Question:

1. In the UK now a days Isha Prayers begins at 10:30 p.m. at the earliest and the Fajr Prayers begins at about 2;30 a.m. What does one do in this situation to offer Tahajud Prayers?
2. I am told the ulama in the UK have decreed (Fatwa) that residents of the UK can combine Zuhr with Asr and Maghrab with Isha. What is your view about it?

Mohammad Nisar

Salam,

Q.1. In the UK now a days Isha Prayers begins at 10:30 p.m.at the earliest and the Fajr Prayers begins at about 2;30 a.m.What does one do in this situation to offer Tahajud Prayers?

The prescribed time for Tahajjud prayer is from the midnight till the time of Fajr, with the last third of the night being the most preferred time. If you think you will not be able to offer it in the prescribed time but still like to do it in a way, then you may read it after your Isha prayer. This technically is not the Tahajjud prayer but is the most appropriate replacement for it as per Hadith reported from the Prophet (pbuh).

Q.2. I am told the ulama in the UK have decreed(Fatwa) that residents of the UK can combine Zuhr with Asr and Maghrab with Isha.What is your view about it?

The Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) is to read the 5 prayers in their own time and separately, while there are reports that occasionally, to make it easier for people (that is when there was a reason for it) he would read Zuhr and Asr at the same time and/or Maghrib and Isha at the same time.

This indicates that we are allowed to combine the two day time prayers or the two night time prayers if there is a good reason for it. However we need to make sure that this will not become a routine, not only because every prayer has its own time according to the Sunnah, but also because nothing is as effective as praying on 5 separate times when it comes to worshiping the Almighty.

In countries like the UK, in some places during the winter there is a period during which the days are extremely short and as a result the time gap between the Zuhr and the Asr prayer is also very short (like one hour or less). In the same places during the summer there is a period within which the night is too short and as a result the Isha time might be around 11:00 pm. We can easily imagine that during these extreme times a person, due to his own personal conditions, might face some difficulties if he wants to read his Zuhr and Asr or Maghrib and Isha prayers separately. In such cases I do not see any problems with combining the day or the night prayers.

UIUK team

20th of July 2010