Awqat al-Salat (the prescribed times of the five prayers, the recommended and disliked times, and the rules of combining and of missed prayers)

أوقات الصلاة

Awqat is the time fixed for an act; the times of prayer are those the law has set for performing a prayer on time, and the time is the cause of the obligation, so a prayer before its time is not valid, and one performed after it is a makeup. ¹ The five prayers have fixed times by the Qur'an and the Sunna, and the Gabriel report sets them out; all agree that there are five. ¹² The schools differ on the limits of dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and night: the true dawn, the shadow of a thing equal or double its length, the red and white twilights, and the witr. ²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰ Praying at the first of the dawn is lighter for men in the majority view, cooler noon prayer is recommended in summer, the sunset prayer is hastened, and the night prayer is delayed to a third or half of the night. ⁷⁸⁹¹⁰ Prayer is disliked at three times, at sunrise, at midday and at sunset, by the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis. ¹¹¹² The combining of two prayers on a journey or in rain is allowed by the majority, while the Hanafis allow it only at Arafat and Muzdalifa. ¹³¹⁴ Where the times cannot be found, as in the polar regions, the schools differ on setting estimated times. ¹⁴¹⁵

Definition

Waqt is a fixed portion of time for a purpose. The times of prayer are the periods the law set for performing a prayer on time; the time is the cause of the obligation, so a prayer before its time is not valid, and one performed after it is a makeup. ¹

The prescribed times

The obligatory prayers are five, by agreement. The Gabriel report sets out their times. ¹²

Dawn: from the true dawn to sunrise; the Hanafis end it just before sunrise, and the Malikis count the lightening of the sky. ²³
Noon: from midday to the point at which a thing's shadow equals its height, and for the Hanafis to twice its height besides the midday shadow. ³⁴
Afternoon: from the shadow exceeding the height, and for the Hanafis from twice the height, until sunset for the Hanafis, and until the yellowing of the sun for the Hanbalis and in one Maliki report. ⁴⁵
Sunset: from sunset until the twilight fades, the red twilight for the majority and the two disciples, the white for Abu Hanifa. ⁵⁶
Night: from the end of twilight until true dawn by agreement, and to a third of the night as the preferred limit for the Hanbalis and Malikis. ⁶⁷
The witr: for Abu Hanifa from the end of twilight; for the majority, after the night prayer until dawn. ⁹¹⁰

Wide and narrow time

For the Hanafis a prayer's time is wide until only enough remains for the opening takbir, and then narrow; the obligation to perform it is tied for them to the end of the time, and for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis to its beginning. ⁷⁸

Recommended and disliked times

Dawn is recommended at first light for men by the majority, and women pray at home. ⁸
Noon prayer is cooled in summer and hastened in winter, except on cloudy days. ⁸⁹
Afternoon prayer is hastened by the majority, and delayed by the Hanafis while the sun stays bright. ⁹
Sunset prayer is hastened by agreement; night prayer is recommended before the third of the night. ⁹
Disliked times are three for the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: at sunrise, at midday, and at yellowing; the Malikis count two. ¹¹¹²
Disliked for other reasons: voluntary prayer after dawn and after the afternoon prayer, before sunset, while the preacher is preaching, at the call to start the prayer, and when the time for the obligatory prayer is nearly over. ¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰

Combining two prayers

The majority allow it on a journey or in rain, following the Prophet ﷺ's practice on journeys. ¹³
The Hanafis allow it only at Arafat and Muzdalifa, and Abu Hanifa adds conditions of pilgrimage, congregation and the imam. ¹⁴

Where a time cannot be found

The Hanafis disagree about people in the polar regions: some estimate times for each prayer from the nearest inhabited lands, and others drop the prayers they cannot time; the Malikis and Shafi'is estimate the twilight from the nearest land. ¹⁴¹⁵

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3666

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3667

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3668

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3669

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3670

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3671

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3672

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3673

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3674

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3675

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3676

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3677

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3683

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3684

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3685

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3678

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3679

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3680

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3681

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3682

The ruling on one who abandons prayer

Al-Sallabi quotes Ali: whoever does not pray is an unbeliever. He then reports from al-Nawawi the dispute over one who neglects prayer while believing it obligatory: the majority (Malik, al-Shafi'i) hold him a sinner to be asked to repent, others hold him an unbeliever, a view ascribed to Ali; Abu Hanifa and the Kufans hold him not an unbeliever but to be disciplined.