Salah times

(Redirected from Prayer times)
Salah times at Taipei Cultural Mosque in Taiwan.

Salah times refers to times when Muslims perform prayers (salah). The term is primarily used for the five daily prayers plus the Friday prayer. According to Muslim beliefs, the salat times were taught by Allah to Muhammad.

Prayer times are standard for Muslims in the world, especially the fard prayer times. They depend on the condition of the Sun and geography. There are varying opinions regarding the exact salah times, the schools of Islamic thought differing in minor details. All schools agree that any given prayer cannot be performed before its stipulated time.

Five daily prayers

The five daily prayers are obligatory (fard) and they are performed at times determined essentially by the position of the Sun in the sky. Hence, salah times vary at different locations on the Earth.

Fajr

Fajar begins at subh saadiq -- true dawn or morning twilight, when the morning light appears across the full width of the sky -- and ends at sunrise.

Dhuhr (midday)

The Dhuhr prayer starts after the sun passes its zenith, and lasts almost 20 min (approx) before Asr. It's better to say the salah in between 2 hours after the Azan has been announced from Mosque.

Shia (Jafari madhab) differs regarding end of dhuhr time. Per all major Jafari jusrists, end of dhuhr time is about 10 minutes before sunset, the time that belongs exclusively to asr prayer. Dhuhr and asr time overlaps, apart from first 5 minutes of dhuhr, which is exclusively delegated for it. Asr prayer cannot be offered before dhuhr in the dhuhr time...

Asr (afternoon)

The Asr prayer starts when the shadow of an object is the same length as the object itself (or, according to Hanafi fiqh, twice its length) plus the shadow length at Dhuhr, and lasts till sunset. Asr can be split into two sections; the preferred time is before the sun starts to turn orange, while the time of necessity is from when the sun turns orange until sunset.

Shia (Jafari madhab) differs regarding start of asr time. Per all major Jafari jusrists, start of asr time is about 5 minutes after the time of sun passing through zenith, that time belongs exclusively to dhuhr prayer. Time for dhuhr and asr prayers overlap, but the dhuhr prayer must be offered before asr, except the time about 10 minutes before sunset, which is delegated exclusively to asr. In the case that the mentioned time is reached, asr prayer should be offered first (ada - on time) and dhuhr (kada - make up, late) prayer should be offered after asr.

Maghrib (sunset)

The Maghrib prayer begins when the sun sets, and lasts till the red light has left the sky in the west.

Isha'a (night)

The Isha'a prayer starts when the red light is gone from the western sky, and lasts until the rise of the "white light" (fajar sadiq) in the east. The preferred time for Isha'a is before midnight, meaning halfway between sunset and sunrise.

Time calculation

Equation of time
Declination of the sun

To calculate prayer times two astronomical measures are necessary, the declination of the sun and the difference between clock time and sundial clock. This difference being the result of the eccentricity of the earth's orbit and the inclination of its axis, it is called the Equation of time. The declination of the sun is the angle between sun's rays and the equator plan.[1]

In addition to the above measures, to calculate prayer times for a specific location we need its spherical coordinates.[2]

In the following ${\displaystyle T_{Z}}$ is the time zone, and ${\displaystyle T_{E}}$ the time equation value. ${\displaystyle Lng}$ and ${\displaystyle L}$ are the Longitude and the Latitude of the considered point, respectively. ${\displaystyle D}$ denotes the Declination of the Sun for a given date.

An other important equation gives the time difference between when the sun hits its highest point in the sky (Dhuhr time) and any other angle ${\displaystyle \alpha }$, as follow: ${\displaystyle T(\alpha )={1 \over 15}\arccos \left({-\sin(\alpha )-\sin(L)*\sin(D) \over \cos(L)*\cos(D)}\right)}$

• Midday (Dhuhr) time is easily obtained. When the sun reaches the mid sky, time is given by: ${\displaystyle T_{Dhuhr}=12+T_{Z}-(Lng/15+T_{E})}$
• Sunrise (Chorok) and Sunset (Maghreb) time are given by ${\displaystyle T(0.833)}$, in fact it is the astronomical sunset/sunrise that occurs for ${\displaystyle \alpha =0}$. 0.833 is a slight correction that gives the actual time. So ${\displaystyle T_{Chorok}=T_{Dhuhr}-T(0.833)}$ and ${\displaystyle T_{Sunset}=T_{Dhuhr}+T(0.833)}$.

If we consider the elevation of the point we should add another correction to the constant ${\displaystyle 0.0347\times {\sqrt {h}}}$.

• For Fajr and Isha many conventions about the angle ${\displaystyle \alpha }$ exist. It is of 17 and 18 degrees respectively for Fadjr and Isha prayers according to the Muslim World League.
• For Asr time according to the majority of Muslim schools, including Shafi'i, Maliki, Ja'fari, and Hanbali, it is when the length of an object shadows became equal to its length plus the length of its shadow at noon. The Hanafi schools states that the time of Asr is when an object's shadow reaches two times the length of the object itself, plus the length of its shadow at noon. The time the shadow of an object reaches ${\displaystyle T}$ times its length is given by the equation: ${\displaystyle A(T)={1 \over 15}\arccos \left({\sin(\operatorname {arccot}(t+\tan(L-D)))-\sin(L)*\sin(D) \over \cos(L)*\cos(D)}\right)}$.
• It is called for the Maghrib prayer when the sun is completely folded behind the horizon, plus 3 minutes by precaution.

Technological advances have allowed for products such as software-enhanced azan clocks that use a combination of GPS and microchips to calculate these formulas. This allows Muslims to live further away from mosques than previously possible, as they no longer need to rely solely on a muezzin in order to keep an accurate prayer schedule.[3]

Friday prayer

The Friday prayer replaces the dhuhr prayer performed on the other six days of the week. The precise time for this congregational prayer varies with the mosque, but in all cases it must be performed after the dhuhr and before the asr times. If one is unable to join the congregation, then they must pray the dhuhr prayer instead. This salah is compulsory to be done with ja'maat for men. Women have the option to perform Jumm'ah in the mosque or to pray zuhr

Other salah

Taraweeh

Also known as Salat Qiyam Allayl,[4] this Salat is considered a Nafilah (not Fard) and is performed during the month of Ramadan. The prayer is performed after Isha (night) prayer, usually in congregation. Eight to twenty Rakaat are typically performed, however, a short reset is taken after two Rakat.

Salatul Janazah

Salat-e-Janaza or Namaze Janaza ( Funeral prayer )

The Muslims of the community gather to offer their collective prayers for the forgiveness of the dead. This prayer has been generally termed as the Namaze Janaza.The prayer is offered in a particular way with extra (four)Takbirs but there is no Ruku ( bowing ) and Sijdah (prostrating) It becomes obligatory for every Muslim adult male to perform the funeral prayer upon the death of any Muslim, however when it is performed by the few it will not be obligation for all.

Women also can attend the prayer

Method of Namaze Janaza

Intention : ( Niyyat)

I intend to offer for Allah, four takbirs of funeral salah, with my praise for Allah and darood for Rasullah and prayer for this deceased person. I adopt Imam as leader and I face towards Kaba..

The Imam makes the same intention (Niyyat).

1. The prayer begins with first takbir of Allaho Akbar by Imam, [The Imam must say all the takbeer aloud whereas the muqtadee (followers) must repeat them silently.

When first takbir is said by Imam the followers should repeat the takbir silently and lift both the hand up to the ears, palm facing Qibla and keep the hands under the navel, right hand on top of left. Then recite sana with addition of one word :

سُبْحَانَكَ اَّللُهَّم َوِبحَمْدِكَ وَ تَبَاْرَكَ اسْمُكَ َوتَعَالَئ جَدُّكَ وَجَلَّ َثَناءٌكَ وَلَااِلَه غَيْرُكَ

Transliteration :

Subhana kalla humma, wabe hamdeka, wata baara kasmoka, wata aalaa jaddoka, wa jalla sanaoka,wala ilaha gairoka.

Translation :

Glory be to You Oh Allah, and praise be to You, and blessed is Your name, and exalted is Your Majesty, and there is none to be served besides You.

2. The Imam Say the second takbir of Allaho Akbar,which is followed by the followers, this time no need of raising the hands and then recite both the Durood Sharif

اَلَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى ُمحَمَّدِ ُّوعَلَى اَلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى اِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلَى

اَلِ اَِبْرَاهِيْمَ اِنَّكَ حَمِيْدُ مَجِيِدْ

Transliteration :

Allah humma salle ala Mohammadiun wa ala aale Mohammadin kama sallaita ala Ibrahima wa ala aale Ibrahima innaka Hamidum Majeed.

Translation:

O Allah! send grace and honor on Mohammad and on the family and true followers of Mohammad just as you sent Grace and Honor on Ibrahim and on the family and his true followers. Surely, you are praiseworthy, the Great."

اَلَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمّدِ ٌوعَلَى اَلِ مُحَمّدٍ

كَمَابَارَكْتَ عَلَى اِبْرََاهِيْمَ وَعَلَى اَلِ اِبْرَاهِيْمَم اِنَّكَ حَمِيُد مَّجِيدْ

Transliteration :

Allah humma Barik ala Mohammadiun wa ala aale Mohammadin kama baarakta ala Ibrahima wa ala aale Ibrahima innaka Hamidum Majeed.

Tranaslation:

"Oh Allah, send your blessing on Mohammad and the true followers of Mohammad just as you sent blessings on Ibrahim and his true followers. Surely you are praiseworthy, the Great."

3. The Imam Say Allaho Akbar, as the third takbir and is followed by the followers in the same way as it was done at the time of second takbir and then recite following dua silently

Transliteration

Allah hummag fir le hayyena, wa mayyetena, wa shaaedena, wa gaaebena, wa sagheerena, wa kabirena, wa zakarena, wa unsana, Allah humma man aah yaiytahu, minna fa aah yehi alal Islam .Waman tawaf faiytahu minna fata waffahu alal Iman. Translation :

Oh Allah! Forgive those of us who are alive and those of us who are dead; those of us who are present and those of us who are absent; those of us who are young and those of us who are adults; our males and our females. OAllah! Whomsoever You keep alive, let him live as a follower of Islam and whomsoever You cause to die, let him die as a Believer.

The Imam say the takbir of Allaho Akbar, as the fourth takbir, the followers also repeat the same silently and then salutation on right and then left.

السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ

This ends the Namaze Janaza for adults.

If the dead person is a minor, the funeral Dua is different for the male and different for the female:

Up to 3rd Takbir the Namaz is same, thereafter the dua is different :

Dua for male child is as under :

Transliteration :

Allahummaj alho lana faratau waj alho lana ajrau wa zukhrau waj alho lana shafe au wa Mushaffa an.

Translation :

Oh! Allah, make him (this child) for our means of preservation and make him a source of reward and treasure for us and make him a pleader for us and one whose pleading is accepted.

Dua for Female child is as under :

Transliteration :

Allahummaj alha lana faratau waj alha lana ajrau wa zukhrau waj alha lana shafe au wa Mushaffa an .

Translation :

Oh! Allah, make her (this child) for our means of preservation and make her a source of reward and treasure for us and make her a pleader for us and one whose pleading is accepted.

Request to remember me in your prays Muhammad Asim Rana- Jazak Allah