Prayer During Prohibited Times

Question: When a man enters the masjid during a time in which prayer is discouraged, such as between ‘Asr and Maghrib, should he perform the prayer of greeting the mosque, or should he sit without performing it and remain until the time of prayer? Shaykh Muqbil, may Allah have mercy upon him: If a man enters during one of the times when prayer is discouraged and enters the masjid, is it legislated for him to pray two rak‘ahs or not? There are different evidences regarding this issue. In the two sahihahin, it is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ: “There is no prayer after ‘Asr until the sun sets, and no prayer after Fajr until the sun rises.” And in the two authentic books of hadith, it is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ, from the hadith of Jabir: “When any one of you enters the masjid, he should not sit until he has prayed two rak‘ahs.” Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id, may Allah have mercy upon him, said regarding this issue: “This issue has confused me,” meaning that he found it difficult to determine the ruling because the evidences were equally strong in terms of authenticity and indication. However, many scholars specified the general prohibition of prayer because it is authentically established that the Prophet ﷺ prayed two rak‘ahs after ‘Asr. He was asked about this, and he said: “I did not pray them after Dhuhr,” or words to that effect: “The delegation of ‘Abd al-Qays distracted me from them.” Therefore, since the Prophet ﷺ prayed them, this is evidence that it is permissible for you to pray after ‘Asr, and to pray after Fajr if you enter the masjid. I also mentioned another evidence: the Prophet ﷺ said to Bilal: “O Bilal, I heard the sound of your sandals in Paradise, so tell me of the deed you have the most hope in.” He said: “O Messenger of Allah, whenever I performed purification, I would pray two rak‘ahs.” From this, it is understood that a prayer which has a specific reason is permissible to perform. However, there are three times during which prayer is strongly discouraged, making five times in total: 1- After the ‘Asr prayer. 2- After the Fajr prayer. 3- At sunrise. 4- At sunset. 5- When the sun is directly overhead at midday. This last period does not last for ten minutes, according to someone who observes and knows the timings accurately. So, if you enter the masjid during this time, you should remain standing. This was the position chosen by Imam Ash-Shawkani, may Allah have mercy upon him, so that you do not contradict the hadith prohibiting prayer, nor contradict the hadith commanding a person to pray and not sit. Therefore, you remain standing until the sun sets. Then Maghrib is called, and you pray two rak‘ahs, and so on. And Allah knows best. --- Reference: Ijabat as-Sa'il, pp. 533–534. Source: https://t.me/masjidsahabah/2468