When Does the Prayer Ends?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
Recently I prayed Fajr, and I know that when it comes to Fajr, one must complete the whole prayer before Sunrise.
Once I had made my second salam, I looked at the clock, and Sunrise had just passed by around 3 seconds. Note this clock was a digital, synced clock.
Is my Fajr valid, or is Qada necessary? At what point exactly is Salah considered complete?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Your prayer was valid because you have been able to utter the first salam in time. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
It is obligatory to end the Fajr prayer before the exiting of its time for it to be valid.
If the sun rises while you are still praying the Fajr prayer, then the Fajr prayer is invalid.
Exiting the prayer through one’s action is obligatory for it to be valid.
It is necessary (wajib) to utter the word “al-salam” to exit the prayer soundly.
The sacrality (tahrima) of the prayer ends when the word “al-salam” is uttered for the first time after the Tashahud. This sacrality ends before uttering the word “alaykum” for the first time. This is why a latecomer won’t be able to follow the Imam at that point.
Your prayer was valid because you have been able to utter the word “al-salam” after the last sitting before the rising of the sun. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha’ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
