How long does the time for the evening prayer last?

The evening prayer begins after sunset, and it is better to offer it early. Its time, however, lasts not only until the red glow fades but until the last white light has left the sky.

The evening prayer comes straight after sunset. Its time is shorter than that of most other prayers, so it is usually offered soon.

When exactly does that time end? The major schools of Islamic law do not agree on this. After sunset the sky first turns red. After that a pale, whitish glow remains for a while. According to one view the time ends with the red glow, which makes it fairly short. According to the other it ends only when the white glow has also gone, which makes it considerably longer.

There is a clear pointer in the Holy Qur’an itself in favour of the second view. For the morning, the second verse above names the white thread of dawn as the boundary, that is, the first white light and not the red. Morning and evening mirror each other. What holds before sunrise holds in reverse after sunset. So it is convincing to take the white light as the boundary in the evening as well.

Both sides agree that it is better to pray early. That is good advice, but not a strict obligation. Anyone who is delayed, for example by work or a long journey, may still offer the evening prayer as long as the white glow remains in the sky.

This reflects a basic feature of Islam. The third verse above says that Allah desires ease and not hardship. Where the path is wide enough, there is no need to make it artificially narrow.