Fajr prayer

"Fajr" redirects here. For other uses, see Fajr (disambiguation).

The fajr prayer,^{[lower-alpha 1]} alternatively transliterated as fadjr prayer, and also known as the subh prayer,^{[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]} is a salah (ritual prayer) offered in the early morning. Consisting of two rak'a (units), it is performed between the break of dawn and sunrise.^[2][3] It is one of two prayers mentioned by name in the Qur'an.^[4][5] Due to its timing, Islamic belief holds the fajr prayer to be of great importance. During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Muslims begin fasting with the fajr prayer.

Fajr prayer
Official name	صلاة الفجر، صلاة الصبح، صلاة الغداة
Observed by	Muslims
Type	Islam
Significance	Morning prayer
Begins	Dawn
Ends	Sunrise
Frequency	Daily

Performance

The fajr prayer consists of two compulsory (fardh) units of prayer (rak'a). In addition, the voluntary sunnah prayer consists of two units of prayer and can be performed before the compulsory prayer.^[6]

In fajr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read aloud (jahr), as during Maghrib and Isha.^[7] It is commonly performed silently when waking up in the morning.^[8]

The prayer includes wudu (ritual purification) and salat (ritual prayer).^[9]

Fajr replaced salat al-duha as the morning prayer before the five prayers were standardized.^[10]

Textual references

Qur'an

Qur'an 11:114 commands Muhammad to recite at dawn. ^[11] This verse is taken as foundational for prescribing the times for prayer. ^[12]

In Qur'an 17:78, dawn is one of the three times that prayer is to be performed. ^[13] According to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's commentary on angels (Al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik), this verse describes the witnessing of dawn prayer by the angels of the day and the night.^[14]

The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the Isha prayer and the Fajr prayer. If only they knew what (reward) there is in them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.

Muhammad, narrated by Ibn Majah in Sunan Ibn Majah

Timings

The timings for the prayer are prescribed by the hadith.^[15]

School	Start time	End time
Ahmadi Islam	dawn [16]	a few minutes before sunrise [16]
Quranist Islam	dawn [17][18][19]	sunrise [17][18][19]
Shia Islam	true dawn[20]	sunrise [20]
Sunni Islam	"the true dawn" (al-fajr al-sadiq) The true dawn is indicated by a white line appearing across the horizon, in contrast to "the false dawn" (al-fajr al-kadhib) shortly before which appears as a vertical line.[21][20][1]	sunrise; in the Maliki school, until ifsar or until sunrise with a valid excuse [20][1]

See also

The other Islamic obligatory prayers, which are, in chronological order following the fajr prayer: Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

• Sunnah and nafl prayers – optional prayers performed by Muslims, some of which are performed before or after the obligatory prayers
• Shacharit – the Jewish morning prayer

Notes

1. Arabic: صَلَاةُ الْفَجْر, romanized: Ṣalāt al-Fajr
2. Arabic: صَلَاةُ الْصُبْح, romanized: Ṣalāt al-Ṣubḥ
3. Some Malikis do not use them interchangeably, referring to the two-rakat voluntary Sunnah prayer as "fajr" and the two-rakat mandatory fardh prayer as "Subh"^[1]

References

1. "Times of the Prayer – Shaykh Muhammad al-'Arabi al-Qarawi". 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
2. Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world. Internet Archive. New York : Macmillan Reference USA : Thomson/Gale. 2004. ISBN 978-0-02-865603-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
3. Glassé, Cyril (2001). The new encyclopedia of Islam. Internet Archive. Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0-7591-0189-0.
4. "Surah An-Nur - 58". Quran.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
5. "Surah Al-Isra - 78". Quran.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
6. sufyan (2011-07-05). "What Are the Confirmed Sunna and Non-Confirmed Sunna Prayers Associated With the Obligatory Prayers?". SeekersGuidance. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
7. Monnot, Guy (1995). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. VIII (New ed.). Leiden: Brill Publishers. p. 928. ISBN 9004098348.
8. Glassé, Cyril (2001). The new encyclopedia of Islam. Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-7591-0189-0.
9. Farneth, Molly (2023). "The Politics of Ritual". Princeton University Press. p. 25.
10. Biderman, Shlomo; Scharfstein, Ben-Ami (14 December 2023). Interpretation in Religion. BRILL. p. 220. ISBN 978-90-04-45155-1.
11. Akhtar, Shabbir (31 October 2007). The Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-07255-2.
12. Ilyas, Mohammad (1988). Astronomy of Islamic Times for the Twenty-first Century. Mansell. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7201-1983-1.
13. Karic, Enes (3 July 2023). "Time in the Qur'an: An Introductory Overview". American Journal of Islam and Society. 40 (1–2): 172–212. doi:10.35632/ajis.v39i3-4.3195. ISSN 2690-3741.
14. Burge, Stephen (22 December 2015). Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik. Routledge. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-136-50474-7.
15. Bowker, John (1 January 2003). "Ṣalāt". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-6273.
16. "Glossary of Terms". Al Islam. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
17. "True Islam - Number of Salat". Quran-Islam. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
18. Yüksel, Edip; Shaiban, Layth Saleh al-; Schulte-Nafeh, Martha, eds. (2007). The Quran: A Reformist Translation. United States of America: Brainbow Press. p. 509. ISBN 978-0-9796715-0-0.
19. "10. How Can we Observe the Sala Prayers by Following the Quran Alone? - Edip-Layth - quranix.org". quranix.org. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
20. "Prayer (Salat): According to Five Islamic Schools of Law Part 1". www.al-islam.org. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
21. "Different Types of Adhan | Mohammad Zahid". www.inkoffaith.com. Retrieved 2024-10-05.