Time of Maghrib Prayer
Hazrat Mursad (ra) bin Abdillah narrates, “When Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari (ra) came to us to take part in Jihad, Hazrat Uqbah (ra) bin Amir was the governor of Egypt at the time. One day, he offered the Maghrib prayers slightly later than its prescribed time. Upon this, Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari (ra) went to him and said, ‘O Uqbah, what kind of prayer is this?’ Hazrat Uqbah (ra) replied that he was preoccupied in something. Upon this, Hazrat Abu Ayub (ra) replied, ‘I swear by Allah, my only intention in saying this is so that people do not think that you saw the Messenger (sa) of Allah doing this. Have you not heard the Messenger (sa) of Allah say, “My Ummah will remain established on virtue – or perhaps he said that it will remain established on fitrah [pure disposition] – for as long as it does not delay offering the Maghrib prayer to the extent that the stars begin to shine.”’”
(Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 7, Musnad Abu Ayub Ansari, Hadith 23931 [Beirut, Lebanon: Alam al-Kutub, 1998], 773)
Thus, one ought to offer the Maghrib prayer in the earlier part of its prescribed time.