The fajr prayer, alternatively transliterated as fadjr prayer, and also known as the subh prayer, is a

salah ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as ''rak'ah'', include a specific s ...

(ritual prayer) offered in the early morning. Consisting of two

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 ...

("bows"), it is performed between the break of dawn and

sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

. It is one of two prayers mentioned by name in the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

. Due to its timing, Islamic belief holds the fajr prayer to be of great importance. During the Islamic holy month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, Muslims begin

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

with the fajr prayer.

Performance

The fajr prayer consists of two compulsory ( fardh) units of prayer (

). In addition, the 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 ...

consists of two units of prayer and can be performed before the compulsory prayer. In fajr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read aloud (''jahr''), as during Maghrib and Isha. It is commonly performed silently when waking up in the morning. The prayer includes

wudu ''Wuduʾ'' ( ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The steps of wudu are washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head, ...

(ritual purification) and

salat ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal ibadah, worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'a, ''rak'ah'', include ...

(ritual prayer). Fajr replaced salat al-duha as the morning prayer before the five prayers were standardized.

Textual references

Qur'an

Qur'an 11:114 commands Muhammad to recite at dawn. This verse is taken as foundational for prescribing the times for prayer. In Qur'an 17:78, dawn is one of the three times that prayer is to be performed. 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.

Timings

The timings for the prayer are prescribed by the

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

Notes

References