Zawal and the Forbidden Prayer Times

The short answer

Sahih Muslim 831, graded sahih, reports that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, forbade prayer and burial at sunrise, at midday until the sun inclines, and at sunset. Zawal is the sun passing its highest point at midday. The four schools differ on how strict this is and which prayers are exempt.

What are the three times in Sahih Muslim 831?

'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, may Allah be pleased with him, says the Prophet used to forbid prayer and burial at three times: sunrise until the sun is up; midday when it stands at its height until it inclines; and as it leans towards setting until it sets. The report is graded sahih (authentic)

1AuthenticSahih Muslim 831

ثَلاَثُ سَاعَاتٍ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَنْهَانَا أَنْ نُصَلِّيَ فِيهِنَّ أَوْ أَنْ نَقْبُرَ فِيهِنَّ مَوْتَانَا حِينَ تَطْلُعُ الشَّمْسُ بَازِغَةً حَتَّى تَرْتَفِعَ وَحِينَ يَقُومُ قَائِمُ الظَّهِيرَةِ حَتَّى تَمِيلَ الشَّمْسُ وَحِينَ تَضَيَّفُ الشَّمْسُ لِلْغُرُوبِ حَتَّى تَغْرُبَ

The report describes each time by the sun. It gives no minutes, and it does not say which prayers, if any, are exempt.

A second report adds two longer stretches. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, heard the Prophet say there is no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun has risen, and none after Asr until the sun has set. It is graded sahih

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 586

. Ibn Qudamah's Hanbali al-Mughni counts five times and calls sound the fifth, which runs from the sun leaning towards setting until it sets 3.

What is zawal time, and how is it found?

Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, in the Maliki al-Risalah, puts the start of Dhuhr at the moment the sun has moved (zalat) from the middle of the sky and the shadow starts to lengthen 4. Al-Risalah's moment of the sun moving from the middle of the sky is the zawal named in the title. The time before it, while the sun stands at its height, is the midday time in Sahih Muslim 831.

None of the works we read gives any of these windows a length in minutes. Each is found from the sun, as shown below. The table is our summary of the cited sources, not wording from any one of them.

Each restricted time, found from the sun
Time	From	Until	How to find it
Sunrise	The sun starts to appear over the horizon.	The sun is up. The Shafi'i and Hanbali works say until it has risen about a spear's length.	The window runs from the sunrise time for your place and date until the sun is clearly up. 1 5 3
Midday	The sun stands at its height.	The sun inclines past its highest point.	Read the moment the sun is highest for your place. Al-Risalah describes zawal by the shadow starting to lengthen again. 1 4
Sunset	The sun leans towards setting.	The sun has set.	It begins as the sun gets low and ends at the sunset time for your place. 1 3
After Fajr	Praying Fajr (in the Hanbali well-known position, dawn itself).	Sunrise, when the sunrise window above begins.	Your Fajr prayer, or the start of Fajr time, then the sunrise time. 2 6
After Asr	Praying Asr (the Hanbali reading).	Sunset.	Your own Asr prayer, then the sunset (Maghrib) time. 2 6

Zawal time in London, Glasgow or anywhere else

The moment changes with the date and with where you are, so no single clock time works for a city all year. For today's time where you are, open the prayer times tool, choose your place and read "The sun at its highest" under More times. Zawal is the sun passing that point, and the tool's Dhuhr time sits at or just after it, as your chosen method sets it. The tool draws no forbidden window around midday, because no source we read gives one.

Is praying at a forbidden time forbidden or only disliked?

The works use different words, and some tie them to whether a prayer begun then counts. The table gives each school's work and what it states.

How strict the restriction is, as one work of each school states it
	Hanafial-Marghinani, al-Hidayah	MalikiIbn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi	Shafi'ial-Nawawi, Minhaj and al-Majmu	HanbaliIbn Qudamah, al-Mughni
Forbidden or disliked	Prayer is not valid (la tajuz) at sunrise, at the sun's height or at sunset. After Fajr and after Asr, voluntary prayer is disliked (yukrah). 7 8	The chapter is headed as times in which voluntary prayer is disliked (tukrah). Voluntary prayers are not prayed at sunrise, at sunset, after Subh (Fajr) or after Asr. For Malik, prayer at the sun's height is permitted. 9 10	Prayer is disliked (tukrah) at these times. Al-Majmu reports two views in the school, mild or prohibitive dislike, and calls prohibitive the more correct. The Khurasani scholars give two views on whether a disliked prayer begun then comes into being; the more correct for them is that it does not. 5 11	No voluntary prayer without a cause may be begun, with no disagreement known in the school. The reason given: the prohibition is for tahrim, making it unlawful. 12

So the Hanafi al-Hidayah is stricter on the three sun times than on the two times after Fajr and Asr, and the Maliki al-Kafi reports Malik as permitting prayer at midday. Sahih Muslim 831 itself does not say how strict the restriction is.

Which prayers are exempt from the forbidden times?

The works name their own exceptions. Where a cell says "not addressed", the passage read for that work does not cover the case.

Prayers the works allow or restrict in these times
	Hanafial-Marghinani, al-Hidayah	MalikiIbn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi	Shafi'ial-Nawawi, Minhaj and al-Majmu	HanbaliIbn Qudamah, al-Mughni
A missed obligatory prayer	Allowed after Fajr and after Asr. In the three times the only exception is that day's Asr at sunset, and the hadith is read against al-Shafi'i's exemption of obligatory prayers. 8 7 13	An obligatory prayer missed through sleep or forgetting is prayed at any time. 14	A prayer with a cause is excepted, a missed prayer first among them. 5	Missed obligatory prayers may be made up in all the forbidden times. 15
The funeral prayer	No harm after Fajr and Asr. In the three times it is disliked, but it counts if the funeral was present then. 8 16	Prayed at any time except with sunrise and with sunset. 17	Al-Shirazi's al-Muhadhdhab, printed in al-Majmu, lists it among prayers with a cause that are not disliked. 18	No disagreement after Subh and Asr. Not allowed in the three times, with another narration from Ahmad allowing it. 19
The prostration of recitation	As the funeral prayer: fine after Fajr and Asr; disliked in the three times but counted if the verse was recited then. 8 16	Not made in any time when voluntary prayer is disliked. A reported view has it made once that time ends. 10	Al-Muhadhdhab lists it among prayers with a cause that are not disliked. 18	Not allowed in the well-known position of the school. 12
The greeting of the mosque and the eclipse prayer	Not addressed in the passage read.	No greeting of the mosque after praying Subh or Asr. 10	Both excepted as prayers with a cause. 5	Neither allowed in the well-known position of the school. 12
Friday at midday	The hadith is read against Abu Yusuf, who allowed voluntary prayer at zawal on Friday. 13	For Malik, prayer at the sun's height is permitted on Friday and on other days. 9	Friday is excepted from the midday dislike. 5	No difference between Friday and other days. 12

Al-Nawawi's Minhaj also excepts the Haram of Makkah (the sacred precinct), on the view it calls sound, while al-Marghinani's al-Hidayah reads the hadith against that exception 5 13. For the prayers themselves, see the guides to the Janazah prayer and the prostration of recitation.

What if you are caught in a forbidden time?

Say your alarm fails and you wake as the sun is coming up, with Fajr not yet prayed. The works answer differently.

The Maliki al-Kafi, al-Nawawi's Shafi'i Minhaj and Ibn Qudamah's Hanbali al-Mughni all allow a missed obligatory prayer in these times 14 5 15.
Al-Marghinani's Hanafi al-Hidayah makes an exception in the three sun times only for that day's Asr at sunset, explaining that other prayers fell due complete and are not discharged with a deficiency 7.
If the sun rises while you are praying Fajr, Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says to complete it, and reports the Hanafis as saying it is spoiled 15.

Asr that runs late is another case, and al-Hidayah's exception names that day's Asr at sunset 7. For your own situation, ask a teacher of your school. The guides to missed prayers, Fajr and Asr cover the prayers themselves.

I once stood up to pray just as the sun was rising after a late Fajr, and an older man at the mosque stopped me. I was embarrassed. He sat with me for a few minutes and explained the times, and I have checked the sunrise time ever since.

Haroon Alistudent of knowledge

Try it: the three times and the schools

Three checks, each with its source.

1Which three times does Sahih Muslim 831 name?
Answer: Sunrise, the sun at its height, and sunset. The report names the time as the sun rises until it is up, the sun at its height until it inclines, and the sun leaning towards setting until it sets. It is graded sahih. Source 1
2Which school's work reports that prayer when the sun is at its height is permitted, on Friday and on other days?
Answer: The Maliki al-Kafi. The Maliki al-Kafi gives this as Malik's position. The Hanbali al-Mughni says Friday is no different from other days at zawal. Source 9
3Does any work we read give the midday window a length in minutes?
Answer: No. The works describe the window by the sun: from its height until it inclines. None of them gives minutes, so the prayer times tool shows the moment the sun is highest and no window around it. Source 1

Questions people ask

How long is zawal time?

None of the four schools' works we read gives the midday window a length in minutes. Sahih Muslim 831, graded sahih, runs it from when the sun stands at its height until it inclines. The Ilmwell prayer times tool shows the moment the sun is highest for your place and date, with no window drawn around it.

Can I read the Quran or make dua at zawal?

Sahih Muslim 831, graded sahih, speaks of praying and burying the dead at these times; it does not mention reading the Quran or making dua. A prostration of recitation is a separate question: the Hanbali al-Mughni does not allow it in these times in its well-known position, while the Shafi'i al-Muhadhdhab counts it among prayers with a cause that are not disliked. The works we read were not searched on these questions, so we do not rule on them. For reading Quran or making dua at these times, ask a teacher of your school.

Does Dhuhr start at zawal?

The Maliki al-Risalah of Ibn Abi Zayd says the time of Dhuhr begins when the sun has moved from the middle of the sky and the shadow starts to lengthen. Sahih Muslim 831, graded sahih, ends the midday restricted time when the sun inclines. The Ilmwell prayer times tool gives the day's Dhuhr time for your place.

Sources

Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.

1
'Uqbah ibn 'Amir al-Juhani says there were three times in which the Prophet used to forbid them to pray or to bury their dead: when the sun is rising until it is up, when the sun stands at its height at midday until it inclines, and when it leans towards setting until it sets.
Sahih Muslim 831 Book 6, Hadith 357
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
2
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri heard the Prophet say there is no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises and no prayer after Asr until the sun sets.
Sahih al-Bukhari 586 Book 9, Hadith 61
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
3
Ibn Qudamah's Hanbali al-Mughni says Ahmad held the forbidden times to be after Fajr until the sun has risen a spear's length, after Asr until sunset, and while the sun stands at its height until it passes; Ahmad's companions count five, and Ibn Qudamah judges the fifth to run from when the sun leans towards setting until it sets.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 85 (shamela.ws book 8463) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanbali-mughni-times.
4
Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's Maliki al-Risalah says the time of Dhuhr is when the sun has moved from the middle of the sky (zalat 'an kabid al-sama') and the shadow starts to lengthen.
Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, al-Risalah, p. 23 (shamela.ws book 11373) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-maliki-risalah-zawal.
5
Al-Nawawi's Shafi'i Minhaj al-talibin says prayer is disliked when the sun is at its height, except on Friday, after Subh until the sun has risen about a spear's length, and after Asr until sunset, except a prayer with a cause, such as a missed prayer, the eclipse prayer, the greeting of the mosque and a prostration of thanks, and except in the Haram of Makkah, on the sound view.
Al-Nawawi, Minhaj al-talibin, p. 22 (shamela.ws book 12096) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-shafii-minhaj.
6
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says the prohibition after Asr is tied to praying Asr, so someone who has not yet prayed it may pray voluntary prayers, while the prohibition after Fajr is tied to the rising of dawn in the well-known position of the school; another narration from Ahmad ties it to praying Fajr.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 86 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanbali-mughni-after-fajr-asr.
7
Al-Marghinani's Hanafi al-Hidayah states that prayer is not valid (la tajuz) at sunrise, when the sun stands at its height at midday, or at sunset, and that neither a funeral prayer nor a prostration of recitation is done then, except that day's Asr at sunset.
Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 42 (shamela.ws book 11820) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanafi-hidayah-three-times.
8
Al-Marghinani's al-Hidayah says voluntary prayer is disliked after Fajr until sunrise and after Asr until sunset, and that there is no harm in praying missed prayers, making the prostration of recitation and praying the funeral prayer in those two times.
Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 42 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanafi-hidayah-after-fajr-asr.
9
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi says sunnah and voluntary prayers are not prayed at sunrise or at sunset, and that for Malik prayer is permitted when the sun is at its height, on Friday and on other days.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 195 (shamela.ws book 7367) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-maliki-kafi-nafl-zawal.
10
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi says no one prays a voluntary prayer after Subh until sunrise or after Asr until sunset, that someone who has prayed Asr or Subh does not pray the greeting of the mosque then, and that for Malik the two rak'ahs of tawaf and the prostration of recitation are not done in any time in which voluntary prayer is disliked.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi, vol. 1, pp. 195 to 196 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-maliki-kafi-after-subh-asr.
11
Al-Nawawi's al-Majmu reports two views among the Shafi'i scholars on whether the prohibition in these times is mild dislike (tanzih) or prohibitive dislike (tahrim), calling tahrim the more correct, and two views, reported by the Khurasanis, on whether a disliked prayer begun in these times comes into being, the more correct for them being that it does not.
Al-Nawawi, al-Majmu, vol. 4, pp. 180 to 181 (shamela.ws book 2186) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-shafii-majmu-strictness.
12
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says he knows no disagreement in the school that a voluntary prayer without a cause may not be begun in these times; that making up sunnah prayers and prayers with a cause, such as the greeting of the mosque, the eclipse prayer and the prostration of recitation, are not allowed in the well-known position, since the prohibition is for tahrim; and that at zawal Friday is no different from other days.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, vol. 2, pp. 87 and 90 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanbali-mughni-causes-friday.
13
Al-Marghinani reads the general wording of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir's report as evidence against al-Shafi'i's exemption of obligatory prayers and of voluntary prayers in Makkah, and against Abu Yusuf's permission of voluntary prayer at zawal on Friday.
Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 42 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanafi-hidayah-friday-makkah.
14
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's Maliki al-Kafi says whoever slept through or forgot an obligatory prayer prays it at any time, in a chapter headed as the times in which voluntary prayers, not obligatory ones, are disliked in the Maliki school.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 195 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-maliki-kafi-fard.
15
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says missed obligatory prayers may be made up in all the forbidden times, and that someone in Subh when the sun rises completes it; he reports the Hanafis (ashab al-ra'y) as not making up missed prayers in the three times of 'Uqbah's report except that day's Asr, and as saying Subh is spoiled when the sun rises during it.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, vol. 2, pp. 80 to 81 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanbali-mughni-missed.
16
Al-Marghinani says the negation for the funeral prayer and the prostration of recitation in the three times means dislike (karahah): if done in that time, it counts, being performed deficient as it became due.
Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 42 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanafi-hidayah-funeral-tilawah.
17
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi says the funeral prayer is prayed at any time except with sunrise and with sunset.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 276 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-maliki-kafi-funeral.
18
Al-Shirazi's Shafi'i al-Muhadhdhab, as printed in al-Nawawi's al-Majmu, says prayers that have a cause are not disliked in these times, such as making up a missed prayer, a vowed prayer, the prostration of recitation and the funeral prayer.
Al-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab, as printed in al-Nawawi's al-Majmu, vol. 4, p. 168 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-shafii-muhadhdhab-causes.
19
Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni says there is no disagreement over the funeral prayer after Subh until sunrise and after Asr until the sun leans towards setting, but in the three times of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir's report it is not allowed; he reports another narration from Ahmad allowing it in all the forbidden times, which he notes is al-Shafi'i's position.
Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 82 Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026 (electronic text; print not checked). Record: scholarly-zawal-hanbali-mughni-funeral.

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Zawal and the forbidden prayer times