The Importance of the prayer times
The five prayers in Islam are called: Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. The schedule for these five prayers varies from place to another and from day to another. It is obligatory for Muslims to know these hours to perform their prayers at the correct time.
Prayer times for any given location on earth are determined mathematically if the latitude and longitude locations are known. However, the theoretical determination of prayer times is a lengthy process. Much of this trouble can be mitigated by using computer programs.
Definition of prayer times
- Fajr begins at dawn or the morning dusk and ends just before the sunrise.
- Zuhr begins in the afternoon when the moving limb of the sun has passed the meridian. For convenience in many prayer times, five minutes is added to midday (zuhr) for the start of Zuhr. Zuhr ends at the start of Asr.
- According to the Hanafi School, Asr begins when the length of the shadow is equal to two times the length of the object more shade at noon. And according to the Shafii school, Asr begins when the length of the shadow is equal to the length of the object more shade at noon. The Asr ends before sunset.
- Maghrib begins at sunset and ends at the beginning of Isha.
- Isha begins after nightfall when the evening twilight disappears.
Written by: Ali Youssef
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