Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa that his father said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, "Delay the prayer when the edge of the sun appears until it is completely in view, and delay the prayer when the edge of the sun is disappearing until it has completely disappeared."

I asked the Prophet about the Statement of Allah:-- 'And the sun runs on fixed course for a term (decreed), ' (36.38) He said, "Its course is underneath "Allah's Throne." (Prostration of Sun trees, stars. mentioned in Qur'an and Hadith does not mean like our prostration but it means that these objects are obedient to their Creator (Allah) and they obey for what they have been created for).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If someone changes his deen - strike his neck!"

The meaning of the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in our opinion and Allah knows best, is that "if someone changes his deen, strike his neck!" refers to those who leave Islam for other than it - like the heretics and their like, about whom it is known. They are killed without being called to tawba because their tawba is not recognised. They were hiding their kufr and publishing their Islam, so I do not think that one calls such people to tawba, and one does not accept their word. As for the one who goes out of Islam to something else and divulges it, one calls him to tawba. If he does not turn in tawba, he is killed. If there are people in that situation, I think that one should call them to Islam and call them to tawba. If they turn in tawba, that is accepted from them. If they do not turn in tawba, they are killed. That does not refer as we see it, and Allah knows best, to those who come out of Judaism to Christianity or from Christianity to Judaism, nor to someone who changes his deen from the various forms of deen except for Islam. Whoever comes out of Islam to other than it and divulges that, that is the one who is referred to, and Allah knows best!

On the day of Ibrahim's death, the sun eclipsed and the people said that the eclipse was due to the death of Ibrahim (the son of the Prophet). Allah's Apostle said, "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of someone's death or life. So when you see them, invoke Allah and pray till the eclipse is clear."

The Prophet (saws), AbuBakr, Umar and Uthman used to read "maliki yawmid-din (master of the Day of Judgment)". The first to read maliki yawmid-din was Marwan.

Abu Dawud said: This is sounder that the tradition which transmitted by al-Zuhri from Anas, and al-Zuhri from Salim, from his father (Ibn 'Umar).

Yahya related to me from Malik that Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki said, "I saw the House deserted both after subh and asr, with no-one doing tawaf."

Malik said, "If someone does some of his circuits and then the subh or asr prayer is begun, he should pray with the imam and then complete the rest of his circuits but should not pray at all until the sun has either risen or set "

He added, "There is no harm in delaying the two rakas until after he has prayed maghrib."

Malik said, "There is no harm in someone doing a single tawaf after subh or after asr, not to do more than one group of seven circuits, and then as long as he delays the two rakas until after the sun has risen, as Umar ibn al-Khattab did, or he delays them until after the sun has set if it is after asr. Then when the sun has set he can pray them if he wants, or, if he wants, he can delay them until after he has prayed maghrib. There is no harm in that."

Once I was with the Prophet in the mosque at the time of sunset. The Prophet said, "O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He said, "It goes and prostrates underneath (Allah's) Throne; and that is Allah's Statement:-- 'And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (decreed). And that is the decree of All-Mighty, the All-Knowing....' (36.38)

On the day of the Khandaq `Umar came, cursing the disbelievers of Quraish and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have not offered the `Asr prayer and the sun has set." The Prophet replied, "By Allah! I too, have not offered the prayer yet. "The Prophet then went to Buthan, performed ablution and performed the `Asr prayer after the sun had set and then offered the Maghrib prayer after it."

In the lifetime of the Prophet the sun eclipsed and then he offered a two rak`at prayer.

The Prophet (saws) said: That I sit in the company of the people who remember Allah the Exalted from morning prayer till the sun rises is dearer to me than that I emancipate four slaves from the children of Isma`il, and that I sit with the people who remember Allah from afternoon prayer till the sun sets is dearer to me than that I emancipate four slaves.

(the wife of the Prophet) On the day when the sun Khasafat (eclipsed) Allah's Apostle prayed; he stood up and said Takbir and recited a prolonged recitation, then he performed a prolonged bowing, then he raised his head and said, "Sami`a l-lahu Lyman Hamidah," and then remained standing and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first. Then he performed a prolonged bowing which was shorter than the first. Then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration and he did the same in the second rak`a as in the first and then finished the prayer with Taslim. By that time the sun (eclipse) had cleared He addressed the people and said, "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse (Yakhsifan) because of the death or the life (i.e. birth) of someone. So when you see them make haste for the prayer."

We used to pray the Maghrib prayer with the Prophet when the sun disappeared from the horizon.

The Prophet said, "The sun and the moon will be folded up (deprived of their light) on the Day of Resurrection."

Qatadah narrated a similar report from Abul-`Aliyah from Ibn `Abbas: Good men testified...

"When the sun eclipsed in the lifetime of Allah's Apostle an announcement was made that a prayer was to be offered in congregation."

When the sun set at Mecca, the Messenger of Allah (saws) combined the two prayers at Sarif.

On the expedition to Tabuk if the sun had passed the meridian before the apostle of Allah (saws) moved off, he combined the noon and the afternoon prayers; but if he moved off before the sun had passed the meridian, he delayed the noon prayer till he halted for the afternoon prayer. He acted similarly for the sunset prayer; if the sun set before he moved off, he combined the sunset and the night prayers, but if he moved off before sunset, he delayed the sunset prayer till he halted for the night prayer and then combined them.

Abu Dawud said: Hisham b. 'Urwah narrated this tradition from Husain b. 'Abd Allah, from Kuraib on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas from the Prophet (saws) like the tradition narrated by Mufaddal and al-Laith.

The Prophet had forbidden: (A) the Mulamasa and Munabadha (bargains), (B) the offering of two prayers, one after the morning compulsory prayer till the sun rises, and the others, after the `Asr prayer till the sun sets (C) He also forbade that one should sit wearing one garment, nothing of which covers his private parts (D) and prevent them from exposure to the sky; (E) he also forbade Ishtimalas- Samma'.

On the day of Al-Khandaq (the trench), `Umar bin Al-Khattab went to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! By Allah, I could not pray (the `Asr) till the sun had set." `Umar told this to the Prophet at the time when a fasting person had done Iftar (taken his meals). The Prophet then went to Buthan and I was with him. He performed ablution and offered the `Asr prayer after the sun had set and then the Maghrib prayer.

There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws). He came out bewildered pulling his garment, and I was in his company at Medina. He prayed two rak'ahs and stood for a long time in them. He then departed and the sun became bright. He then said: There are the signs by means of which Allah, the Exalted, produces dread (in His servants). When you see anything of this nature, then pray as you are praying a fresh obligatory prayer.

Abu Dawud said: The narrator Mufaddal was the judge of Egypt. His supplication was accepted by Allah; he was the son of Fudalah.

The people complained to the Messenger of Allah (saws) of the lack of rain, so he gave an order for a pulpit. It was then set up for him in the place of prayer. He fixed a day for the people on which they should come out.

Aisha said: The Messenger of Allah (saws), when the rim of the sun appeared, sat down on the pulpit, and having pronounced the greatness of Allah and expressed His praise, he said: You have complained of drought in your homes, and of the delay in receiving rain at the beginning of its season. Allah has ordered you to supplicate Him has and promised that He will answer your prayer.

Then he said: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgment. There is no god but Allah Who does what He wishes. O Allah, Thou art Allah, there is no deity but Thou, the Rich, while we are the poor. Send down the rain upon us and make what Thou sendest down a strength and satisfaction for a time.

He then raised his hands, and kept raising them till the whiteness under his armpits was visible. He then turned his back to the people and inverted or turned round his cloak while keeping his hands aloft. He then faced the people, descended and prayed two rak'ahs.

Allah then produced a cloud, and the storm of thunder and lightning came on. Then the rain fell by Allah's permission, and before he reached his mosque streams were flowing. When he saw the speed with which the people were seeking shelter, he (saws) laughed till his back teeth were visible.

Then he said: I testify that Allah is Omnipotent and that I am Allah's servant and apostle.

Abu Dawud said: This is a ghraib (rate) tradition, but its chain is sound. The people of Medina recite "maliki" (instead of maaliki) yawm al-din" (the master of the Day of Judgement). But this tradition (in which the word maalik occurs) is an evidence for them.

Allah's Apostle said, "Every child is born with a true faith of Islam (i.e. to worship none but Allah Alone) but his parents convert him to Judaism, Christianity or Magainism, as an animal delivers a perfect baby animal. Do you find it mutilated?" Then Abu Huraira recited the holy verses: "The pure Allah's Islamic nature (true faith of Islam) (i.e. worshipping none but Allah) with which He has created human beings. No change let there be in the religion of Allah (i.e. joining none in worship with Allah). That is the straight religion (Islam) but most of men know, not." (30.30)

When al-Hajjaj killed Ibn Zubayr, he sent a message to Ibn Umar asking him: At which moment the Messenger of Allah (saws) used to proceed (to Arafat) this day? He replied: When it happens so, we shall proceed. When Ibn Umar intended to proceed, the people said: The sun did not decline. He (Ibn Umar) asked: Did it decline? They replied: It did not decline. When they said that the sun had declined, he proceeded.