Abstract
Since the early period, many works have been dealt with on the subject of praying, which is considered to be one of the basic worships of Islam, and countless judgments have been made on this issue. In this context, especially in the regions where the dawn is not lost, there is no information about the ‘ishaa prayer in the classical sources of the early period. As a matter of fact, this issue did not constitute a current place in the reality of that period. In later periods, with the spread of Islam, some provisions began to emerge on this subject. For it is unthinkable that an important issue such as prayer worship remains unanswered, the issue of dawn had started to be updated due to geographical reasons.
In the northern countries, such as Tatarstan, the dawn was an important issue for the dawn does not disappear in the long days. Thus, the native Islamic scholars gave fatwas by evaluating their views on Islamic law. Shihâbuddîn al-Mardjânî, who lived in the region in the nineteenth century, dealt with this subject and produced a separate work on this issue, which is named as “Nâzûretu’l-Hakk fî Fardıyyeti’l-‘Işâ ve in lem Yeğibi’ş-Şafak”. In the words of Mardjânî, there are discussions in the works that emerged only after the sixth century. In previous works, there are some information based on hadiths about dawn.
In our study, after giving general information about the sun dawn, Mardjânî's main topic of discussion is the information about the provision of the ‘ishaa prayer in case if the dawn is not lost. While discussing classical sources, Muhammad al-Shaybâni's Kitâbu'l-Asl, Sarahsî's Kitâbu'l-Mabsût, al-Hidâya Sharhu Bidâyati'l-Mubtadî by Margînânî, Cassâs 'Sharhu Muhtasari't-Tahâvî, Navavî's Kitâbu'l-Mecmû', Sharhu'l-Muhazzab li'ş-Şîrâzî, Karâfî's az-Zahîra, Dasûkî's Hâshiyatu'd-Dasûkî 'ala'sh-Sharhi'l-Kabîr, Ibn Kudâma's al-Muğnî ve'sh-Sharhu'l-Kabîr 'alâ Matni'l-Mukni', Zarkashî's Sharhu'z-Zarkaşî 'alâ Muhtasari'l-Hırâkî and the other sources of Hanafî, Shâfi'i, Malikî and Hanbalî madhhabs are put account to give information about the topic. In this context, there is a discussion of what is the dawn which causes only the time of the prayer. When we look at the majority of the evidence, it turns out that the dawn is red. However, these sources do not include the main controversy regarding the dawn by which ishaa prayer has entered.
In our study, we tried to reveal the evidence that Mardjânî gives about prayer and its importance in general. In addition to emphasizing the importance of prayer, Mardjânî claimed that those who canceled the ‘ishaa prayer because of the absence of the time would have opposed the evident texts and the exact provisions of the Qur'an. Mardjânî supports his view not only with verses but also with authentic narrations from the Prophet. Moreover, Mardjânî strengthened his view by a dialogue between Ibn ‘Abbâs and Nâfi‘ al-Azraq, narrated by Abdurrazzâk, Ibn Djarîr, Ibn al-Munzir, Ibn Abi Hâtim, Tabarânî, al-Hakim and Abi Razîn. Mardjânî explains the meanings of some concepts such as dawn, zawaal and time in order to base the subject and thus tries to prove its opinion more strongly.
According to Mardjânî, the issue of dawn in the hadiths does not mean the requirement of entering the time of ‘ishaa prayer. In his opinion, there are two situations in this matter. According to the first, the setting of the sun and the disappearance of the dawn are not the requirements for the expiration time of the evening prayer and the time of the ‘ishaa prayer. Here only the disjunctive duration between the two periods can be seen as the condition. The second case is that it is not right to consider the disappearance of the dawn when it comes to the time of ‘ishaa prayer when we look at all the narratives and external evidences mentioned in this matter. Moreover, when we look at similar events, this portent is not a requirement for the entry and expiration of the prayer time. For example, for the time of the ‘ishaa prayer and the time of the afternoon prayer to come, it cannot be necessary to have a shadow of one or twice the length of the object because it cannot be realized in closed or cloudy weather. What is essential here is to appreciate the differential time. In the same way, the fast of a fasting person and the prohibition of eating and drinking are not the requirements for the evening and morning prayer. In addition, Mardjânî uses the Dajjal hadith which is an interesting narrative on this subject as evidence. Namely, the Companions asked the Prophet how long the Dajjal would remain in the world. The Prophet said: “'Forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest of his days like your days." They asked the Prophet if only one prayer was enough when a day was like a year. "No, make an estimate of time," he commanded. One of the Tatar scholars, Musa Jarullâh, also cited this hadith as evidence and argued that such a case should be appreciated. He stated that the sunrise and sunset are not acceptable in the necessity of prayer for the five-time prayers.
One of the most powerful foundations of Mardjânî on this subject is his explanations in terms of usûl-i fiqh. According to him, it is possible that khabar-i wâhid and qiyâs can explain the mucmal of the Qur'an. However, it cannot allocate the general expressions and not restrict the absolute states. Because of this, Mardjânî does not allow the revelation of absolute and definite verses with uncertain hadiths. According to him, the fact that prayer is five times is fixed with absolute evidences. However, the beginning and end of these times were determined in the following periods. The issue of the disappearance of dawn is a subject that is fixed by hadiths. Obviously, khabar-i wâhid does not mean certainty in terms of both steadiness and indication. In addition, Mardjânî evaluated the fatwas mentioned in this study.
Thus, Mardjânîtries to reveal the real reason why prayer is obligatory for people. According to him, the real reason is the blessings given by Allah and the obligation to be thankful for these blessings. Time has been put by Allah only for a convenience for His servants to determine them. According to him, the reason why prayer is obligatory cannot be understood through mind. The time is considered reason by Islamic jurists being a decisive sign. The proceduralists in Islamic law see the time as a distinctive sign. In this way, according to Mardjânî, time is the sign of the obligation of prayer, and the true cause is the blessings of Allah.