Fatwa ID: 08141

Answered by: Molana Sibghat Ullah

Question:

I have read the hadith that if you make salah by 1 rak‘ah, you have made the salah. So does that mean just the fardh, or all the salah? For example, if Ẓuhr is at 14:03 and I started praying at 13:55 — I pray 4 Sunnah first and then the 4 fardh, but fardh goes into 14:03. Is my salah still valid? Or does the hadith imply just for the fardh only?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Indeed, performing prayers is a duty on the believers at the appointed times.”
Surah al-Nisā’, Ayah 103

Offering salah even a few minutes before its prescribed time is invalid and must be repeated. This is because performing salah within its designated time is a condition for its validity. If someone prays before the prayer time enters, then the prayer is considered void and does not fulfill the obligation.

Therefore, the hadith you are referring to — about catching one rak‘ah being sufficient — applies only if that one rak‘ah is prayed within the prayer time. In your example, if the fardh prayer began before 14:03 and at least one rak‘ah was completed after the time entered, then the fardh would be considered valid. However, if the fardh started and was completed before the entry of the prayer time, then it would not be valid, even if preceded by sunnah prayers.

Reference:

Radd al-Muḥtār, Volume 1, Book of Ṣalāh, Page 260, Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah:

الوقت شرط لصحة الصلاة، فمن صلاها قبل دخول الوقت لا تصح بالإجماع، ولو كان جاهلاً أو متعمداً.
Time is a condition for the validity of salah. If someone prays before the time enters, the prayer is invalid by consensus, whether done out of ignorance or deliberately.

Hope this answers the question.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by: Molana Sibghat Ullah
Checked and approved by: Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham