Praying Before the Time Enters

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Is it permissible to pray salah few minutes before it’s time?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that you are well, insha’Allah.

According to the Hanafi school, it is a condition for the validity of the prayer that it be performed within the specified prayer time. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; `Ala al-Din `Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-`Ala’iyya]

The condition of time relates to two aspects: [1] the time having actually entered; [2] and one’s believing that the time has entered. The absence of either of these would render the prayer invalid.

Allah Most High says, ‘Worship at fixed hours hath been enjoined on the believers.’ [4:103]

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam,

Tabraze Azam

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani