Salah: Encyclopedia II - Salah - Five daily fard prayers

Salah - Five daily fard prayers

Muslims are commanded to perform salah fives times a day; these prayers are Fard (obligatory) on every Muslim above the age of puberty, with the exception being those who are mentally ill. Sunnis believe in other extra prayers in addition to the fard prayer (as listed below) while Shi'as pray just the fard, or obligatory, prayer. The waqt for each of the five prayers is listed below:

1. Fajr(فجر): From dawn (the time at which the faintest hint of the new day starts) to sunrise. The Fajr pray consist of 2 Sunnah¹ and 2 Fard.
2. Zuhr(ظهر): From true noon, or when the sun begins to decline, to the time for the Asr prayer. The Zuhr pray consist of 4 Sunnah¹, 4 Fard, and 2 Sunnah¹.
3. On Fridays the Zuhr prayer is replaced by Jumu'ah (الجمعه).
4. Asr(عصر): The exact start time varies between the different schools of jurisprudence. According to Imam Abu Hanifa Asar starts when the shadow of an object becomes twice its height (plus the length of its shadow at the time of Zuhr). For the rest of Imams, Asr starts when the shadow of an object becomes equal to its length (plus the length of its shadow at the time of Zuhr). The period for prayer ends just before sunset. The Asr prayer consist of 4 Sunnah and 4 Fard.
5. Maghrib(مغرب): Starts at sunset and ends right before the Isha'a time starts. According to Shi'a Imams, it starts when the reddish glow in the eastern sky passes overhead and it ends at true midnight. The Maghrib pray consist of 3 Fard and2 Sunnah¹.
6. Isha'a(عشاء): It starts at dusk or when the white glow in the western sky disappears and ends at the time for the Fajr prayer. According to Imam Shafi'i it starts when the reddish glow in the western sky disappears. According Shi'a Imams, it is valid at any time after the Maghrib prayer has been validly performed and ends at the time for the Fajr prayer. The Isha'a prayer consist of 4 Sunnah, 4 Fard, 2 Sunnah¹, and 3 Witr.

¹ Were prayed by the Prophet daily.

Salah - Qada

In certain circumstances one may be unable to perform one's prayer within the waqt, in this case the prayer must be performed as soon as one is able to. Prayers performed after the prescribed waqt are called qada. Note: It is not permissible to deliberately miss performing the Salah within its waqt, then to perform it afterwards.

Salah - Qasr and Jama

When travelling over long distances, one may shorten some prayers, a practice known as qasr. Furthermore, several prayer times may be concatenated, which is referred to as jama. Qasr involves shortening the obligatory components of the Zuhr, Asr and Isha prayers. Jama is when the Zuhr and Asr prayers are both performed either at the Zuhr or Asr time (called zuharain), and Maghrib and Isha'a are both performed at either of their respective times(called maghribain).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Five daily fard prayers", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki