Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (23)

Sixthly, Maghrib Time

Sunnan!

The first factor is to prevent children from playing outside at this time .

The second factor is to lock the door at the beginning of Maghrib and mention Allah ’s name .

Applying these two acts of Sunnah is said to protect one from the evil of the devils and the Jinn. Hence, by preventing children from playing outside, particularly at this time, will also protect them against the devils. In addition, locking the doors and mentioning Allah’s name will keep the devils away. See how great our religion is! It protects our homes and kids from evil. What proves this is the following:

Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger r said,

“When night falls, keep your children close for the devils spread out at that time. But when an hour of the night elapses, you can let them go. Close the doors and mention the Name of Allah, for Satan does not open a closed door.”^[1]

In another narration by Muslim,

“Do not send your cattle and your children outside when the sun disappears until the blackness of the night is gone, for verily the devils spread out when the sun sets, until the blackness of the night is gone.”^[2]

An- Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “The phrase ‘keep your children close’ means do not let them go outside at this time. The Prophet’s r saying, “ ...for indeed the devils are sent forth...” means all types of devils. In other words, since the number of devils is many at this time, they might harm children if they come across them and Allah knows best. As for the Prophet’s r saying, “Do not send your cattle and your children outside when the sun disappears until the blackness of the night is gone, for verily the devils spread out when the sun sets, until the blackness of the night is gone,”^[3] when this period of time elapses, there should be no problem in letting children go outside. It is said that when this period ends, the devils find another resort.

The wisdom behind the spreading about of the devils at this time is as Ibn Hajr (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, “They move better in darkness and it is known that evil deeds are usually committed in darkness.”^[4]

However, it should be noted that keeping the children in doors and pulling the latches is just recommended. ^[5]

The third factor is to offering

two raka ’at before the sunset prayer :

‘Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal al-Muzani t narrated that the Prophet r said,

“ Offer a prayer before the sunset prayer”,

and he said in the third time of his command,

 “ …for the one who wishes”,

so that people would not take it as Sunnah.^[6] Besides, Anas Ibn Malik t narrated,  “I used to see the Companions of the Prophet r racing one another to make lines to offer the two raka’at.”^[7]

Anas tnarrated, “When we were in Madinah, the moment the muezzin made the call for the sunset prayer, the people hastened to the pillars of the mosque and prayed two raka’at, with the result that any stranger coming into the mosque would think that the obligatory prayer had been observed owing to the number of people who were praying then.”^[8]

Ibn al-Qayyem (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “It is reported in the two sahihs through ‘Abduallh al-Muzani that the Prophet r said,

“ Pray before sunset, pray before sunset”,

and  the third time he said,

“ …for the one who wishes”.

He did so just to prevent people from adopting it as Sunnah and this is the correct opinion, that it is a recommended Sunnah and not like the other emphatic Sunnan. ^[9]

It is also Sunnah to offer two raka’at  

between the time of the adhan and iqamah:

This applies when the two raka’at are before the Fajr or Dhuhr prayers. It is enough to offer these two raka’at as additional prayers even if one is sitting in the mosque and hears the adhan, one should stand up to offer them. What substantiates this is the hadith of ‘Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal al-Muzani t that the Prophet r said,

“There is a prayer between the two Adhans (Adhan and Iqamah)…”,

and he added,

“...for the one who wants to pray.” ^[10]

Sheikh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “ Every Muslim should offer two raka’at after the adhan, whether it is a regular Sunnah or not, because of the Prophet’s r hadith,

“There is a prayer between the two Adhans (Adhan and Iqamah)…”,

and he added,

“…for the one who wants to pray.”

Scholars have agreed on the authenticity of this hadith. The command here applies to all prayers. The hadith indicates the legality of offering two raka’at even if they are regular Sunnan, like those offered before the Dhuhr or Fajr prayers.”^[11]

There is no doubt that the two raka’at before Maghrib or after the adhan are not emphatic Sunnan and they could be left sometimes and it is for this reason the Prophet r said,

“ …for the one who wishes,”

to make sure that people do not consider them as regular Sunnah.

The fourth factor is that it is disliked to sleep before the ‘Isha ’ prayer .

Abu Barza al-Aslami t narrated, “The Prophet r never found any harm in delaying the ‘Isha’ prayer to the first third of the night and he never liked to sleep before it and to talk after it.”^[12] The reason why sleeping before ‘Isha prayer is disliked is because it is feared that the person might oversleep and neglect to pray.