Hazrat Umar (ra) in the Battle of Khandaq

Abu Salama narrated from Hazrat Jabir (ra) bin Abdillah, “On the day of the Battle of Khandaq, Hazrat Umar (ra) came after the sun had set and was expressing his displeasure for the disbelievers of the Quraish. He said, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! I was not able to offer the Asr prayer and it is now after sunset.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘By God! I too have not offered the prayers.’ Subsequently, we got up and went towards Buthan. Buthan was the name of one of the valleys in Medina. Over there, the Holy Prophet (sa) performed ablution and we also performed the ablution for prayers and then we offered the Asr prayer after sunset. After this, the Holy Prophet (sa) offered the Magrhib prayers. This is a narration from Bukhari.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Mawaqit al-Salah, Bab Qada al-Salah al-Ula fa al-Ula, Hadith 598)

There are varying opinions about how many prayers the Holy Prophet (sa) and his companions were unable to offer during the Battle of the Ditch and there are various narrations in this regard. In one narration, Hazrat Jabir (ra) states, “On the day of the Battle of the Ditch, Hazrat Umar (ra) expressed his displeasure at the disbelievers and said, ‘I could not offer the Asr prayers until the sun had set.’” He then said that he went to Buthan and offered the Asr prayers after the sun had set, after which he offered the Maghrib prayers. This is also a narration of Bukhari, in the previous narration there was mention that he was with the Holy Prophet (sa).

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi, Bab Ghazwat al-Khandaq wa hiya al-Ahzab, Hadith 4111)

Hazrat Ali (ra) has narrated that on the day of the Battle of the Ditch, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “May Allah fill the homes and the graves of those disbelievers with fire because they kept us occupied and prevented us from praying Salat al-Wusta (i.e. the middle prayer) until the sun had set.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi, Bab Ghazwat al-Khandaq wa hiya al-Ahzab, Hadith 4111)

This narration of Hazrat Ali (ra) is from Bukhari.

Then Abu Ubaidah bin Abdillah narrates on the authority of his father that on the day of the Battle of the Ditch, the idolaters prevented the Holy Prophet (sa) from offering four prayers, until a portion of the night had passed as much as Allah had willed. The narrator further says that the Holy Prophet (sa) instructed Hazrat Bilalra to call the Azan; he then instructed him to call the Iqamah and led the Zuhr prayers. He then instructed him to call the Iqamah and led the Asr prayers; he then instructed to call the Iqamah and led the Maghrib prayers; he then instructed to call the Iqamah and led the Isha prayers. This is a narration of Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal.

(Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 2, Musnad Abdillah bin Mas‘ud, Hadith 3555 [Beirut, Lebanon: A‘lam al-Kutub, 1998], pp. 6-7)

The Promised Messiah (as) has deemed all these narrations to be weak except for one in which it is mentioned that the Holy Prophet (sa) only offered the Asr prayer close to the expiration of its prescribed time.

Whilst refuting the allegation levelled by the Christian Priest, Fateh Masih, wherein he stated that the Holy Prophet (sa) offered four of the prayers after its prescribed time, the Promised Messiah (as) stated:

“This satanic ploy of yours in alleging that four prayers were combined at the time of digging the trench in fact reveals your level of knowledge, because the word that has been used [in the hadith] is ‘qadha’. O foolish one! The word ‘qadha’ is used with reference to offering the prayer” not that a prayer was completely abandoned. “The term ‘qadha’ never applies in an instance where a prayer is missed. If one completely misses their prayer, the word ‘faut’ is used” i.e. the prayer has passed. “It was for this reason that we have announced a 5,000 rupee [challenge] because there exist such ignorant people who raise allegations against Islam and yet they do not even know the proper meaning of ‘qadha’. An individual who cannot even employ the proper usage of words, how can such a foolish one then claim to possess the capabilities to critique such intricate matters?

“As far as the allegation is concerned that four prayers were combined at the time of digging the trench, the answer to this foolish notion is that Allah the Almighty states that there is no harm”, i.e. it is not strictly forbidden, “to combine the prayers or offer them after its prescribed time in certain extenuating circumstances and in times of danger. However, there is no authentic hadith which states that four prayers were all combined together. In fact, in Fath-ul-Bari, a commentary of Sahih Bukhari, it states that only one prayer, the Asr prayer, was offered close to the expiration of its prescribed time. If at the time you were present before us”, the Promised Messiah (as) is addressing the opponent here, “we would have seated you down and asked you to present the authentic narration which states that four prayers were all combined. In light of the Shariah, there are four prayers which can be combined; in other words, Zuhr and Asr prayers can be combined together and Maghrib and Isha prayers can be combined together. Indeed, there is one weak narration, which states that the Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha prayers were all combined. However, all the other authentic narrations reject this particular narration. All that is proven is that only the Asr prayer was offered close to the expiration of its prescribed time.”

(Nur-ul-Quran, number 2: Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 9, pp. 389-390)