Islamic Prayer Times - A few Daily PrayersPosted by Kang Sylvest on May 12th, 2021 Fajr: This is actually the first prayer of the day at dawn. Islamic tradition distinguishes two differing times for dawn: once the first light appears at the horizon, rather vertical (like the "tail of a wolf" as tradition says), and, following this first light disappears, when the light of the early day spreads horizontally across the horizon. The first dawn is called "Subh Kadhib" or "Fajr-al-Mustateel" and the second "Subh Sadiq" or "Fajr-al-Mustatir". Fajr is to be prayed at the next dawn, Subh Sadiq. However, as we explain below, adjustments need to be made for higher latitudes where in fact the glow of the day never disappears in summer and never appears in winter. Zuhr or Duhur: The midday prayer in the same way sunlight declines after having reached its highest position in the sky (zenith). Zuhr is prayed five minutes after zenith. Asr: The mid-afternoon prayer. The time of this prayer is determined according to the length of the shadow of a stick planted in the ground. According to the major schools of jurisprudence in Islam: Maliki, Shafi'I, Hanbali, Hanafi and Ja'afriyah (Shia), along the shadow regarding that of the stick is calculated differently (factors varying from one to two). We give below the facts of these various options. All these traditions are legitimate and worthy of respect. salat taimes leave the choice of the school to the user. Maghrib: The prayer at sunset. However, physical factors such as refraction and also material factors like the height of a building in a city or the spread of this city lead us to fix the time of this prayer 3 minutes following the theoretical time of sunset as it appears in newspapers. The Shia tradition sets the Maghrib prayer 17 minutes after the theoretical setting of sunlight. In our tables, we've retained only the initial option: 3 minutes after sunset. Isha: The night prayer at night. Just as for Fajr, Islamic tradition distinguishes two times of dusk, both called "Shafaq". After sunset, the sky is first ablaze with a red colour. This is "Shafaq al Ahmar". Later, the red colour disappears, leaving room for a whiteness of the sky. This is "Shafaq al Abyad". The duration of these phases increases with altitude. The major schools of Islam fix the Isha prayer either at the disappearance of Shafaq al Ahmar or at the disappearance of Shafaq al Abyad. Both traditions are legitimate and, like for Asr, we leave the decision to the user. However, for Fajr, adjustments are necessary for Isha at higher latitudes when Shafaq al Abyad hardly ever disappears in summer. In such cases we can either work with a mix of Shafaq al Ahmar and Shafaq al Abyad called "Shafaq General" or use other methods that have the consensus of the Islamic community. We will explain these methods in the following. Let us note one last point: whereas the prayer times for Zuhr, Asr and Maghrib are rather well defined in the Holy Koran and in the Hadiths, and therefore allow an exact mathematical formulation, such isn't the case with Fajr and Isha. The description of both in the Koran and in the Hadiths leaves a margin of interpretation, and hence for different formulations. That is why, we take proper care in what follows to describe the method that people have adopted as a way to calculate these two moments of prayer specially.Like it? Share it! |