Fatwa #169956 August 2008Netherlands
I follow Shafi and they follow Hanafi prayer times
Question
Currently I'm living in Amsterdam, Netherlands and in my office, there are some Muslim brothers who follows Shafai calendar and I'm following the Hanafi calendar.
Now according to there praying calendar, there Asr prayer time starts early, so they would like to set the time for Asr Jamah earlier then the Hanafi time starts, what should I do about that?
also there are few times when I get late for Dhur prayer but as per Hanafi calendar I can pray Dhur before the start of the Asr prayer time but Shafai time for Asr already started..and at that time they like to do a Asr Jamah but I still want to pray Dhur...so in that case what should I do?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Since you follow the Hanafi madhab, it is better that you offer the Asr prayer in the Hanafi time even though you may miss out on the Jama’ah (congregation). You may offer your Zuhr prayer until the commencing time of Asr according to the Hanafi Madhab.
However, if your collegues get offended by you not joining the congregational Salah, there is a leeway for you according to the Hanafi Madhab to perform your Asr Salah according to the Shafii Madhab. In that case, ensure that you perform your Zuhr Salah before the Asr time of the Shafii sets in.
(Ahsanul Fatawa vol.2 pg.145 H.M. Saeed)
وانظر هل إذا لزم من تأخيره العصر إلى المثلين فوت الجماعة يكون الأولى التأخير أم لا والظاهر الأول بل يلزم لمن اعتقد رجحان قول الإمام
[رد المحتار ج3 ص463 دار المعرفة]
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa