Fajr prayer explained

The fajr prayer, alternatively transliterated as fadjr prayer, and also known as the subh prayer, is a salah (ritual prayer) offered in the early morning. Consisting of two rak'a (units), it is performed between the break of dawn and sunrise.^{[1] [2]} It is one of two prayers mentioned by name in the Qur'an.^{[3] [4]} Due to its timing, Islamic belief holds the fajr prayer to be of great importance. During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Muslims begin fasting with the fajr prayer.

Performance

The fajr prayer consists of two compulsory (fardh) units of prayer (rak'a). In addition, the voluntary sunnah prayer consists of two units of prayer and can be performed before the compulsory prayer.^[5]

In fajr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read aloud (jahr), as during Maghrib and Isha.^[6] It is commonly performed silently when waking up in the morning.^[7]

The prayer includes wudu (ritual purification) and salat (ritual prayer).^[8]

Fajr replaced salat al-duha as the morning prayer before the five prayers were standardized.^[9]

Textual references

Qur'an

Qur'an 11:114 commands Muhammad to recite at dawn. ^[10] This verse is taken as foundational for prescribing the times for prayer. ^[11]

In Qur'an 17:78, dawn is one of the three times that prayer is to be performed. ^[12] According to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's commentary on angels (Al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik), this verse describes the witnessing of dawn prayer by the angels of the day and the night.^[13]

Timings

The timings for the prayer are prescribed by the hadith.^[14]

School	Start time	End time
Ahmadi Islam	dawn [15]	a few minutes before sunrise
Quranist Islam	dawn [16] [17] [18]	sunrise
Shia Islam	true dawn	sunrise
Sunni Islam	"the true dawn" (al-fajr al-sadiq) The true dawn is indicated by a white line appearing across the horizon, in contrast to "the false dawn" (al-fajr al-kadhib) shortly before which appears as a vertical line.[19] [20] [21]	sunrise; in the Maliki school, until ifsar or until sunrise with a valid excuse

See also

The other Islamic obligatory prayers, which are, in chronological order following the fajr prayer: Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

• Sunnah and nafl prayers – optional prayers performed by Muslims, some of which are performed before or after the obligatory prayers
• Shacharit – the Jewish morning prayer

Notes and References

1. Book: Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world . 2004 . New York : Macmillan Reference USA : Thomson/Gale . Internet Archive . 978-0-02-865603-8.
2. Book: Glassé, Cyril . The new encyclopedia of Islam . 2001 . Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press . Internet Archive . 978-0-7591-0189-0.
3. Web site: Surah An-Nur - 58 . 2024-10-16 . Quran.com . en.
4. Web site: Surah Al-Isra - 78 . 2024-10-16 . Quran.com . en.
5. Web site: sufyan . 2011-07-05 . What Are the Confirmed Sunna and Non-Confirmed Sunna Prayers Associated With the Obligatory Prayers? . 2024-10-05 . SeekersGuidance . en-US.
6. Book: Monnot, Guy . . 1995 . . 9004098348 . New . VIII . . 928 . en.
7. Book: Glassé . Cyril . The new encyclopedia of Islam . 2001 . Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press . 978-0-7591-0189-0 . 396 .
8. Book: Farneth . Molly . The Politics of Ritual . A Social Practical Account of Rituals . https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2wr4wbd.5 . Princeton University Press . 25 . 2023. 10.2307/j.ctv2wr4wbd.5 . j.ctv2wr4wbd.5 . 978-0-691-19892-7 .
9. Book: Biderman . Shlomo . Scharfstein . Ben-Ami . Interpretation in Religion . 14 December 2023 . BRILL . 978-90-04-45155-1 . 220 . en.
10. Book: Akhtar . Shabbir . The Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam . 31 October 2007 . Routledge . 978-1-134-07255-2 . en.
11. Book: Ilyas . Mohammad . Astronomy of Islamic Times for the Twenty-first Century . 1988 . Mansell . 978-0-7201-1983-1 . 28 . en.
12. Karic . Enes . Time in the Qur'an: An Introductory Overview . American Journal of Islam and Society . 3 July 2023 . 40 . 1–2 . 172–212 . 10.35632/ajis.v39i3-4.3195 . en . 2690-3741. free .
13. Book: Burge . Stephen . Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik . 22 December 2015 . Routledge . 978-1-136-50474-7 . 160 . en.
14. Web site: Bowker . John . Ṣalāt . The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions . Oxford University Press . en . 10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001 . 1 January 2003. 978-0-19-280094-7 .
15. Web site: Glossary of Terms . 2024-10-05 . Al Islam . en.
16. Web site: True Islam - Number of Salat . 2024-10-05 . Quran-Islam.
17. Book: The Quran: A Reformist Translation . 2007 . Brainbow Press . 978-0-9796715-0-0 . Yüksel . Edip . United States of America . 509 . Shaiban . Layth Saleh al- . Schulte-Nafeh . Martha.
18. Web site: 10. How Can we Observe the Sala Prayers by Following the Quran Alone? - Edip-Layth - quranix.org . 2024-10-05 . quranix.org.
19. Web site: Different Types of Adhan Mohammad Zahid . 2024-10-05 . www.inkoffaith.com.
20. Web site: 2013-11-12 . Prayer (Salat): According to Five Islamic Schools of Law Part 1 . 2024-10-05 . www.al-islam.org . en.
21. Web site: 2015-04-10 . Times of the Prayer – Shaykh Muhammad al-'Arabi al-Qarawi . 2024-10-05 . en-US.