The relationship between shade and time

Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Verily, As-Salât (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours." [Surat An-Nisa': 103].

These times were mentioned generally in the Glorious Qur'an and detailed in the Sunnah. As for the Qur'an, Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Perform As-Salât (Iqamât-as-Salât) from mid-day till the darkness of the night (i.e. the Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Ishâ’ prayers), and recite the Qur’ân in the early dawn (i.e. the morning prayer). Verily, the recitation of the Qur’ân in the early dawn is ever witnessed (attended by the angels in charge of mankind of the day and the night)." [Surat Al Isra': 78]. The Ayah refers to the movements of the sun, when it moves to the meridian, it is the time of Zhuhr and `Asr and when it declines, it is the time of Maghrib and the `Isha'. As for the Qur'an recited in the Dawn, it indicates the morning Salah. As for the Sunnah, it was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and from his actions the details of these times according to authentic narrations in Sunan, Sahih, and Musnads. Of which is the narration of Ibn `Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Gabriel (peace be upon him) led me in Salah at the House (i.e. the Ka`bah) twice. He performed the Zhuhr Salah with me when the sun had passed the meridian to the extent of the thong of a sandal; he performed the `Asr Salah with me when the shadow of everything was as long as itself; he performed the Maghrib Salah with me when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he performed the `Isha' Salah with me when the twilight had ended; and he performed the Dawn Salah with me when food and drink become forbidden to one who is keeping the fast. On the following day he performed the Zhuhr Salah with me when his shadow was as long as himself; he performed the `Asr Salah with me when his shadow was twice as long as himself; he performed the Maghrib Salah at the time when one who is fasting breaks the fast; he performed the `Isha' Salah with me when about the third of the night had passed; and he performed the Dawn Salah with me when there was a fair amount of light. Then turning to me he said: Muhammad, this is the time observed by the Prophets before you, and the time is anywhere between two times."[1]

The benefit gained from the Ayah and the Hadith is: The sun fits to be a sign for timing, especially when it is one of the signs of Allah that sends its rays to the earth and makes shades to things which suit its movements in the sky. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Have you not seen how your Lord spread the shadow. If He willed, He could have made it still — But We have made the sun its guide (i.e. after the sunrise, the shadow shrinks and vanishes at mid noon and then again appears in the afternoon with the decline of the sun, and had there been no sunlight, there would have been no shadow)." [Surat Al Furqan: 45]. So, shade is a basic element in defining some times. To clarify things, let's make the following calculation:

We establish a pole in the earth as follows:

g = The height of a normal person that equals 12 fingers.

S = The Shade.

H = The rise of the Sun.

To calculate the rise of the sun, we have the following relation:

tg h = g/S ↔ S = 12 cotg h

The following is the relation that connects between the rise of the sun and the shade which scientists call the spread out shade.

Another drawing indicates the positions of the Sun for some times according to the Maliki scholars in Maghreb: