Is it permissible to repeat the prayer because of not knowing a particular ruling? When I was praying the ‘Asr prayer I had doubts about how many rakats I had prayed, so I performed sujood as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). But afterwards I learned the right way to do sujood as-sahw. So I repeated my prayer, however I did so about 16 minutes before the time of the Magrib prayer. Is my prayer valid? Furthermore, I have always heard that the time for the Magrib lasts only 10 to 15 minutes, i.e the time for the red afterglow to disappear. But now I heard that the time for the Magrib lasts until the ‘Isha, so how long does the time for Magrib last?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is not obligatory on a person to repeat the prayer unless he is certain that he did something that invalidates it. Therefore, if you did something that rendered your ‘Asr prayer invalid, such as not considering that you prayed the lower number of rak’ahs (units of prayer) when you doubted the number of rak’ahs that you prayed, then it was obligatory on you to repeat the prayer. For more benefit, please refer to fataawa 83932and 86560.

You did not clarify to us what you had done exactly so that we could rule whether or not it was obligatory on you to repeat the prayer. In any case, since you have repeated the prayer, then you are acquitted from sin with certainty; praise be to Allaah.

Since you had repeated the prayer before sunset [Maghrib], you had done so in time because the time interval for the ‘Asr prayer extends until sunset. Please, refer to fatwa 82253.

We advise you to endeavor in learning your religion and acquiring religious knowledge so that you would know what to do when something happens in your prayer or in any other matter.

As regards the Maghrib prayer, its time extends to the ‘Isha prayer according to the preponderant view of the scholars. The time of the ‘Isha starts when the red twilight starts to disappear, as per the view that we adopt in Islamweb. This happens approximately one hour and fifteen minutes to one hour and thirty minutes after the Maghrib prayer, as stated by Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen . However, this varies depending on the varying seasons of the year.

As regards what you mentioned, that the time of the Maghrib prayer is only ten minutes or so, then this is based on the statements of the scholars who hold the view that the time of the Maghrib prayer is short and is only enough to perform the obligatory prayer and the Sunnah prayer after it. However, this is the view of some scholars, and it is not the preponderant view, as we have already mentioned.

Allaah knows best.