I went with my father to Abu Barzah al-Aslami, and my father asked him: How did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) use to perform the obligatory prayers?
Authentic hadithعن أبي المنهال سيار بن سلامة قال: (دَخَلتُ أنا وأبي علَى أبي بَرزَة الأسلمي، فقال له أبي: كيف كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي المَكْتُوبَة؟ فقال: كان يُصَلِّي الهَجِير -التي تدعونها الأولى- حِينَ تَدحَضُ الشَّمسُ. ويُصَلِّي العَصرَ ثم يَرجِعُ أَحَدُنَا إلى رَحلِه في أَقصَى المدينة والشَّمسُ حَيَّة، ونَسِيتُ ما قال في المَغرب. وكان يَسْتَحِبُّ أن يُؤَخِّر من العِشَاء التي تَدعُونَها العَتَمَة، وكان يَكرَه النَّوم قَبلَهَا، والحديث بَعدَها. وكان يَنْفَتِلُ من صَلَاة الغَدَاة حِين يَعرِفُ الرَّجُل جَلِيسَه، وكان يَقرَأ بِالسِتِّين إلى المائة).
Abu al-Minhāl Sayyār ibn Salāmah reported: I went with my father to Abu Barzah al-Aslami, and my father asked him: "How did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) use to perform the obligatory prayers?" Abu Barzah said: "He used to pray Zhuhr, which you call ‘the first one’, as the sun declined at noon, and he prayed ‘Asr at a time after which one of us could go to his house at the farthest place in Madīnah while the sun was still hot." I forgot what he had said about the Maghrib prayer. "And he liked to delay the ‘Ishā' prayer, which you call ‘Atamah, and he disliked to sleep before it and talk after it. After the Fajr prayer, he would leave when a man could recognize the one sitting beside him. He used to recite 60 to 100 verses.'"
Explanation
In this Hadīth, Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the times of the obligatory prayers. He first related that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Zhuhr prayer when the sun began to move from the middle of the sky toward the west. This is the earliest time of the Zhuhr prayer. Then, he would offer the ‘Asr prayer, and after that some worshipers could go to their houses at the farthest place in Madīnah while the sun was still hot. This is the earliest time of the ‘Asr prayer. As for the Maghrib prayer, the narrator forgot what had been said about it. However, it has been established by reports and consensus that its time begins with sunset. The Hadīth also states that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) liked to delay offering the ‘Ishā' prayer, because the best time to offer it is the latter part of its preferred time. He disliked to sleep before offering ‘Ishā' prayer lest he might delay it beyond its preferred time or miss offering it in congregation. He also feared oversleeping and thus missing Qiyām al-Layl. He disliked having a conversation after offering the ‘Ishā' prayer lest it keeps him from offering the Fajr prayer on time or in congregation. After the Fajr prayer, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would leave at a time when a man could recognize the one sitting next to him, even though he would recite 60 to 100 verses in the prayer; an indication that he used to offer the prayer while it was still dark.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).