Dhuhr (, also transliterated as Zuhr, Duhr or Thuhr) is one of the five daily mandatory Islamic prayers (''salah''). It is observed after Fajr and before Asr, between the

zenith The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...

noon Noon (also known as noontime or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for '' meridiem'', literally 12:00 midday), 12 p.m. (for ''post meridiem'', literally "after midday"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour cl ...

and

sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

, and contains 4 ''

rak'a A Rak'a ( ', lit. "bow"; plural: ') is a single iteration of prescribed movements and supplications performed by Muslims as part of the prescribed obligatory prayer known as salah. Each of the five daily prayers observed by Muslims consists ...

'' (units). On Friday, the Zuhr prayer is replaced or preceded by

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

(''jum'a'') which is obligatory for Muslim men who are above the age of puberty and meet certain requirements to pray in congregation either in a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

or with a group of Muslims. The

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

is delivered by the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Performance

The Dhuhr prayer consists of four compulsory ( fardh)

. In addition, there is voluntary

Sunnah prayer A Sunnah prayer () is an optional or Supererogation, supererogatory salah (ritual prayer) that are recommended to be performed in addition to the Salah#The five daily prayers, five daily salah, which are compulsory for all Muslims. Sunnah praye ...

, although the details of it vary by branch of Islam. In Dhuhr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read quietly or in a whisper (''israr''). The Hanafi school believes there are four rak'a before the compulsory prayer and two rak'a after the compulsory prayer of confirmed sunnah ( sunnah mu'akkadah) prayer. The Hanafi school also believes there are 4 rak'a of non-confirmed sunnah ( ghair mu'akkadah) prayer after the compulsory prayer. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools believe there are two rak'a of confirmed sunnah prayer before the compulsory prayer, and two additional rak'a before and after the compulsory prayer as non-confirmed sunnah prayer. In the Maliki school, there is confirmed sunnah prayer before and after the compulsory prayer. There is no limit to the amount of rak'a for these, but it is recommended (

mustahabb ''Mustahabb'' () is an Islamic term referring to an action or thing that is recommended and favoured. ''Mustahabb'' actions are those whose ruling ('' ahkam'') in Islamic law falls between '' mubah'' (neutral; neither encouraged nor discouraged ...

) for it to be at least two rak'a, and it is better to pray four rak'a.

Textual references

Quran

Quran 17:18 mentions "the prayer from the decline of the sun", referencing Dhuhr:Some argue that Quran 2:238's "middle prayer" is about Dhuhr. However the predominant view amongst scholars is that it refers to Asr.

Performance

Textual references

Quran

Hadith

Timings

See also

Notes

References