتى يتبين لكم الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود من الفجر

“Eat and drink until the black line could be fully distinguished by you from the white line due to dawn (redness)” (Al-Baqara/ The Cow 2:187)

A white line arises on the redness that that accumulates and stretches towards both sides of the east horizon.  At that point what lies between the observer and the horizon is like a black line.  The redness fills the upper edge of this line.  One of the sayings of the Messenger of Allah in relation to this time is the following:

… فَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَعْتَرِضَ لَكُمُ الْأَحْمَرُ

“Eat and drink until the redness spread transversely according to you”.[9]

… صَلَّى الْفَجْرَ حِينَ بَرَقَ الْفَجْرُ وَحَرُمَ الطَّعَامُ عَلَى الصَّائِمِ …

“Gabriel used to lead me for praying twice near the Qa’ba. …He lead me for dawn prayer during the shining of redness, when the fasting person is prohibited from eating”.[10]

The Messenger of Allah said the following as narrated by Samura b. Jundub:

“لَا يَغُرَّنَّكُمْ نِدَاءُ بِلَالٍ وَهَذَا الْبَيَاضُ حَتَّى يَنْفَجِرَ الْفَجْرُ، أَوْ يَطْلُعَ الْفَجْرُ”.

“Let you not be cheated by the voice of Bilal, and by that whiteness; let the dawn erupt, or let the dawn arise.”[11]

According to all these verses and prophetic sayings, there are two dawns in every morning, one being prior to, and the other after the accumulation of redness.  The following words of the Prophet of Allah make us easy to distinguish between two dawns:

“كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا يَهِيدَنَّكُمْ السَّاطِعُ الْمُصْعِدُ، فَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَعْتَرِضَ لَكُمُ الْأَحْمَرُ”

“Eat and drink, let you not be distracted by the light that spreads upwards; eat and drink until you see the redness spreading transversely”[12]

The word “as-sati’”  السَّاطِعُ in the hadith, means a thing that spreads and rises, i.e. like a lightning, dust, lightness and odor;[13] “al-mus’id”  الْمُصْعِدُ  means something that climbs.”[14] That is, the first dawn is the continuously spreading and rising lightness; and the second dawn is the bulk of red light that divides this lightness from bottom, adjacent to the horizon. The following verse explains this division:

“He is who divides the morning, makes night a rest time, and directs sun and moon in a precise system. This is the measure set by the Most Powerful and All-Knowing” (Al-An’am/ The Cattle: 6/96)

Al-isbâh = الْإِصْباحِ, as an infinitive, means “entry to morning”. Since  الصَّبَحُ = sabah is basically the redness,[15] the clear meanin of isbah is “entry to the time when redness accumulates”. As a name, it signifies both before and after the darkness. Faliq’ul-ısbah = فالق الإِصباح means the divider of these lights.

We would have started the morning with the first lights had the verses and prophetic sayings not divided it into two. Since the time for prayer does not start with the first lights, the time prior to splitting is called the fajr al-kazib. The following verse indicates the tone of lights in the second dawn.

وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا أَسْفَرَ

“And the daybreak when it shines…” (Al-Muddassir 74/34)

Safar = سفر is the appearance and manifestation.[16] In Arabic, the phrase asfara as-subhu = أَسْفَرَ الصبح is used for the time when the east horizon has become clearly enlightened without any doubt.[17] Swear by Allah on a specific thing demonstrates the significance of that thing. The most important thing within that context is the time of dawn prayer. The following saying of the Messenger of Allah is another expression of that verse:

… صَلَّى الْفَجْرَ حِينَ بَرَقَ الْفَجْرُ وَحَرُمَ الطَّعَامُ عَلَى الصَّائِمِ …

“Gabriel used to lead me for praying twice near the Qa’ba. …He lead me for dawn prayer during the shining of redness, when the fasting person is prohibited from eating”[18]

Bilal was the prayer caller of the Messenger of Allah.  The following words he said to Bilal bear the same meaning with the verse:

نور بالفجر قدر مايبصر القوم مواقع نلهم.

“Wait until the redness spreads such that a man could see where his arrow falls”[19]

The narration by Abu Musa al-Ashari supports this saying:

فأقامَ الفَجْرَ حين انشقَّ الفجْرُ، والنّاس لا يكادُ يعرفُ بعضُهُمْ بعْضاً.

“The Messenger of Allah lead dawn prayer when the redness was spreading.  People would almost not recognize each other.” (Muslim)

Lights that appear in the horizon at that time start to lighten like a lantern.  The words “people would almost not recognize each other” indicate that they started to recognize one another due to the lightness that started to spread.  The following narration also supports this:

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْمِنْهَالِ عَنْ أَبِي بَرْزَةَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهم عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي الصُّبْحَ وَأَحَدُنَا يَعْرِفُ جَلِيسَهُ

Abu’l Minhal has narrated the following saying from Abu Barza:  “The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, used to recognize each of us when leading the dawn prayer.” (Bukhari)

This shows that the lightness that appears in the horizon reaches far inside the masjid.  Abu Ja’far at-Tahawee narrates the following words of Ibrahim an-Nahai, with an authentic evidence of narration:

“Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his friends had not allied on any subject as they did on the issue of tanwir.”[20] Tanwir is the spread of the lightness that enables sight.[21] This demonstrates that the lightness started to spread to environment in the second dawn.

The following verses express the lightness during that moment:

“Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. And made no exception (for the will of Allah).Then a visitation came upon it while they slept. And in the morning it was as if plucked. And they cried out one unto another in the morning.Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones:No needy man shall enter it today against you.They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we havegone astray.Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!” (Al-Qalam / The Pen : 68/17-27)

The dawn at the end of night resembles the dawn at its beginning.[22] The following verse highlights the symmetry between the times of dawn and evening prayers.

فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ

“Glorify Allah (perform the prayer) as you enter the evening and the morning”  (Al-Room/ The Romans : 30/17)

This issue will be underline when the account is given of evening and night prayers.

Opinions of Schools of Islamic Law

In Hanafi School, the dawn, fajr, is the whiteness spreading through the horizon.[23] During this the horizon becomes clear so as to leave no doubt.[24]

Imam Malik answers a question as follows:  “I have been thinking for a while:  There appears a whiteness arising prior to the dawn, however, the fasting one is not prevented from eating until the whiteness spreading through the horizon transversally appears.  As a matter of fact, the whiteness remaining after the disappearance of the red dawn in the evening does not prevent one from performing the night prayer.[25]

Ibn Kudame, a Hanbali, says as follows:  The time of dawn starts with the rise of second dawn, there is a consensus on this issue.  Narrations related to time demonstrate this definitely.  The second dawn is the whiteness which spreads and dissipates through the horizon.  This is called the “real dawn” (fajr al-sadik).  Because this gives you a correct and precise information about the dawn.  Subh merges whiteness and redness.  This is why a person with white and red skin is called asbah أَصْبَحَ.[26]

Imam Shafi states:  The dawn prayer could be performed until the second dawn appears transversally. One who performs the prayer before the dawn has become clearly visible, should repeat it when it becomes clear so that the prayer could be finished when it is still dawn”.[27]

Abu’l Fadhl Salih, son of Ahmad b. Hanbal, asks his father what the dawn when the fasting person is prohibited from eating and drinking, is: Ahmad b. Hanbal says: there are two dawns; one is the longtitudinal, and the other is transversal. The one which stops eating and drinking is the transversal dawn.[28]

Prof. Abdülaziz Bayındır

“O you who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, idols (that are worshipped), arrows for seeking the future or luck are all abominations, the handiwork of Satan. So, keep away from them that you may attain to true success.”
(Al-Ma’ida/ The Feast 5:90)

If a Muslim person drinks spirits knowing and accepting that it is forbidden (haraam), that person becomes a sinner. However, this situation does not prevent him/her from performing worships. The Glorified Allah sets the following criterion about this issue:

“O you who believe! Do not approach the prayer (salat) when you are in a drunken state until you know what you are saying…” (An-Nisa/ The Women 4:43)

According to this, a Muslim who drinks should not be inebriated to be able to perform the prayers (salat); should be able to stand and be aware of the words he/she speaks. Whoever takes alcoholic drinks cannot do prayers until fulfillment of these conditions.

Anyone who quits drinking and repents, should not wait for forty days, on the contrary should start performing prayers as soon as possible.

“Say: “Shall We tell you who will be the greatest losers in respect of their works in the hereafter?
It is those whose effort in the life of the world will go astray and who believe nevertheless that they are doing good.
Those are the ones who refused to believe in the signs of their Lord and that they are bound to meet Him. Hence, all their deeds have come to naught, and We shall assign no scale to them on the Day of Rising, since they have nothing left to weigh.
Hell is their recompense for concealing the truth and ridiculing My signs and My Messengers.”"
(Al-Kahf/The Cave 18:103-106)

There is no problem to offer prayers while the effects of those are on you.

On the other hand, one that claims he/she is a Muslim and doesn’t perform the prayers is clearly disobeying the orders of Allah and committing a great sin. Thus, a young Muslim woman is advised to marry a Muslim man that cares about his responsibilities to Allah, rather than disobeying him at least five times a day.

Süleymaniye Foundation  Religion and Creation’s Dispositions Centre  sent a commitee to Norway in January to research the conditions of five prayer times.

The scientific work carried out in Tromso has been announced at a press conference held at Süleymaniye Foundation Religion and Creation’s Dispositions Centre. Prof. Dr. Abdülaziz BAYINDIR, Dr. Servet BAYINDIR and Prof. Dr. Adnan ÖKTEN from the commitee have also joined the conference.

Prof. Dr. Abdülaziz BAYINDIR has stressed that the prayer times in the polar zones is one of the most argued subjects, especially over internet and that they have been to Tromso as a commitee, which is one of the northest civilization locations where the sun does not rise.

Abdülaziz BAYINDIR announced that they have been to Tromso to be able to observe how prayer times can be determined at locations where the sun does not rise. He also added : “Five of all the five prayer times are determined according to the same conditions as in Turkey, with small difference that the sun does not rise in the morning and does not set in the evening.”

RESULTS MATCH THE VERSES OF QUR’AN EXACTLY

BAYINDIR stated that sunrise and sunset cannot be observed within deep valleys, either: “At such places, determination of sunrise is based on observation of sunlight at the western horizon. When we see the illumination start at the western horizon, we say ‘the sun has risen’. We have observed this criterion in Tromso. The sun not appearing in Tromso is just like the sun remaining hidden behind a mountain in Turkey or somewhere else.”

BAYINDIR explained their observations with examples from Qur’an: “We have been to Tromso for observation as the first commitee consisting of Islamic, astronomic and technical experts. The most overwhelming aspect of these observations is that the results match the verses in Qur’an perfectly.”

BAYINDIR reported that there were around 800 Muslims in Tromso some of which were locals. The commitee asked: “Which criteria do you take for prayer times?”, and got replied: “We are told that prayer time conditions are not met here, so we respect the conditions of Mecca.” BAYINDIR also reported that they had informed the Muslims in Tromso of the prayer time conditions being met in Tromso, which had startled all the Muslims in there.

Istanbul University Lecturer Prof. Dr. Adnan ÖKTEN reported that they had decided on the observation location as Tromso after careful investigation and that this research should be taken from two aspects, first the religious, second the scientific.
ÖKTEN told: “Religious conditions were set by Süleymaniye Foundation researchers and I checked whether these conditions were met astronomically. I determined where the sun was located at the moment when the condition set by the commitee was met. If a calendar is to be prepared in the following days, after doing further observations, we can apply the same rules for everywhere on earth.”

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS USES WRONG CRITERIA

Prof. Dr. Abdülaziz BAYINDIR replied the questions after the press conference. Journalists asked about the prayer times which The Presidency of Religious Affairs calculated for Tromso. BAYINDIR replied that they had not compared the calculated times until then. He also claimed that Diyanet used wrong criteria to calculate the prayer times and added: “We are going to carry on our observations and the calendar is going to be prepared thereafter. I have made observations together with The Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey for three years. I also insisted then, that the criteria were wrong. Not only Religious Affairs but also all other institutions take those wrong criteria as basis. We need to have our work completed to be able to tell how many hours of divergence exactly exists.”

CIHAN MEDIA SERVICES

You may find the photos of observed prayer times  in the PRESENTATION below. Prayer times are calculated according to sunrays  as expressed in the verses. Related verses are written on slides, so that every photo can be interpreted using the verses in the Qur’an.

“PRAYER TIMES PRESENTATION DETERMINED ACCORDING TO SUNRAYS, INCLUDING VERSES “

Süleymaniye Foundation

1. Narrated Anas bin Malik (r.a.):
“If dinner is already served and iqamat-as-salat-al maghrib (evening prayer iqamat) is heard, you should begin having dinner.” (Bukhari, Et’ime, 58; Muslim Mesajid, 64 (557).

2. Narrated Anas bin Malik (r.a.):
“If dinner is in front of you, start eating before the evening prayer. Do not haste leaving your meal.” (Bukhari, Azan, 42; Muslim Mesajid, 64 (557)).

3. Narrated Aisha (r.a.):
“If dinner is in front of you and iqamat-as-salat-al maghrib (evening prayer iqamat) is heard in the meantime, you begin having dinner.” (Bukhari, Azan, 42; Muslim Mesajid, 65 (558)).

4. Abdullah ibn Omar (r.a.):
“If dinner is in front of you, in the meantime iqamat-as-salat-al maghrib (evening prayer iqamat) is heard, you begin having dinner. Do not haste leaving your meal.” (Bukhari, Azan, 42; Muslim Mesajid, 66 (559)).

According to Nawawi’s declaration: It is makruh to start prayer before eating, because serenity of heart is disturbed when mind is perturbed with the idea of eating. However, it depends on the time left. If duration of prayer is about to end, we should do the prayer first.

Related from Abu Hanifah: “I would think about prayer while eating, rather than think about food while praying.”

Ahmed bin Hanbal tells these expressions should be interpreted. According to him, a person who started eating should join the prayer in case he/she hears the iqamat, because he/she has eaten enough to be unperturbed in heart.

Imam Shafi’i thinks: if dinner is served and the person is quite hungry due to fasting, he/she eats first. Otherwise, prayer is preferred.

According to a narration from Imam Malik, prayer is preferred before meal, but meal may be preferred if foods are light. (Ahmet Davudoğlu, Sahih-i Müslim Şerhi, Masajid, 67 (560) hadith explanation)

When health is also considered: having some simple food like soup first, doing the prayer afterwards and completing the meal at last, is the best choice. Thus during prayer, mind is unperturbed  and body is comfortable, since stomach is not full after long hours of fasting.