1299 - Sa'id ibn 'Anbasa ad-Dabbi narrated to us, saying: Hajjaj ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from Juhayr ibn Yazid, who said: Muhammad ibn Sirin was asked while I was listening about a man who wears an izar (waist wrapper) over his qamis (shirt) and prays? He said: "There is no harm in it." It was asked: "What about a woman?" He said: "(1) A woman; no."

Chapter: The Zawal (Zenith/Declination of the Sun) and Its Estimation

• I asked Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and I said: "Is the zawal to be determined precisely?" He said: "It is only an estimation."

• I heard Ahmad—another time—say: "The zawal is the same throughout the entire world." It was said to him: "But it changes in different lands?" He denied that emphatically and maintained that it was the discourse of astrologers.

He said: "The beginning of the time for Dhuhr is when the sun passes the meridian (zalat al-shams), and the end of its time is when the shadow of everything becomes equal to its length, which is the beginning of the time for 'Asr. The end of the time for 'Asr is the yellowing of the sun, though it is said: when the shadow of everything becomes equal to twice its length."

• And I heard Ishaq say: "The report has been authentically established from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarding the times of prayer; the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed Dhuhr when the sun passed the meridian, and he prayed 'Asr when his shadow was equal to his height from the zawal, and he prayed Dhuhr the following day when his shadow was equal to his height, and he prayed 'Asr when his shadow was equal to twice his height."