Gabriel Sets the Prayer Times

Ibn Ishaq related from Ibn ‘Abbas: When prayer was prescribed for the Messenger, Gabriel led him in the noon prayer after the sun passed its zenith, the afternoon prayer when an object’s shadow equaled its length, sunset prayer when the sun disappeared, night prayer when twilight had vanished, and dawn prayer when daybreak appeared. The next day Gabriel led him in the noon prayer when the shadow equaled the object’s length, afternoon when it was twice its length, sunset at the same time as the previous day, night when the first third of the night had passed, and dawn when the light spread but before sunrise. Gabriel then said, “Muhammad, the prayer time is between the times you prayed today and yesterday.”

The source reports two different explanations for when the prayer times were taught; al-Suhayli says the report is misplaced here because sounder accounts place it after the Night Journey. A separate report says Gabriel taught ablution at the beginning of revelation, leading the editor to distinguish the Makkah-period practice from the later Medinan Qur’anic legislation. The notes identify Mujahid, explain that the famine was a year of drought, record a variant reading in the account of taking the boys into care, and give their relative ages.