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The five prayers each have a fixed window, and entering the time is a condition for the prayer being obligatory and valid — it is neither due nor accepted before its time begins. The windows run from the sun's decline at noon to the middle of the night, then from true dawn to sunrise. Within each window the scholars distinguish a preferred time, a time of choice, and a time of necessity for those with an excuse.
The five windows
The timings below are given by Shaykh Muhammad al-Tuwayjiri in Mukhtasar al-Fiqh al-Islami and by Shaykh Khalid al-Mushayqih in al-Mukhtasar fi Fiqh al-'Ibadat, and they match the ruling of the Permanent Committee (fatwa 10973) and Shaykh Ibn Baz.
Dhuhr
It begins when the sun passes its zenith — zawal, the sun's decline from the middle of the sky — and ends when the shadow of a thing equals its own length, excluding the shadow cast at the moment of zenith. It is four rak'ahs. Praying it early is better, except in intense heat, when it is a sunnah to delay it and pray it in the cooler part of the day.
Asr
It begins when the shadow of a thing equals its length and runs until the sun turns yellow. The time of necessity for those with an excuse extends to sunset. It is four rak'ahs, and praying it early is a sunnah.
Maghrib
It begins at sunset and ends when the red twilight disappears. It is three rak'ahs, and praying it early is a sunnah.
Isha
It begins when the red twilight disappears and ends at the middle of the night; the time of necessity extends to the second dawn. It is four rak'ahs. Delaying it to the first third of the night is better if that is easy.
Fajr
It begins at the rising of the second dawn — the true dawn, the white light that spreads across the eastern horizon and is not followed by darkness — and ends at sunrise. It is two rak'ahs, and praying it early is a sunnah.
The three times within each window
Shaykh al-Mushayqih sets out that every prayer has three relevant times, and knowing them tells you when you are praying well and when you are praying only out of necessity.
| Time | What it means |
|---|---|
| Time of virtue | The first part of the window, for every prayer except Isha — delaying Isha to the last part of the time of choice is recommended |
| Time of choice | From the start of the window until the time of choice ends |
| Time of necessity | From the end of the time of choice to the end of the window — for Asr, Isha and Fajr |
Delaying a prayer into the time of necessity is not permitted except for a valid excuse — illness, sleep without negligence, unconsciousness, or the like. The time of choice for Asr ends when the shadow of a thing reaches twice its length; for Isha it ends at the middle of the night; for Fajr it ends when the day becomes bright.
The hadith the timings rest on
The Prophet ﷺ answered a man who asked him about the time of prayer by praying with him over two days, and the two days marked out the two ends of each window:
"The time of your prayer is between what you have seen."— Sahih Muslim 613, from Buraydah
The narration is reported by Muslim, and Ibn Baz cites it in the same form. A second hadith, from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, gives the same limits in words:
"The time of Dhuhr is when the sun declines and a man's shadow is the length of his height, so long as Asr has not come. The time of Asr is so long as the sun has not turned yellow. The time of Maghrib is so long as the twilight has not gone. The time of Isha is until the middle of the night. The time of Fajr is from the rising of the dawn so long as the sun has not risen."— Sahih Muslim 612, from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As
When the sun does not set
For lands where the day and night are distinguishable but the day is very long or very short, the five prayers are still prayed at their known times, because the texts do not differentiate between a long day and a short one so long as the times remain distinguishable by the signs the Prophet ﷺ set out. Where the sun does not set in summer or rise in winter at all — or where day and night each last six months — the people pray the five prayers within every twenty-four hours and estimate their times by the nearest land where the prayer times can be told apart. This is the ruling of the Permanent Committee and of the Council of Senior Scholars headed by Shaykh Ibn Baz.
Key takeaways
- Dhuhr runs from the sun's decline to when a shadow equals its own length; Asr from there to the sun turning yellow, with necessity to sunset.
- Maghrib runs from sunset to the loss of the red twilight; Isha from there to the middle of the night, with necessity to the second dawn.
- Fajr runs from the true dawn to sunrise.
- Entering the time is a condition for the prayer being obligatory and valid, so no prayer counts before its window opens.
- Delaying a prayer into the time of necessity is not allowed except for a valid excuse such as illness or blameless sleep.
Further reading
- Mukhtasar al-Fiqh al-Islami — Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tuwayjiri
- al-Mukhtasar fi Fiqh al-'Ibadat — Khalid al-Mushayqih
- Manar al-Qari Sharh Mukhtasar Sahih al-Bukhari — Hamzah Qasim
And Allah knows best.
Sources2
This is a guide to what the scholars have said, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar who can hear the details.