When Is the Makruh Time of Maghrib Prayer?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I asked a scholar when maghrib makruh time came in, and he said 20 minutes after adhan. I would pray maghrib 25-33 minutes after the adhan, so I repented and decided to make up all the maghrib prayers I had prayed. But I found an answer from another scholar that makruh tahrimi time only starts after 40 mins of maghrib, and there are many answers on SeekersGuidance saying it starts around half an hour after sunset. So, should I make up my maghrib prayers?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is an emphasized sunna to perform Maghrib prayer immediately after the announcement of the call to prayer. However, if the prayer is delayed till the time known as “ishtibak al-nujum” – the abundant appearance of stars – the prayer is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) unless there is a valid legal excuse. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace),  “My nation will continue to be upon righteousness as long as they pray the Maghrib prayer before the stars become abundant in the sky.” [Abu Dawud]

This event may occur at different times in different places.

Making Up Prayers Performed in a Disliked Time

If one delays the Maghrib prayer till the aforementioned time without an excuse the prayer is prohibitively disliked although valid. From here, there are two opinions in the Hanafi school with regard to repeating such a prayer.  [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

The relied upon position is that it is necessary (wajib) to repeat such a prayer whether the prayer time remains or has expired. [Ibid.]

In a secondary, yet still valid, opinion, it is necessary to repeat such a prayer if the prayer time remains; otherwise, it is recommended to make up that prayer. [Ibid.]

You may apply the second opinion to all your previous delays of the Maghrib prayer; however, it is more cautious if you apply the relied-upon position going forward. [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.