1- Deeds of the Prophet peace be upon him between Maghrib and Isha

In a branching research, researchers can apply the rules we set out based on authentic Nobel Sunnah in order to create the Prophet’s daily schedule, by taking into account all the situations and all expectations. Such academic work requires tracking Sunnah scripts one after another and benefiting from any possible piece of it, in order to prove the existence of such deeds before; this is what can be called as: historicizing Prophet’s daily life or daily scheduling jurisprudence.         

It is obvious that fundamental research is not aimed at comprehending all the branches, yet at explaining the approach and general fundamentals, therefore, it will focus on providing the latest research obtained as samples up to now, in order to make a general induction of Hadith scripts for other tasks; the first part of the day is sunset and the first task to perform during this time is offering sunset (Maghrib) prayer.   

The First Period: Between Maghrib to Isha Prayer

Performing the Congregational Prayer of Maghrib on Time:   

Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib reported once that the Apostle peace be upon him said: “My people will continue to prosper (or he said, to follow Islam), as long as they do not postpone the sunset prayer till the stars are not in abundance”⁽¹⁾ we previously mentioned that the Almighty Allah’s favorite deed is “offering prayer on time”⁽²⁾, performing tasks on time is part of the daily programming rules for the  Apostle peace be upon him ⁽³⁾, knowing that Maghrib prayer time is very tight, according to Imam Al-Nawawi “It is recommended by unanimity of scholars that it is best to offer Maghrib in its early time”⁽⁴⁾; such duty teaches us about timekeeping, respecting appointments and contributes to dividing our day into time stations to break monotony of the daily schedule and make it more dynamic and effective.    

Performing prayer in the mosque not in the house can bring together scattered Muslims, unify their stances, their viewpoints and urge them to care about each other’s affairs and know the problems of their brothers in order to contribute to solving them, in addition to several advantage a Muslim individual can benefit from his keenness to perform prayer on time “If life separates people then the mosque brings them together and mixes them; it is like a daily school of harmony, equality, unity and feelings of friendship” ⁽⁵⁾, which is a time school to whoever sustained it and prayed it on time.

Supererogatory Prayer after Maghrib Prayer:  

The Apostle PBUH usually goes to his house to offer supererogatory prayer, which consists probably of two rakat after Maghrib, which he often persisted in as indicated by a number of hadiths reported by Ibn Umar May Allah be pleased with them “I learned from the Prophet peace be upon him to pray 10 rakat: two before Dhuhr prayer and two rakat after, in addition to two rakat after Maghrib prayer in his house” ⁽⁶⁾.                                                                                                                                       

This hadith indicated that some companions wanted to offer supererogatory prayer in the mosque, but the Apostle commanded them to perform it in their house, the hadith was reported as follow: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) prayed Maghrib in the mosque of Banu ‘Abdul-Ashhal, and when he finished praying some people stood up and offered Nafl prayers. The Prophet (PBUH) said: ‘You should offer this prayer in your houses” ⁽⁷⁾. 

In terms of time aspect, praying at home provides a kind of training to spouses and children, a keenness to raise them, and to be close to them at this time. It is an occasion to fulfill children’s rights in addition to the Almighty Allah’s rights, mainly for those who have children waiting to give them some of his time, like some monitoring or education, because they generally sleep early, so it is difficult to catch up with them after Isha prayer.                                                   

When Aisha May Allah be pleased with her was asked about the Apostle’s (PBUH) voluntary prayers, she said “He prays four rakat before Dhuhr in my house, then goes out to pray in congregation with people in the mosque, then returns to pray two other rakat. He also prays Maghrib prayer in congregation then enters the house to pray two rakat” ⁽⁸⁾ “by contemplating the words of this hadith, we figure out there is persistence “he prays …”, it is also observable that Aisha May Allah be pleased with her is psychologically satisfied, proud and comfortable by the act of the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, which indicates that the house is associated with her: “he prays in my house”. We already mentioned that prayer is a form of recreation ⁽⁹⁾; because it achieves the basic characteristics of recreation, which are: freedom from commitments, psychological satisfaction and contribution to accomplishing personal integration…   

Woman’s tasks during this era can also be determined through the hadith, she is either offering prayer with her husband or doing chores, while she is staying at home according to the hadith reported by Aisha. However, most of the husbands today return to their houses exhausted looking only for calm and comfort and forget that there is someone inside waiting excitedly for support and care” ⁽¹⁰⁾. On the other hand, some husbands go back to their homes and find it completely empty, no spouse and no children because the spouse goes to work, while children –consequently- are in nursing homes or kept away from home until parents return at the end of the day.

Staying in the mosque and waiting for the next prayer:

The Prophet peace be upon him said: “Should I not direct you to something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates (your) ranks.” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah”. He said, “Performing Wudu’ properly, even in difficulty, frequently going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next Salat (prayer) after a Salat is over; indeed, that is Ar- Riba”⁽¹¹⁾. 

Staying in the mosque between two prayers is a kind of psychological comfort and gives one’s heart the opportunity to remember and contemplate, in additional to more time to recite the Holy Qur’an, especially for those who had a busy day and were physiologically and physically exhausted. Such persistence was not commanded by the Apostle peace be upon him, but recommended for additional reward.      

As long as supererogatory prayer is not compulsory at home even if the person who persistently performs it, it is okay to perform it in the mosque sometimes, it is not a commitment, but rather offered according to our feelings with psychological and social comfort ..    

Invocation and Supplication:

The Apostle peace be upon him said: “When you finish the sunset prayer, say: ‘O Allah, protect me from Hell” seven times; for if you say that and die that night, protection from it would be recorded for you” ⁽¹²⁾, there are also other invocations known for their virtues in the Holy Qur’an which can be uttered, like: glorification, seeking forgiveness and good righteous deeds …

Invocation is part of the baptized time, which keeps the Muslim in touch with his Lord all the times, never missing it days or nights, which is one of the ………..deeds which take place during the day. However, some attempts -like Al-Amili’s attempt- ⁽¹³⁾ which made it a fundamental part of the daily schedule and arranged a long list of invocations that take a significant amount of time, as if they had become a significant part of the Muslim’s day, in the absence of other more important deeds according to Islam, which marks a breach in the priority scale.  

Learning Circles: 

In a hadith narrated by Ahmed and Ibn Maja that Abu Huraira said: the Apostle peace be upon him said: “Whoever enters the mosque to learn or teach others is like fighting for the sake of Allah, but whoever’s goal is other than that, he shall be like a person who has no vision” ⁽¹⁴⁾ al-Shawkānī said “the meaning of this hadith indicates that knowledge is best when taken at the mosque” ⁽¹⁵⁾ .

Ibn Al-Arabi, Shentout and Al-Khalidi pointed out in their proposal that the Muslim should “pray Maghrib prayer and stay at the mosque to recite the Qur’an or seeks knowledge until Isha prayer” ⁽¹⁶⁾.   

No matter how many institutes or universities are open for education, yet invocation and learning Circles at the mosque should take place continuously, because it contributes to spreading knowledge, teaching people jurisprudence and religious matters even if they are not students and scholars.

Feeding Poor People & Focusing on the Public Affairs:

The Apostle’s mission is above mere worships, as he was the ideal responsible and the merciful father for his community and his companions, therefore, he did not spend the entire time between Maghrib and Isha prayer doing one single kind of task, as indicated by some sources and as deluded by some people who did not follow his authentic Sunnah accurately, because the Messenger peace be upon him gathered a number of righteous deeds in a wonderful rhythm in application to the rule of “When you are free (from immediate tasks) then stand up for worship”⁽¹⁷⁾, some of his habits during this time as narrated by Ya’ish ibn Tikhfat al-Ghifari, whose father said “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Come with us to the house of Aisha. So we went and he said: Give us food, Aisha. She brought hashishah and we ate. He then said: Give us food, Aisha. She then brought haysah ⁽¹⁸⁾ as small in quantity as a pigeon ⁽¹⁹⁾ and we ate. He then said: Give us something to drink, Aisha. So she brought a bowl of milk ⁽²⁰⁾, and we drank” ⁽²¹⁾.  

Therefore, we understand that the Prophet peace be upon him did not prioritize offering prayer, invocation or any other kind of deeds anytime during the day as long as they are not compulsory, but it is recommended to perform them on a utility and shared base ⁽²²⁾; if at this time, Iʿtikāf in the mosque conflicts with doing public services, family rights, these services shall have the priority over worship, based on the priorities in the daily schedule, according to the Hadith reported by Ibn Umar that a man came to the Prophet peace be upon him and said O! Apostle of Allah, who are the most beloved people to Allah and what are the most beloved deeds to Allah? he said “The most beloved of people to Allah is the one who brings most benefit to people, and the most beloved of deeds to Allah is making a Muslim happy, or relieving him of hardship, or paying off his debt, or warding off hunger from him. For me to go with my Muslim brother to meet his need is dearer to me than observing i’tikaaf in this mosque – meaning the mosque of Madeenah – for a month… whoever goes with his Muslim brother to meet his need, Allah will make him stand firm on the Day when all feet will slip” ⁽²³⁾ Al-Shatibi summarizes this by saying: “Every deed a Muslim person is assigned to perform represents a worship to the Almighty Allah, mere worships come as worships in the first place, whereas other habits if they were intended for the sake of Allah, then they shall be considered as worships too” ⁽²⁴⁾.            

In “Time Management Matrix” which we discussed in the fourth chapter ⁽²⁵⁾, we pointed out that writers divide worker’s time according to priorities and emergencies into four columns as follow: 

Important & Urgent	Important & Not Urgent
Not Important & Urgent	Not Important & Not Urgent

Western sources point out to the importance of focusing on the second column: (Important & Not Urgent), because it represents efficiency, self-leadership and distinguishes between successful and unsuccessful people, and usually takes the least possible time, yet it provides most possible opportunities and the desired results such as: strengthening oneself, preventing expected issues, learning important values in our lives, planning for the future, building healthy relations, promoting and improving oneself …  

It is obvious that the performed deeds between Maghrib and Isha prayers whether praying in the house or in the mosque, attending learning circles, feeding poor people or any other righteous deeds gives impetus to the second column and contributes to the development of efficiency based on an Islamic righteous perspective. However, such deeds are almost absent in the western schedule for the reason of practicing sport, fulfilling self-desires and most of all for pursuing the daily work ⁽²⁶⁾ for the sake of reward and fame.  

Dinner meal:  

It was narrated about the Prophet peace be upon him in Muzdalifa that “He ordered a man to pronounce the Adhan, Iqama then he offered the Maghrib prayer and offered two rak`at after it. Then he asked for his supper and took it” ⁽²⁷⁾.   

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet peace be upon him said “If dinner is ready and the call for prayer is said, then start with dinner first” ⁽²⁸⁾ in another narration, he said “When one of you is served with his supper and the time for prayer comes, he should first have his supper and not hasten till he has finished it” ⁽²⁹⁾. During his travels, the Prophet peace be upon him always preferred to have dinner before offering Isha prayer, “When Ali May Allah be pleased with him travels he always walks after sunset, when it gets dark, he stops for Maghrib prayer, eats dinner, performs Isha prayer then leaves and says “The Messenger of Allah used to do so” ⁽³⁰⁾.     

Dinner meals are a self-entitlement, recreation, preparing for work phases and moving from one task to another … including what initially existed in the daily schedule from an Islamic perspective.   

The book write of “The Unique Necklace” indicated that the best time to have meal is “during cold periods, which combines cold temperature with hot food in the stomach, unlike hot periods, during which food should be avoided (…) Therefore, ancestors always preferred dinner over lunch meal” ⁽³¹⁾ “it is such a great habit” he adds ⁽³²⁾ which may indicate that dinner meal was more present than lunch during the Prophet’s era ⁽³³⁾.          

In the number of hadith sources, we did not come across a definitive command to focus on one of the daily meals, whether about its time, type, or about maintaining it… except for one hadith narrated by Al-Tirmidhi in “chapter of virtue of dinner meal” ⁽³⁴⁾ wherein “Take the ‘dinner’ meal, even if it is just with a handful of something to fill. For indeed avoiding the ‘Asha’ is from senility” ⁽³⁵⁾, however, the hadith was graded weak, Abu ‘Eisa said this Hadith is Munkar, we do not know of it except from this route. ‘Anbasah was graded weak is Hadith. ‘Abdul-Malik bin ‘Allaq is unknown” ⁽³⁶⁾, beside one hadith “Do not leave dinner, even if it is only a handful of dates, because abandoning it makes one weak” ⁽³⁷⁾.

The Prophet peace be upon him hates Sleeping between Maghrib and Isha Prayer:

In an integrated daily programming that shows what should be done, and what should not be done, Sunnah of the Prophet was not limited to duties and supererogatory tasks between Maghrib and Isha prayer, the Prophet hated “Sleep is disapproved before Isha and conversation after it” sleeping after Maghrib prayer spoils the night, staying up and insomnia, which is a disapproved kind of laziness.  

Performing congregational prayer of Maghrib in the mosque
Supererogatory prayer, invocation and waiting in the mosque for the next prayer	Educational classes	Feeding poor people and focusing on the nation’s issues	Dinner
Sleeping is disliked during this time

Deeds between Maghrib and Isha Prayer according to Nobel Sunnah

Through the daily program of the Messenger peace be upon him, it is noted that the only constant deeds are Maghrib prayer in congregation and supererogatory prayer some of which were maintained by the Apostle peace be upon him like the two ra’kat he offered after Maghrib prayer in his house, while some others were not offered regularly.   

The period between Maghrib and Isha prayer is considered as a free time, during which a Muslim person can entertain himself, work on public affairs, personal work, education or feeding poor people … which are all deemed as righteous deeds.  

Most of the aforementioned time-programing rules can be noted in his schedule such as: continuity even if the tasks are short ⁽³⁹⁾, like the two ra’at offered after Maghrib prayer, moving from one task to another ⁽⁴⁰⁾, balancing between fulfilled duties ⁽⁴¹⁾: Allah’s right to be worshiped and invoked, self-right to have dinner, wife’s right …

Flexibility is the feature that distinguishes deeds of the Apostle peace be upon him during his free time, as well as there are special cases when the prophet delays Maghrib prayer like wars and travels. 

Therefore, we may observe the Apostle peace be upon him during this stage through the authentic hadiths: as a worshiper, householder, parent, army commander, traveler to long distances, generous person who feeds poor people and as an instructor who teaches companions … these multiple tasks in the life of the Apostle PBUH were not stated in the previous program ⁽⁴²⁾, which sometimes included some deeds but ignored others.

From the completion of Sunnah that a person strives to apply such system and his vision should not be fragmented and directed to one area only, but has to fulfill all the duties as much as the Prophet did. Today, we can add some cultural and associative activities or participating in political works for instance, practicing some permissible sports or dealing positively with social media etc.