What should I do if I prayed ‘Asr but am not quite sure if the ‘Asr prayer time had entered beforehand?

Question Summary

What should I do if I prayed ‘Asr but am not sure if the ‘Asr prayer time had entered beforehand?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Of the conditions for a valid prayer is that one must be certain that the time has entered. It is not enough that one assumes that the time has entered. [Tahtawi,Shurunbulali; Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

Allah Most High says, “…Indeed, performing prayers is a duty on the believers at the appointed times.” [Qur’an; 04:103]

Appointed time here means such stipulated times that nor delay past the time (for the one able to perform it) nor bringing it ahead of its time are valid. [Tahtawi,Shurunbulali; Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

Moving Forward

Make up your ‘Asr prayer and strive to keep track of the prayer times. Any reasonable prayer app would suffice in this. You may even want to turn on the app’s notifications so you are certain of the time.

Another way to help with this is to call the adhan (the call to prayer) when the prayer time enters before praying.

The rewards of calling the adhan are plenty, and it also is a means to bring the heart to a state of presence in the prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily the one who calls to the prayer is forgiven to the extent their voice reaches, and every living and inanimate testifying to hearing him…” [Ahmad]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.