Q: In my city fajr starts at 4:34, is 4:34 the exact time you need to start prayer or can you start at 5, or is that too late? When will fajr prayer not be valid. (Btw Zuhr starts at 1:13) Can you pray at 4? or is that too early? What does this exact time mean? Does it mean to pray before after or exactly at that time? Also can you tell me when Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha will become invalid. I believe Zuhr will be valid on untill midnight. Jazakallah Khayr
A: Alhamdulillah. Depending on where you are, if Salatul Fajr begins at 4:34am then praying at 5am should be fine insha-Allah but ultimately what you need to know is that the time of Fajr ends at sunrise. So basically you would have from 4:34am until the time of sunrise to validly complete Salatul Fajr. After sunrise, the time of Fajr is over. If Salatul Fajr begins at 4:34 then you cannot pray Fajr at 4am, you must wait until the time of the Salah comes in. As for the other Salawat: Zhuhr: Must be completed before the time of Asr comes in. Asr: Must be completed before the time of Maghrib comes in. Maghrib: Must be completed before the redness in the sky disappears and it is best to pray this Salah right away on time. Isha: Must be completed before the middle of the night according to the Shari'ah (not "12am midnight"). So take the time between when Isha and Fajr both start and then divide this time into two. Then add this time to when Salatul Isha begins and this is when your Isha must be completed by. Example: Let's say that Isha begins at 8pm and Fajr begins at 6am, which means that there is 10 hours between the two. This means you have 5 hours after 8pm to complete Ishaa or until 1am. Hope this helps and may Allah make it easy for you. Allah knows best.