Fajr (prayer) explained

Holiday Name:fajr prayer
Type:Islam
Official Name:صلاة الفجر، صلاة الصبح، صلاة الغداة
Observedby:Muslims
Significance:Morning prayer
Begins:Dawn
Ends:Sunrise
Frequency:Daily

The fajr prayer, alternatively transliterated as fadjr prayer, and also known as the subh prayer, is one of the five daily mandatory Islamic prayers (salah). Consisting of two rak'a ("bows"), 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]

History and significance

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Muslims begin fasting with the fajr prayer.

Fajr is mentioned twice in the Qur'an. The verse in which Muhammad is commanded to recite at dawn (11:114)[5] is taken as foundational for prescribing the times for prayer.[6]

In Qur'an 17:78, dawn is one of the three times that prayer is to be performed.[7] 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.[8]

Salat al-duha replaced fajr as the morning prayer when the five prayers were standardized.[9]

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.[10]

In fajr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read aloud (jahr), as during Maghrib and Isha.[11] It is commonly performed silently when waking up in the morning.[12]

The prayer includes wudu (ritual purification) and salat (ritual prayer).[13]

Timings

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

School Start time End time
Ahmadi Islamdawn [15] a few minutes before sunrise
Quranist Islamdawn[16] [17] [18] sunrise
Shia Islamtrue 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 in chronological order following the fajr prayer: Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

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. Book: Akhtar . Shabbir . The Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam . 31 October 2007 . Routledge . 978-1-134-07255-2 . en.
  6. Book: Ilyas . Mohammad . Astronomy of Islamic Times for the Twenty-first Century . 1988 . Mansell . 978-0-7201-1983-1 . 28 . en.
  7. 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 .
  8. 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.
  9. Book: Biderman . Shlomo . Scharfstein . Ben-Ami . Interpretation in Religion . 14 December 2023 . BRILL . 978-90-04-45155-1 . 220 . en.
  10. 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.
  11. Book: Monnot, Guy . . 1995 . . 9004098348 . New . VIII . . 928 . en.
  12. Book: Glassé . Cyril . The new encyclopedia of Islam . 2001 . Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press . 978-0-7591-0189-0 . 396 .
  13. Book: Farneth . Molly . The Politics of Ritual . The Politics of Ritual . 2023 . Princeton University Press . 978-0-691-19892-7 . 25 . A Social Practical Account of Rituals . 10.2307/j.ctv2wr4wbd.5 . j.ctv2wr4wbd.5 . https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2wr4wbd.5.
  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.

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