The time of the zenith prayer, from its beginning to its end

F41Chapter of the Conditions of Prayer

The time of the zenith prayer, from its beginning to its end

When does the time of the zenith prayer begin and when does it end according to the four imams?

Hanafi

It begins when the sun passes its zenith and lasts until a thing's shadow reaches twice its length, apart from the shadow at zenith.

Reference: Al-Hidāyah — Radd al-Muḥtār — Marāqī al-Falāḥ

Maliki

It begins with the sun's decline from the zenith; its chosen time lasts until each thing's shadow equals it, then it is shared with the ʿaṣr for the span of one prayer, and its time of necessity extends to sunset.

Reference: Al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr — Ḥāshiyat al-Dasūqī — Minaḥ al-Jalīl

Shāfiʿī

It begins when the sun passes its zenith and lasts until a thing's shadow equals its length, apart from the shadow at zenith.

Reference: Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn — Al-Majmūʿ — Mughnī al-Muḥtāj

Hanbali

It begins when the sun passes its zenith and lasts until a thing's shadow equals its length, counted after the shadow at zenith.

Reference: Zād al-Mustaqniʿ — Kashshāf al-Qināʿ — Al-Inṣāf