The 5 prayers of Islam: names, times and rakats

Sources

Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.

1. 1

   In the account of the Ascension narrated by Abu Dhar, the Prophet reports that Allah enjoined fifty prayers on his community, that Musa advised him to return and ask for a reduction, and that Allah then said these are five prayers, carrying the reward of fifty.

   Sahih al-Bukhari 349 Book 8, Hadith 1

   Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari

2. 2

   Sahih Muslim 612d sets out the five windows. Fajr begins at the appearance of dawn and lasts while the sun has not risen. Dhuhr begins when the sun passes the meridian and a man's shadow is the same length as his height, and lasts while Asr has not come. Asr lasts while the sun has not turned yellow. Maghrib lasts while the twilight has not ended. Isha lasts up to the middle of the average night.

   Sahih Muslim 612d Book 5, Hadith 222

   Authentic: in Sahih Muslim

3. 3

   Talhah reports the Prophet naming five prayers a day and night as the obligation.

   Sahih al-Bukhari 46 Book 2, Hadith 39

   Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari

4. 4

   Ibn 'Umar memorised ten rak'ahs from the Prophet: two before and two after Zuhr, two after Maghrib in his house, two after Isha in his house, and two before Fajr.

   Sahih al-Bukhari 1180 Book 19, Hadith 58

   Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari

5. 5

   Ibn 'Umar reported the Prophet saying that Islam is built on five: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, giving zakat, Hajj and fasting in Ramadan.

   Sahih al-Bukhari 8 Book 2, Hadith 1

   Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari

6. 6

   Al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm, Kitab al-Salah, 'Adad al-salawat al-khams: the general body of Muslims handed down the count of each prayer: Zuhr four rak'ahs with no aloud recitation, Asr four with no aloud recitation, Maghrib three (aloud in two, quiet in the third), Isha four (aloud in two, quiet in two) and Subh (Fajr) two, aloud in both.

   Kitab al-Umm, Kitab al-Salah, chapter 'Adad al-salawat al-khams, Chapter 'Adad al-salawat al-khams, as on ar.wikisource.org (Kitab al-Umm)

7. 7

   Al-Kasani's Bada'i' al-Sana'i' (Hanafi), chapter on the number of rak'ahs of these prayers: for a resident the five prayers come to seventeen rak'ahs, two, four, four, three and four, known from the Prophet's practice and his saying 'Pray as you have seen me pray'; for a traveller, in the Hanafi view, they come to eleven: two, two, two, three and two.

   Bada'i' al-Sana'i' fi Tartib al-Shara'i', Kitab al-Salah, Fasl 'adad raka'at hadhihi al-salawat, 1/91 (as on shamela.ws, book 8183, page id 90; print not checked)

8. 8

   Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's al-Risalah (Maliki), Bab sifat al-'amal fi al-salawat al-mafrudah, describes Subh as two rak'ahs (a second rak'ah like the first, then the sitting, the tashahhud and the salam), Dhuhr as a first and second rak'ah with the Fatihah and a surah and a last two (al-akhiratayn) with the Fatihah alone, Asr as done like Dhuhr, Maghrib as a first two recited aloud and a third with the Fatihah only, and Isha as a first two recited aloud and a last two with the Fatihah in a low voice.

   al-Risalah, Bab sifat al-'amal fi al-salawat al-mafrudah wa ma yattasilu biha min al-nawafil wa al-sunan, pp. 28 to 30 (Subh) and pp. 32 to 33 (Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha) (as on shamela.ws, book 11373, page ids 32, 33, 34, 36 and 37; print not checked)

9. 9

   Al-Buhuti's Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali), Bab sujud al-sahw: an added rak'ah is one such as a third in Subh, a fourth in Maghrib, or a fifth in Dhuhr, Asr or Isha; the worshipper who stands for it breaks it off and sits as soon as he remembers.

   Kashshaf al-Qina' 'an Matn al-Iqna', Bab Sujud al-Sahw, 1/395 (Musayhili edition as on shamela.ws, book 21642, page id 388; print not checked)

10. 10

    Mujir al-Din al-'Ulaymi's Fath al-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Quran (a Hanbali Quran commentary), on Ar-Rum 30:18: the imams agree that the obligatory prayers in a day and night are five and that they come to seventeen rak'ahs, listed as Dhuhr four, Asr four, Maghrib three, Isha four and Fajr two; and his introduction says that where he writes 'by agreement' he means the agreement of the four imams, Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad.

    Fath al-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Quran, commentary on Ar-Rum 30:17 to 30:18; introduction of the author (Muqaddimat al-Musannif), Counts: vol. 5, p. 276 (shamela.ws book 14404, page id 2526, header 'ج5 - ص276'). Introduction: vol. 1, p. 5 (page id 69, header 'ج1 - ص5', Muqaddimat al-Musannif); print not checked

11. 11

    Al-Marghinani (Hanafi), in al-Hidayah: Zuhr's time ends, for Abu Hanifa, when everything's shadow is twice its length apart from the shadow at the sun's turning (fay' al-zawal); his two companions say when it equals its length, which is also a report from Abu Hanifa. Asr begins when Zuhr's time ends, on both views, and lasts until sunset. Delaying Asr is recommended while the sun has not changed, and delaying it until it changes is disliked.

    al-Hidayah Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi, Bab al-Mawaqit and the fasl after it, al-Hidayah 1/40 and 1/41 (shamela.ws book 11820, page ids 46 and 48)

12. 12

    Al-Marghinani (Hanafi), in al-Hidayah: the twilight that ends Maghrib is, for Abu Hanifa, the white in the horizon after the red; for his two companions (Abu Yusuf and Muhammad) it is the red. The text also says the red view is reported from Abu Hanifa.

    al-Hidayah Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi, Bab al-Mawaqit, al-Hidayah, Bab al-Mawaqit, shamela.ws book 11820, page id 46 (printed 1/40, as in scholarly-asr-time-hanafi-hidayah)

13. 13

    Al-Shurunbulali (Hanafi), in Maraqi al-Falah: Maghrib lasts until the red twilight goes on the position used for fatwa, and Isha and witr run from then until just before true dawn; delaying Isha to the first third of the night is recommended, to half is permitted (in winter, citing Majma' al-Riwayat), and beyond half is disliked (makruh tahriman).

    Maraqi al-Falah Sharh Nur al-Idah, Kitab al-Salah (times), Maraqi al-Falah, printed pp. 72, 73 and 75 (shamela.ws book 412, page ids 80, 81 and 83)

14. 14

    Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (Maliki), in al-Risalah: Zuhr's time ends when everything's shadow equals its length after the midday shadow; Asr begins at the end of Zuhr's time and ends when the shadow is twice its length after the midday shadow; what Malik described is that its time lasts while the sun has not turned yellow.

    al-Risalah, Bab fi awqat al-salah wa asma'iha, al-Risalah p. 24 (shamela.ws book 11373, page id 26)

15. 15

    Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (Maliki), in al-Kafi: Isha begins when the red twilight has gone; its chosen time lasts to a third of the night (Malik's view; another view: half); whoever prays it before dawn has prayed it in its time according to Malik, though that is disliked for him.

    al-Kafi fi Fiqh Ahl al-Madinah, Bab Mawaqit al-Salah, al-Kafi 1/190 and 1/191 (Maktabat al-Riyad al-Haditha, 2nd ed., 1400 AH; shamela.ws book 7367, page ids 60 and 61)

16. 16

    Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in Minhaj al-Talibin: Zuhr's time runs from the sun's turning until something's shadow equals it apart from the shadow at the sun's zenith, which is the start of Asr; Asr lasts until sunset, and the preferred choice (ikhtiyar) is not to delay it past the point where the shadow is twice.

    Minhaj al-Talibin wa 'Umdat al-Muftin, Kitab al-Salah, Minhaj al-Talibin p. 21 (Dar al-Fikr; shamela.ws book 12096, page id 21)

17. 17

    Al-Nawawi (Shafi'i), in al-Majmu': Isha begins when the red twilight has gone; its chosen time (waqt al-ikhtiyar) ends at a third of the night on the view he calls chosen (the other well-known view: half); after that the permissible time (waqt al-jawaz) remains until true dawn, which is the school's position; al-Istakhri held that it then becomes a make-up (qada').

    al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, Bab Mawaqit al-Salah, al-Majmu' 3/38 to 3/40 (al-Muniriyya edition; shamela.ws book 2186, page ids 1168, 1169 and 1170)

18. 18

    Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali), in al-Mughni: Asr's time begins at the slightest increase of the shadow over its length, joined to Zuhr's time; the preferred time ends when the shadow is twice its length in one report from Ahmad, or while the sun has not turned yellow in the report Ibn Qudamah calls sounder; delaying Asr past the preferred time without an excuse is not permitted.

    al-Mughni, explaining al-Khiraqi's Mukhtasar, Kitab al-Salah, masa'il 519 to 521, al-Mughni 1/272 to 1/273 (Maktabat al-Qahira; shamela.ws book 8463, page ids 270 and 271)

19. 19

    Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali), in al-Mughni: Isha begins when the red twilight has gone (where the horizon is hidden, one waits for the white to go as a sign of the red); reports from Ahmad differ on the end of the chosen time (a third of the night, or half); Ibn Qudamah: better not to delay beyond a third, delaying to half is permitted, and after half is a time of necessity until true dawn.

    al-Mughni, Kitab al-Salah (times), on al-Khiraqi's Mukhtasar, al-Mughni 1/273 and 1/277 to 1/279 (Maktabat al-Qahira; shamela.ws book 8463, page ids 271, 275, 276 and 277)

Quran text: the Tanzil Project (CC BY 3.0), reproduced verbatim. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930).