Maghrib Prayer Time & Hadith
Maghrib Prayer.
The Maghrib prayer in NYC, prayed just after sunset, is the first of five obligatory daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims.
The formal daily prayers of Islam comprise different numbers of units, called rakat.
The Maghrib prayer has three obligatory (fard) rak'at and two recommended sunnah and two non-obligatory nafls. The first two fard rak'ats are prayed aloud by the Imam in congregation (the person who misses the congregation and is offering prayer alone is not bound to speak the first two rak'ats aloud), and the third is prayed silently.
To be considered valid salat, the formal daily prayers must each be performed within their own prescribed time period. People with a legitimate reason have a longer period during which their prayers will be valid.
Narrated Abu Huraira
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds." (Sahih al-Bukhari 528)
Time begins
When the sun has completely set beneath the horizon; immediately after the Asr prayer period ends.
Time ends
Most other scholarly opinions hold that the time for Maghrib prayer ends when the time for Isha salat begins. There is disagreement amongst Sunni scholars as to when that occurs. According to the Hanafi school, Isha begins when complete darkness has arrived and the yellow twilight in the sky has disappeared.
According to a minority opinion in the Maliki school, the prescribed time for Maghrib prayer ends when the red thread has disappeared from the sky. In another opinion of the Shafi'i school, the disappearance of the red thread marks the end of the Period of Necessity. These times can be approximated by using the sun as a measure. When the sun has descended 12 degrees below the horizon, it is approximately equivalent to the disappearance of the red from the sky.
