The five daily prayers: names, times and meaning
Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha are the five obligatory prayers. What each name means, when each one is prayed, and how many units it has.
By Istiqama team· · 3 min read
Muslims pray five obligatory prayers every day: Fajr at dawn, Dhuhr after midday, Asr in the afternoon, Maghrib at sunset and Isha at night. Together they have seventeen units (rak'ahs): two, four, four, three and four. Each prayer has its own window of time set by the sun, so the clock times change with the seasons and with where you live.
أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا
Establish prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night, and the recitation at dawn. Indeed, the recitation at dawn is ever witnessed.
The five prayers at a glance
| Prayer | Meaning of the name | Time | Obligatory units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fajr (الفجر) | Dawn | True dawn until sunrise | 2 |
| Dhuhr (الظهر) | Midday | Just after noon until mid-afternoon | 4 |
| Asr (العصر) | Afternoon | Mid-afternoon until sunset | 4 |
| Maghrib (المغرب) | Sunset | Sunset until the red twilight fades | 3 |
| Isha (العشاء) | Night | Nightfall until the middle of the night or dawn, by school | 4 |
Fajr
Fajr begins at true dawn, when light first spreads across the horizon, and ends at sunrise. It's the shortest window to catch for most people because it falls while they sleep, which is why it's often the measure of how steady someone's prayer is.
Dhuhr
Dhuhr begins once the sun has passed its highest point and starts to descend. On Fridays it's replaced by Jumu'ah, the congregational prayer with a sermon.
Asr
Asr begins when shadows have grown to a set length beyond their midday length: once an object's length in the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools, and twice in the Hanafi school. It runs until sunset, though delaying it until the sun turns pale is disliked.
Maghrib
Maghrib begins as soon as the sun has set and lasts until the red glow in the sky has gone. It's the only obligatory prayer with three units, and its window is short, so it's best prayed promptly.
Isha
Isha begins when the twilight has disappeared and the night has fully fallen. Its preferred time runs to about a third or half of the night, and scholars differ on how late it can be prayed after that.
Why five prayers?
The five prayers were given to the Prophet ﷺ during the Night Journey (al-Isra wal-Mi'raj). He described them as a daily cleansing:
If there were a river at the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt remain on him? That is the example of the five prayers, by which Allah wipes away sins.
Keeping track of the five
Because the times move every day, it helps to have them calculated for where you are. Istiqama shows each day's five times for your location and method, counts down to the next one, and lets you log each prayer while its time is open, so the five fit into your day instead of competing with it.
Questions
How many units (rak'ahs) are the five prayers in total?
Seventeen obligatory units a day — Fajr 2, Dhuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3 and Isha 4. Many people also pray voluntary sunnah units before or after some of them.
Does Friday prayer replace Dhuhr?
Yes. On Fridays, the congregational Jumu'ah prayer of two units with its sermon is prayed in place of Dhuhr. Those who don't attend Jumu'ah pray Dhuhr as normal.
Can I combine prayers when I travel?
Travellers may shorten the four-unit prayers and, according to many scholars, combine Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha. The conditions differ between schools, so check what your madhab teaches.