Salah times


Salat times refers to times when Muslims perform prayers. The term is primarily used for the five daily prayers including the Friday prayer, which is normally Dhuhr prayer but on Fridays it is obligated to be prayed in a group. 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 , the schools of Islamic thought differing in minor details. All schools of thought agree that any given prayer cannot be performed before its stipulated time.

Five daily prayers

The five daily prayers are obligatory and they are performed at times determined essentially by the position of the Sun in the sky. Hence, salat times vary at different locations on the Earth. Wudu is needed for all of the prayers.

Fajr (dawn)

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

Dhuhr (midday)

The time interval for offering the Zuhr or Dhuhr prayer starts after the sun passes its zenith and lasts until 20 min before the call for the Asr prayer is to be given. There is thus a long period of time within which this prayer can be offered, but people usually make their prayer within two hours after the Azan has been announced from Mosque. This prayer needs to be given in the middle of the work-day, and people normally make their prayers during their lunch break.
Shia differs regarding end of zuhr time. Per all major Jafari jurists, 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 zuhr in the zuhr time.

Asr (afternoon)

The Asr prayer starts when the shadow of an object is the same length as the object itself plus the shadow length at zuhr, 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 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 zuhr 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 and dhuhr prayer should be offered after asr.

Maghrib (sunset)

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

Isha (night)

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

Time calculation

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.
In addition to the above measures, to calculate prayer times for a specific location we need its spherical coordinates.
In the following is the time zone, and the time equation value. and are the Longitude and the Latitude of the considered point, respectively. denotes the Declination of the Sun for a given date.
Another important equation gives the time difference between when the sun hits its highest point in the sky and any other angle, as follow:
If we consider the elevation of the point we should add another correction to the constant.
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.

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 dhuhr and before asr times. If one is unable to join the congregation, then they must pray the dhuhr prayer instead. This salat 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 salat

Eid prayers

Eid-ul-Adhaa and Eid-ul-Fitr

Taraweeh

Also known as Salat Qiyam Allayl, this Salat is considered a Nafilah and is performed during the month of Ramadan. The prayer is performed after Isha prayer, in congregation. 20 Rakaat are typically performed; a short rest is taken after every four Rakaats. Word Taraweeh comes from tarviha, which means one time rahat ; the two time rahat is known as tarvihatain, which comes to eight Rakaats; the three or more times rahat is called taraveh as it comes to 12 or more Rakaats.

Salatul Janazah

Salat-e-Janaza or Namaze Janaza
The Muslims of the community gather to offer their collective prayers for forgiveness for the dead. This prayer has been generally termed as the Namaze Janaza. The prayer is offered in a particular way with extra Takbirs but there is no Ruku' and Sajdah. 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.