Question:
What is the ruling of a person prays preceding its time unintentionally, for a long period of time? For example, one prays Subh ten minutes early due to looking the watch at his wrist which is set to be early by 10 minutes, for a month, with an excuse of wanting to leave for work early?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions, and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Allah SWT says:
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا
Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.
Surah al-Nisa’ (103)
Based on this verse, Imam Abu Jaafar al-Tahawi said: there are three commentaries of the scholars upon it; of that prayer is a sanctioned obligation, of that prayer is obligated and compulsory, and of that prayer is decreed of its times. He said that these commentaries are closely related to one another. This is because, a fard is an obligation, and an obligation is performed when its decided time starts.
Refer Jami` al-Bayan (9/170)
The scholars like Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haitami concluded that it is among the sins to intentionally hasten a prayer before its time. According to him, a person who intentionally hastening it is sinning with great sin, even if he replaces it afterward, because it is an act of disrespecting the religion.
Refer Al-Zawajir `An Iqtiraf al-Kabair (1/228)
Therefore, it is an obligation of a believer to truly understand one of the requisites of a valid prayer which is knowing the start of the time through its signs to be away from committing such sin.
In the book al-Fiqh al-Manhaji (1/276) states: “When it is found that a person’s prayer was performed before its time, his prayer is considered invalidated and it is wajib for him to repeat it whether he holds onto his certainty, ijtihad or taqlid”
It is stated in the book Kifayah al-Akhyar: “If a person tells another person that his prayer was performed before its time, then he shall see first. Whether the person who informed it is those with knowledge or the one who truly witnesses, then it is wajib for him to repeat his prayer, and if the telling is based on ijtihad, then it is not wajib for him to repeat it”. See Kifayah al-Akhyar (1/183).
However, if the mistake happens unintentionally like mistaken after doing ijtihad and it keeps repeating in a certain period of time within the same time, then the prayer is considered faulty during the first prayer and considered as qadha’ for the second time and upwards.
While Sheikh Muhammad al-Zuhayli states: “Who is certain that he performed prayer before its time, or only part of it even with takbiratul ihram, or informed by a trusted person, and known so during its time or beforehand, then it is wajib for him to repeat it, and if it is known after the time ends, then it is wajib for him to qadha’ it even the requisite fades which is within stipulated time, and it is not sinful for him due to having excuse.” See al-Mu’tamad (1/164).
Sheikh Syihabuddin al-Ramli cited the fatwa of Imam al-Barizi as the following: “al-Barizi was asked on a man who is in the situation where he lives 20 years of being mistaken of the time of fajr and he prayed (Subh prayer during fajar kazib), then he is enlightened on his faulty; so, it is wajib for him to replace it all (all of his previous Subh prayers)? Al-Barizi answered: It is not wajib upon him except for only one prayer to be replaced, because his prayers each day are replacement upon prayers of his past days,”
See also in Nihayah al-Muhtaj (1/454), Hasyiah Jamal (1/334), Hasyiah al-Bujairimi (1/454), and Nihayah al-Zain (pg. 56).
Syaikhul Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari in Asna al-Matalib (1/142) states: “(If a person assumes that he is outside of the time of prayer then he prays with the intention of qadha) then it is found that the time of prayer is still there (or conversely) in which he assumes that the time of prayer is still there so he prays with the intention of tamam, then it is found that he is outside of the time, then it is enough for his prayer as mentioned before, unless it is done to disrespect while he knows of it, and it is not wajib to ta’arudh with the intention of facing the qibla, as explained originally, it is also not wajib to ta’arudh to the time as “today” because it is not wajib to ta’arudh upon requisites, even if he states on it based on days then he is mistaken.”
Based on the above facts and explanation, we state that if it is sure that a person is mistaken and performed Subh prayer preceding it’s time for some number of days, due to being mistaken of the time, so our say is, it is wajib for him to replace the prayer only once for the last Subh prayer because he already qadha’ for the first day on the second day and forward. We would like to inform here that this issue is different from what is decided before due to the amendment of taqwim for Subh prayer due to the amendment on the criteria of solar elevation angle. Refer Bayan Linnas Special Edition: The Issue of Addition of 8 Minutes to the Start of Subh Adhan and the Ruling of Performing Subh Prayer Before Its Time.
May this explanation give benefit to us all.