Fathwa, - Ruling on Specifying an Hour and Fifteen Minutes as the Time Gap betweenthe Athaans of Maghrib and ‘Ishaa' all Year Long

Question
We live in a Muslim-majority city in which there are five mosques.
Some of these mosques proclaim the Athaan (i.e. call to prayer),
especially the 'Ishaa' Athaan, according to Al-Aqsa prayer times while
the other mosques raise the Athaan an hour and fifteen minutes after
the Maghrib prayer. This means that there is a time gap between the
Athaans of the city's mosques of 20-25 minutes and this incurs
inconvenience and confusion among people.This is especially the case
in our old mosque wherethe Mu'ath-thin (i.e. callerto prayer) insists
on non-compliance with Al-Aqsa prayer times like the rest of the
mosques under the pretext that hehas been calling the Athaan at that
time throughout the years (and is not willing to change it). Please
note that we know that the accurate time of the 'Ishaa' prayer is when
theold mosque's Mu'ath-thincalls the Athaan (and not like the rest of
the mosques), but we only seek to maintain order and avoid any Fitnah
anddiscord among Muslims in the city's various mosques. Please advise
us in this regard and we will print your Fatwa anddistribute it in the
five mosques in our city, Tamra .
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
isHis slave and Messenger.
The time of the 'Ishaa' prayer begins when the red twilight disappears
from the sky. 'Adullaah ibn 'Amr ibn Al-'Aas reported that the Prophet
, said: " The time for Maghrib lasts until the twilight has faded and
the time for 'Ishaa' lasts until midnight. " [Muslim]
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet , said: " The time for Maghrib
starts with sunset and lasts until the twilight has faded. The time
for 'Ishaa' starts when the twilight has faded and lasts until
midnight. " [At-Tirmithi]
The time interval between Maghrib and 'Ishaa' differs according to
various seasons. It maybe long or short, approximately an hour and
fifteen minutes to anhour and thirty-five minutes.
The criterion here is the visual sighting. Whenever the red twilight
fades away, the time of Maghrib elapses and the 'Ishaa' prayer becomes
due. There is noharm in adopting specificprayer times as long as you
are sure of their accuracy.
Moreover, there is no harm in adopting Al-Aqsaprayer timings if they
areproven to be accurate and as long as your city and Al-Aqsa share
the same sunset time. You should not calculate the 'Ishaa' prayer's
time by simply performing the prayer after the passage of an hour and
fifteen minutes after the Maghrib prayer all year long. The time gap
between the Maghrib and 'Ishaa' times differs for various seasons, as
stated above.
At the same time, Muslimsshould be keen to foster unity, brotherly
love exchange sincere advice and denounce blindly following the
habits if they contradict the Islamic Sharee'ah and incur nurturing
discord and disunity among Muslims.
It is unbecoming of Muslims, especially if theylive in one country, to
raise the Athaan for the same prayer in the city's mosques with such a
long time interval (i.e. 20-25 minutes)!
This incurs confusion andinconvenience, especiallyfor women and those
who are exempted from performing the congregational prayer at the
mosque (due to a valid Sharee`ah-acceptable excuse).
Instead, they should all agree on one time to proclaim the 'Ishaa'
Athaan in all the mosquesof the city; let it be at the beginning time
of 'Ishaa' so as to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet so as to avail of
the most primary function of the Athaan (i.e. reminding people that
the prayer is due).
Ibn Qudaamah said in Al-Mughni, " It is recommended to proclaim the
Athaan at the prayer's beginning time in order to remind people of its
due time so that they can get ready to perform the prayer. Jaabir ibn
Samurah said that Bilaal never delayed the Athaan (fromthe prayers'
beginning times ). "
Hence, competent scholars and experts should be consulted to verify
that Al-Aqsa prayer times are accurate. If they were found accurate
and corresponded with your city's prayer times (and the sunset time in
Al-Aqsais identical to that of your city), they should beset as
standard and be adopted by all the mosques in the city. If not, then
each Mu'ath-thin should strive to make the visual sighting of the red
twilight as it fades away or adopt approximate prayer times.
Allaah Knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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