Regarding Performing Chasht or Ishraq Prayer in the Mosque

Tanvir Islam (from e-mail)

Question: After the Fajr prayer, is the Chasht prayer, which is offered 23 minutes after sunrise while sitting in the mosque, required to be performed only in the mosque? If I pray Fajr in the mosque and then return home to offer this prayer, will it be valid? Also, should the four-rakat Sunnah prayer before the obligatory Zuhr prayer be offered as four rakats together, or can it be offered as two rakats followed by another two?

Answer: If by this prayer you mean Ishraq, then to attain the virtue mentioned in the Hadith, it must be offered in the mosque. If you return home after Fajr and offer Ishraq there, you will not receive the reward for remaining seated in the mosque until Ishraq. However, you will receive the specific reward for offering Ishraq.

If you mean Chasht, then it should be offered at home. It is not performed immediately after sunrise. The proper time for Chasht begins after the sun has risen considerably, approximately between 9:00 and 11:00 am. It is not a prayer that is specifically performed in the mosque. Rather, it is a prayer to be offered at home or at the workplace. It is also referred to as Salat al-Awwabin in the Hadith.

The four-rakat Sunnah prayer before Zuhr must be offered with one salam. It cannot be offered as two rakats followed by another two, as this Sunnah prayer is to be performed as four rakats together. All voluntary prayers during the night and day, however, are to be offered in sets of two rakats.

Answered by: Allama Mufti Ubaidur Rahman Khan Nadwi
Source: Jamiul Fatawa, Islamic Fiqh and Fatwa Encyclopedia
To submit questions: inqilabqna@gmail.Islam