2/5. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 405 — Distance of Al-Awali
The Time For 'Asr Prayer
Al-Awali Distance in the Asr Prayer Narration
Sunan Abi Dawud : 405
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 405
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قَالَ وَالْعَوَالِي عَلَى مِيلَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلاَثَةٍ . قَالَ وَأَحْسَبُهُ قَالَ أَوْ أَرْبَعَةٍ .
Al-Zuhri said: Al-'Awali is situated at a distance of two miles or three (from Medina). He (the narrator) said: I think he said: or four miles.
[1] The area of Al-'Awālī is to the south-east of the Prophet's ﷺ Masjid . It is still known by this name to this day.Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 405In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 15English translation : Book 2, Hadith 405
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 405
This report is a short explanatory note about al-'Awali. Al-Zuhri says that al-'Awali was two or three miles away, and the narrator adds that he thinks he said four miles as well. The core topic is not a new prayer ruling by itself. It helps a reader understand the nearby report about Asr prayer and reaching al-'Awali while the sun was still high. A searcher looking for Al-Awali distance in hadith will find that the text gives a small range, not a single exact figure. It also shows honest narration, because the narrator clearly mentions his uncertainty about whether four miles was also stated.
What we learn from this hadith
- Al-'Awali is described as being a few miles from Medina.
- The report helps explain the timing detail in the Asr narration.
- The narrator openly mentions uncertainty about the exact range.
- The text gives a distance note, not a separate prayer command.
