What is the Ruling When ‘Isha Times Does Not Enter Northern Latitudes?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I have a question concerning the days when ‘isha time doesn’t enter in certain northern locations.
A teacher of mine in Germany taught me the following:
Hanafis use the word taqdir differently than Shafi‘is. While Shafi‘is use taqdir in the sense of estimating an alternative ‘isha time according to the closest area which still has an ‘isha time, classically, Hanafis didn’t do so.
Rather the Hanafis ruled that one must make qada’ of ‘isha from the beginning of the time of fajr.
Only in the fatwa collection Fayd al-Mawla al-Karim ‘ala ‘Ubaydihi Ibrahim by Ibn al-Karaki one finds an expression that seems to indicate that estimating an alternative time is legitimate in the Hanafi school. The wording there, however, leaves many interpretations open. (see below)
In contrast, standard works such as Radd al-Muhtar explicitly state that the Hanafis do not understand taqdir as the estimating of times.
The position of ‘adam al-wujub, i.e. ‘isha not becoming wajib in this case, is “theoretical” in a sense, but also practical when we look at the Ottoman Nawazil-literature because this literature only contains practical fatawa that are rooted in reality.
I would like to pray according to the estimated (muqaddar) times like the Shafi’is. But that would contradict what my teacher taught me.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
You may pray according to the estimated times like the Shafi’is.
Your teacher’s opinion is also an opinion which was by Ibn al-Karaki, who was the first jurist to mention the need to do estimation (taqdir). Jurists after Ibn al-Karaki (d922) mentioned opinions of Isha being necessary (wajib) and estimation to be made, like Tumurtashi (d1004), Isha not necessary, like Shurunbulali (d1069) Haskafi (d1088), methods of estimation, like Tahtawi (d1231).
Here in the UK, the Wifaq al-Ulama has set a 65 minutes time after Maghrib for Isha during the absence of the twilight period, and some have set the time to even more. Some are also of the opinion of permitting the combining of prayers during this absence of the twilight period.
[Asim Yusuf, Shedding Light on the Dawn; Wifaqul-Ulama.co.uk]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha’ Allah. Also, I recommend you to buy the book provided in the link below.
Related Answers
- ʿIshāʾ at High Latitudes? | Wifaqul Ulama (Britain)
- lightonthedawn.com
- Order “Shedding Light on the Dawn” Written by Dr Asim Yusuf
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
