Firstly: The principle in this matter is several ḥadīths, including:
- The narration of Ibn ῾Umar from Ḥafṣah, who said: “The Messenger of Allāh (prayers and peace be upon him) would not pray except two light rak῾ahs when Fajr broke.” [Reported by Al-Bukhāriy and Muslim].
- Yasār, the freed slave of Ibn ῾Umar, said: “Ibn ῾Umar saw me praying after the break of dawn. He said: O Yasār, the Messenger of Allāh (PPBUH) came to us while we were offering this prayer. He (the Prophet) said: Those who are present should inform those who are absent: Do not offer any prayer after (the break of) dawn except two rak῾ahs. [Reported by Abū Dawūd, At-Tirmidhiy, and ᾽Aḥmad. Shaykh ᾽Aḥmad Shākir authenticated this ḥadīth].
Secondly: Scholars have differed regarding the nature of this prohibition; is it related to the time or to the prayer itself?
Those who said it is related to the time did not permit any voluntary prayers except for the two sunnah rak῾ahs of Fajr due to the textual evidence mentioning them. Those who said the prohibition is related to the prayer itself allowed voluntary prayers until the time of the obligatory Fajr prayer.
Therefore, there are several opinions on this matter, and here are the details:
- It is not permissible to pray anything after the second ᾽adhān of Fajr except for the two sunnah rak῾ahs, and some said they should be light. This is the view of the majority of scholars, and they based it on the previously mentioned texts.
- It is permissible to perform voluntary prayers after the ᾽adhān of Fajr until one has performed the sunnah prayer of Fajr. Once one has prayed the sunnah prayer of Fajr, it is disliked (makrūh) to perform voluntary prayers until the end of the time of prohibition. This is one of the views of the Shāfi῾iy school.
- It is permissible to perform voluntary prayers until one has prayed the obligatory Fajr prayer. Once the obligatory Fajr prayer has been performed, it is disliked to pray until the end of the time of prohibition. This is the correct view according to the Shāfi῾iy school, as stated by An-Nawawiy.
- It is permissible to perform voluntary prayers along with the two sunnah rak῾ahs, provided it is not transformed into a habit. This is the opinion favored by Ibn Taymiyah in his fatwas.
We argue that the time of Fajr is restricted, similar to the time before Maghrib, because it marks the beginning and end of the day. Therefore, nothing should be prayed during that time except what has been explicitly mentioned. Anything additional would be contrary to the preferred opinion, but one would not sin for doing so.
Fatwa issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr
