As per Quranic dictates it's obligatory for every believer to offer salaat five times a day, and not just three times as wrongly propagated by groups, primarily for the purpose of convenience.
Surprising as it may seem, there are many Muslims who aren't even aware that the Glorious Quran mentions all five prayer timings.
Kindly check the following verses of the Quran on information of the five prayers. Quranic expressions as "celebrate the praise of thy Lord" and "Unto Him be praise" etc. are references to commandments of worshipping Allah.
(1) Dohr and Maghrib prayers are instructed in Verses 11:114, and references to Fajr and Isha in V. 24:58.
"Establish worship at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful." (11:114)
"O ye who believe! Let your slaves, and those of you who have not come to puberty, ask leave of you at three times (before they come into your presence): Before THE PRAYER OF THE DAWN, and when ye lay aside your raiment for the heat of noon, and after THE PRAYER OF THE NIGHT. Three times of privacy for you. It is no sin for them or for you at other times, when some of you go round attendant upon others (if they come into your presence without leave). Thus Allah maketh clear the revelations for you. Allah is Knower, Wise." (24:58)
Please note, "two ends of the day" in verse 11:114 refers to Fajr and Maghrib prayers.
In verse 24:58, the terms "prayer of dawn" and "prayer of night" that is, Fajr and Isha, are directly stated.
(2) The Noon Prayer (Dohr), given in 30:18
"Unto Him be praise in the heavens and the earth! - and at the sun's decline and IN THE NOONDAY. (30:18)
"in the nooday" refers to Dohr prayer, that is, noon time prayer or early afternoon prayer.
(3) The Afternoon Prayer (Asr), given in 2:238
"Be guardians of your prayers, and of the MIDMOST PRAYER, and stand up with devotion to Allah. (2:238)"
"midmost prayer" in 2:238 is the Asr prayer which comes later in the afternoon. Being the third prayer of the five, it is in the center of the five prayers.
(4) The sunset Prayer (Maghrib), given in 11:114 and 17:78
"Establish worship at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful." (11:114)
"Establish worship at the GOING DOWN OF THE SUN UNTIL THE DARK OF NIGHT, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed." (17:78)
As already mentioned, in 11:114 "two ends of the day" refer to Dohr and Maghrib prayers.
In 17:78, "going down of the sun until the dark of night" is the time after sunset till it turns completely dark .. precisely the time for Maghrib prayers. Very simple.
(5) The Night Prayer (Isha), given in 24:58
"O ye who believe! Let your slaves, and those of you who have not come to puberty, ask leave of you at three times (before they come into your presence): Before the prayer of dawn, and when ye lay aside your raiment for the heat of noon, and after THE PRAYER OF NIGHT. Three times of privacy for you. It is no sin for them or for you at other times, when some of you go round attendant upon others (if they come into your presence without leave). Thus Allah maketh clear the revelations for you. Allah is Knower, Wise." (24:58)
As stated earlier, "the prayer of night" is a direct reference to Isha or night prayers, when night has full taken place at least an hour after sunset or Maghrib prayers.
MENTION OF ALL FIVE PRAYERS IN A SINGLE VERSE
Verse 20:130 (Surah Ta-Ha) consists of references to all 5 prayers.
"Therefor (O Muhammad), bear with what they say, and celebrate the praise of thy Lord ere THE RISING OF THE SUN AND ERE THE GOING DOWN THEREOF. And glorify Him SOME HOURS OF THE NIGHT and at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY, that thou mayst find acceptance." (20:130)
"ere rising of the sun" = Fajr
"ere going down thereof" = Asr
"some hours of the night" = Isha, can also include Tahajjud
"two ends of the day" = Dohr and Maghrib
Thus, it's obligatory for every Muslim to offer salaat five times a day. Only in unusual and difficult circumstances, certain prayers can be combined together. Dohr and Asr prayers are sometimes offered together. Maghrib and Isha are also grouped together. However, this is to be done only in extraordinary situations and NOT to be made a practice for the sake of convenience. The purpose of offering prayers five times daily is to distribute our love and remembrance of Allah throughout every single day with a proper balance. Therefore, Allah says "Worship at fixed times hath been enjoined on the believers." (4:103) Mark the words "fixed times."
There are several more verses in the Glorious Quran that mention the times allocated to the five different prayers throughout every single day. The verses quoted above are a few out of many more.
Surprising as it may seem, there are many Muslims who aren't even aware that the Glorious Quran mentions all five prayer timings.
Kindly check the following verses of the Quran on information of the five prayers. Quranic expressions as "celebrate the praise of thy Lord" and "Unto Him be praise" etc. are references to commandments of worshipping Allah.
(1) Dohr and Maghrib prayers are instructed in Verses 11:114, and references to Fajr and Isha in V. 24:58.
"Establish worship at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful." (11:114)
"O ye who believe! Let your slaves, and those of you who have not come to puberty, ask leave of you at three times (before they come into your presence): Before THE PRAYER OF THE DAWN, and when ye lay aside your raiment for the heat of noon, and after THE PRAYER OF THE NIGHT. Three times of privacy for you. It is no sin for them or for you at other times, when some of you go round attendant upon others (if they come into your presence without leave). Thus Allah maketh clear the revelations for you. Allah is Knower, Wise." (24:58)
Please note, "two ends of the day" in verse 11:114 refers to Fajr and Maghrib prayers.
In verse 24:58, the terms "prayer of dawn" and "prayer of night" that is, Fajr and Isha, are directly stated.
(2) The Noon Prayer (Dohr), given in 30:18
"Unto Him be praise in the heavens and the earth! - and at the sun's decline and IN THE NOONDAY. (30:18)
"in the nooday" refers to Dohr prayer, that is, noon time prayer or early afternoon prayer.
(3) The Afternoon Prayer (Asr), given in 2:238
"Be guardians of your prayers, and of the MIDMOST PRAYER, and stand up with devotion to Allah. (2:238)"
"midmost prayer" in 2:238 is the Asr prayer which comes later in the afternoon. Being the third prayer of the five, it is in the center of the five prayers.
(4) The sunset Prayer (Maghrib), given in 11:114 and 17:78
"Establish worship at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful." (11:114)
"Establish worship at the GOING DOWN OF THE SUN UNTIL THE DARK OF NIGHT, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed." (17:78)
As already mentioned, in 11:114 "two ends of the day" refer to Dohr and Maghrib prayers.
In 17:78, "going down of the sun until the dark of night" is the time after sunset till it turns completely dark .. precisely the time for Maghrib prayers. Very simple.
(5) The Night Prayer (Isha), given in 24:58
"O ye who believe! Let your slaves, and those of you who have not come to puberty, ask leave of you at three times (before they come into your presence): Before the prayer of dawn, and when ye lay aside your raiment for the heat of noon, and after THE PRAYER OF NIGHT. Three times of privacy for you. It is no sin for them or for you at other times, when some of you go round attendant upon others (if they come into your presence without leave). Thus Allah maketh clear the revelations for you. Allah is Knower, Wise." (24:58)
As stated earlier, "the prayer of night" is a direct reference to Isha or night prayers, when night has full taken place at least an hour after sunset or Maghrib prayers.
MENTION OF ALL FIVE PRAYERS IN A SINGLE VERSE
Verse 20:130 (Surah Ta-Ha) consists of references to all 5 prayers.
"Therefor (O Muhammad), bear with what they say, and celebrate the praise of thy Lord ere THE RISING OF THE SUN AND ERE THE GOING DOWN THEREOF. And glorify Him SOME HOURS OF THE NIGHT and at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY, that thou mayst find acceptance." (20:130)
"ere rising of the sun" = Fajr
"ere going down thereof" = Asr
"some hours of the night" = Isha, can also include Tahajjud
"two ends of the day" = Dohr and Maghrib
Thus, it's obligatory for every Muslim to offer salaat five times a day. Only in unusual and difficult circumstances, certain prayers can be combined together. Dohr and Asr prayers are sometimes offered together. Maghrib and Isha are also grouped together. However, this is to be done only in extraordinary situations and NOT to be made a practice for the sake of convenience. The purpose of offering prayers five times daily is to distribute our love and remembrance of Allah throughout every single day with a proper balance. Therefore, Allah says "Worship at fixed times hath been enjoined on the believers." (4:103) Mark the words "fixed times."
There are several more verses in the Glorious Quran that mention the times allocated to the five different prayers throughout every single day. The verses quoted above are a few out of many more.
Asak Zainab,
ReplyDeleteQutoing u from above..."Please note, "two ends of the day" in verse 11:114 refers to Fajr and Maghrib prayers"....."As already mentioned, in 11:114 "two ends of the day" refer to Fajr and Maghrib prayers"...
"MENTION OF ALL FIVE PRAYERS IN A SINGLE VERSE
Verse 20:130 (Surah Ta-Ha) consists of references to all 5 prayers.
"Therefor (O Muhammad), bear with what they say, and celebrate the praise of thy Lord ere THE RISING OF THE SUN AND ERE THE GOING DOWN THEREOF. And glorify Him SOME HOURS OF THE NIGHT and at the TWO ENDS OF THE DAY, that thou mayst find acceptance." (20:130)
"rising of the sun" = Fajr
"going down thereof" = Maghrib
"some hours of the night" = Isha, can also include Tahajjud
"two ends of the day" = Dohr and Asr"
I feel u looks to be confused answering this, twice u said Two ends of the day are Fajr and Maghrib, and again u said Zuhr and Asr...
when u urself are confuse, how can u try to teach and guide other
Allah aapki hidayath kare
Walaikum Salaam, Abuzar. Thanks for your comment. No, I'm not confused. My blog takes info directly from the Quran. Thus, as you can see I'm trying to confirm each of the 5 prayers, step by step - Fajr, Dohr, Asr, Mahgrib and Isha - by references to the respective timings in the Quran for the 5 prayers. However, as you might have noticed, many verses contain references or timings of more than one prayer. For example Verse 11:114 contains references / timings of Fajr as well as Maghrib salaat. Thus, I have quoted Verse 11:114 as an evidence for the timing of Fajr prayer and then I have also quoted the same Verse as proof for the timing for the Maghrib prayer in the respective sections or paragraphs. Similarly, based on the same principle, a few other verses might have also been repeated. But you have to concentrate which salaat is being discussed in that the specific paragraph you are reading, not the repetition of the verses. Repetition of verses in a topic like this is unavoidable unless I break up the verse and quote half of it, which in this case would not be advisable.
ReplyDeleteAslam-o-Alaikum
ReplyDeleteu have explained verse 130/20. it is submitted that u r interpreting second prayer as Maghrib whereas the said ayat goes as ....... qabal taloh al shams wa qabal ghroobiha.... it means Asar Prayer not Maghrib prayer as u interpreted.plz look into it
Walaikum Salaam.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. Absolutely right.
Verse 20:130 "wasabbiḥ biḥamdi rabbika qabla ṭulūʿi l-shamsi waqabla ghurūbihā"
In the English translation I overlooked the word "ere" and thus the error. My apology and thanks for the correction.
It should read as:
"ere rising of the sun" = Fajr
"ere going down thereof" = Asr
"some hours of the night" = Isha
"two ends of the day" = Dohr and Maghrib
Salaam,
ReplyDeleteThere is still a problem, The "prayer" at the first end of the day is Fajr, not Dohr (as you yourselve stated before from 11:114).
Dohr is not at an end of the day, it is right about in the middle.
Can you see this contradiction in your interpretation?
BTW I'm not sure myselve about the number of "prayers" and the exact method of "prayer".
I'm not even sure if the word "prayer" is a correct translation of the Arabic word "as-salaat".
That the God may guide us.
Peace.
Walaikum As-Salaam.
DeleteConcerning V.11:114, I just made the correction. Though what you suggested wasn't right, it helped me to trace my error. Two ends of the day are Dohr and Maghrib, not Fajr and Maghrib which was an oversight on my part. Sorry about that.
Prayer at "first end of the day" is not Fajr as you mentioned. It's Dohr. Fajr (or dawn) prayer or salaat is ere rising of the sun, that is, before the first rays of the sun begin to appear. This hour cannot be referred to as daylight. The first prayer of daylight is Dohr. Thus, prayers at the two ends of the day can be described as eitehr Dohr and Maghrib or Dohr and Asr. Both can be correct, depending on how it's specified in every Verse. E.g. In V.11:114 two ends of the day can be interpreted as either Dohr and Asr or Dohr and Maghrib. In V.17:78 it's specifically Maghrib. In V.2:238 it's specifically Asr. Then in V.20:130 "two ends of the day" refer to Dohr and Maghrib because Asr is already stated earlier in the same Verse as "ere the going down thereof" referring to the prayer before sunset or Maghrib.
All five prayers are very definitely stated in the Noble Quran, crystal clear. Quranic expressions such as hymn the praise of Allah and celebrate His praise allude to remembrance of Allah, that is, prayer. Other Quranic expressions such as "Be guardians of your prayer" and "Establish worship" are direct commandments to offering prayers. And the Divine assertion in V.4:130 is absolutely self-explanatory stating "Worship at fixed times hath been enjoined on the believers."
I'm sorry, but I can not agree that Dohr is at the first END of the day. "First END" of the day means that it must be at the very beginning of the day. Like I stated before, Dohr is right about in the MIDDLE of the day (with the sun at its highest position). MIDDLE is between two ENDS, it can't be at an end.
DeleteI have the impression that you are trying to make things fit to your beliefs, as do some people I'm sure you do not agree with. Again, I'm not sure about the number of prayers in a day (it could be 5), but one must be open minded to be able to find the Truth.
That the God may guide us.
I'm also sorry but I don't agree with you.
DeleteFirstly the word "day" in terms of English language and in terms of rotation of the earth are two different aspects. Secondly, start of the day in terms of prayers or simply the total number of hours are again two very different things. Concerning the latter, in Islam the transition begins at Fajr or pre-dawn. According to secular calculation the transition is at 12.01 a.m. In both cases, these are the moments when the date changes. In both cases, the atmosphere is pitch dark at this time. Daybreak begins when the first rays of light brighten the atmosphere (i.e. daylight). That's the start of daybreak. However, in Islam, that is not the time for any prescribed prayers unless one is offering qaza (which can be offered any time). Hence to claim that Fajr is the "first end of a day" means alluding Fajr as daybreak whereas Fajr is pre-dawn which is more than an hour prior to the commencement of daybreak. After daybreak begins, the first prayer is in early afternoon. So, when God Almighty says to establish prayers at 2 ends of day, the first end is definitely Dohr and the second end, as Sister Zainab mentioned, can either be Asr or Maghrib. However, I would take it as Dohr and Asr since the time for Maghrib prayer has already been described in various Verses as after the going down of the sun. Similarly time for offering Fajr prayer has been categorically stated in several Verses as before the rising of the sun. There ought to be no confusion about Isha which is very clearly referred as night prayer. None of these 3 prayers are during the day which refers to daylight. That only leaves Dohr and Asr as the prayers to be offered at two ends of daylight.
If you are still not sure of the number of prayers in a day as stated in the Noble Quran, then I get the "impression that you are trying to make things fit to your beliefs" which is none of my business as only you will have to answer for it to God Almighty.
Goodbye and have a nice day.
Very well elucidated Br. Najaf, Sister Zainab. I think this "anonymous" has exhausted all his rickety arguments and now just wants to fight. I'll be moderating tomorrow, InshAllah, and his future comments (if they go on the same line) will be deleted.
DeleteSalaams and many thanks Heba and Najaf.
Delete@Heba, yes by all means trash them if they contain no substance other than the usual combative spirit.
So just to be clear, the day starts at Dohr and ends at Asr?
ReplyDeleteMaybe, but only in the mind of an idiot like you.
DeleteFor clarification read Najaf's articulation.
Comments closing as discussion from author's side has covered all points.