Fixed prayer times, praying at dedicated times during the day, are common practice in major world religions such as

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Judaism

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

requires Jews to pray thrice a day; the morning prayer is known as

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

, the afternoon prayer is known as

Mincha Mincha (, ; sometimes spelled Minchah, Minhah, Mincho or Minchuh) is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "gift" or "offering", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice offered ...

, and the evening prayer is known as

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

. According to Jewish tradition, the prophet

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

introduced Shacharit, the prophet

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

introduced Mincha, and the prophet

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

introduced Maariv. Jews historically prayed in the direction of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

, where the "presence of the transcendent God (''

shekhinah Shekhinah () is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature. The word "Shekhinah" is found in the Bible onl ...

'') esidedin the

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies ( or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also ''hadDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God in Judaism, God's presence) appeared. According ...

of the Temple". In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Daniel was in Babylon, he "went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously" (cf. ). After its destruction, Jews continue to pray facing Jerusalem in hope for the coming of the Messiah whom they await.

Christianity

From the time of the

early Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

, the practice of seven fixed prayer times has been taught, which traces itself to the Prophet David in . In '' Apostolic Tradition'', Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day, "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion (i.e. 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m.)." Christians attended two

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a community, communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, ...

on the

Lord's Day In Christianity, the Lord's Day refers to Sunday, the traditional day of communal worship. It is the first day of the week in the Hebrew calendar and traditional Christian calendars. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the ...

, worshipping communally in both a morning service and evening service, with the purpose of reading the Scriptures and celebrating the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. Throughout the rest of the week, Christians assembled at the church every day for "the main hours of prayer"—morning prayer (which became known as

Lauds Lauds is a canonical hour of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours (between 3:00:00 and 5:59:59). Name The name is derived from the three la ...

) and evening prayer (which became known as

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

), while praying at the other fixed prayer times privately (which included praying the Lord's Prayer at 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.); monastics came to gather together to corporately pray all of the canonical hours communally. This practice of seven fixed prayer times was done in the bodily positions of

prostration Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially t ...

and standing, which continues today in some denominations, especially those of Oriental Christianity. Oriental Orthodox Christians (such as

Copts Copts (; ) are a Christians, Christian ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptians, Egyptian population, des ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, Syriacs and Indians), as well certain Oriental Protestant denominations (such as the

Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India''. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malab ...

), use a

breviary A breviary () is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviar ...

such as the Agpeya and

Shehimo Shehimo (, ; English language, English: Book of Common Prayer, also spelled Sh'himo) is the West Syriac Rite, West Syriac Christian breviary of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the West Syriac Rite, West Syriac Saint Thomas Christians of India (S ...

to pray the

canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of Fixed prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or sel ...

seven times a day while facing ad orientem, in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus; this Christian practice has its roots in , in which the King

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

prays to God seven times a day. In the Indian Christian and Syriac Christian tradition, these canonical hours are known as

( Ramsho pm,

Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wor ...

(Soutoro pm, Nocturns (Lilio 2 am,

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

(Sapro am, third hour prayer ( Tloth sho`in am, sixth hour prayer ( Sheth sho`in 2 pm, and ninth hour prayer ( Tsha' sho`in pm. In the Coptic Christian and Ethiopian Christian tradition, these seven canonical hours are known as the First Hour (

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

am, the Third Hour (

Terce Terce is a canonical hour of the Divine Office. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn. Along with Prime, Sext, None, and Compline, Terce belongs ...

am, the Sixth Hour (

Sext Sext is a canonical hour of the Divine Office in the liturgies of many Christian denominations. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around noon. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the sixth hour of the day after dawn. With Terce, None ...

2 pm, the Ninth Hour ( None pm, the Eleventh Hour (

pm, the Twelfth Hour (

pm, and the Midnight office 2 am monastics pray an additional hour known as the

Vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

Church bell A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship, but are also rung o ...

s are tolled at these hours to enjoin the faithful to prayer. At the very minimum, Orthodox Christians are to pray before meals and thrice daily — in the morning, at noon, and in the evening (cf. ). Those who are unable to pray the canonical hour of a certain fixed prayer time may recite the ''Qauma'', in the Indian Orthodox tradition. In

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, the practice of praying the canonical hours at fixed prayer times became mainly observed by monastics and clergy, though today, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

encourages the laity to

pray File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...

and in the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

es and

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, breviaries such as

The Brotherhood Prayer Book Evangelisch-Lutherische Gebetsbruderschaft (''Evangelical Lutheran Prayer Brotherhood'') is a German Lutheran religious society for men and women, based on the doctrines of the Bible and Book of Concord, with regular prayer for the renewal and unit ...

and the

Anglican Breviary The ''Anglican Breviary'' is an Anglican edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office translated into English, used especially by Anglicans of Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic churchmanship. It is based on the ''Roman Breviary'' as it exis ...

, respectively, are used to pray the Daily Office; the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

tradition has emphasized the praying of the canonical hours as an "essential practice" in being a disciple of Jesus, with the Order of Saint Luke, a Methodist religious order, printing ''The Book of Offices and Services'' to serve this end. In Anabaptist Christianity, Mennonites (especially

Old Order Mennonites Old Order Mennonites ( Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss German and south German heritage who practice a lifestyle without some elements of modern technology, still dr ...

and

Conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Co ...

) and Amish have family prayer every morning and evening, which is done kneeling; the ''Christenpflicht'' prayer book is used for this purpose. Bible readings may be read after this, often after the evening prayer; to this end, the ''Tägliches Manna'' devotional is used by many Anabaptists. Some traditions have historically placed a

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

the eastern wall of their houses, which they face during these seven fixed prayer times. Before praying, Oriental Orthodox Christians and Oriental Protestant Christians wash their hands, face and feet in order to be clean before and present their best to God; shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God. In these Christian denominations, and in many others as well, it is customary for women to wear a headcovering when praying. There exist watches that indicate the seven fixed prayer times.

Mandaeism

Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...

, the daily prayer or

brakha Daily prayer in Mandaeism, called brakha in Mandaic (cognate with Hebrew ''berakhah'' and Arabic ''barakah'') or occasionally ''birukta'' (''birukhta''), consists of set prayers that are recited three times per day. Mandaeans stand facing nort ...

consists of a set of prayers recited three times per day. Mandaeans stand facing north while reciting daily prayers. Unlike in Islam and Coptic Orthodox Christianity,

is not practiced. Mandaean priests recite rahma prayersLidzbarski, Mark. 1920. ''Mandäische Liturgien''. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin. three times every day, while laypeople also recite the '' Rushuma'' (signing prayer) and ''

Asut Malkia The ''Asut Malkia'' ("Salutation of Kings") is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. In the prayer, the reciter wishes health and victory (''asuta u-zakuta'' ) upon dozens of heavenly and ancestral figures. According to E. S. Dro ...

'' ("Healing of Kings") daily. The three prayer times in Mandaeism are:Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press. *dawn (sunrise) *noontime (the "seventh hour") *evening (sunset)

Islam

Muslims pray five times a day, with their prayers being known as Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (after midday), Asr (afternoon),

Maghrib Maghrib () is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayers), and contains three cycles (''rak'a''). If counted from midnight, it is the fourth one. According to Shia and Sunni Muslims, the period for Maghrib prayer starts just after suns ...

(sunset), Isha (nighttime), facing towards

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. The direction of prayer is called the

qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

; the early Muslims initially prayed in the direction of Jerusalem before this was changed to Mecca in 624 CE, about a year after Muhammad's migration to Medina. The timing of the five prayers are fixed intervals defined by daily astronomical phenomena. For example, the Maghrib prayer can be performed at any time after sunset and before the disappearance of the red

twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

from the west. In a mosque, the

muezzin The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...

broadcasts the

call to prayer A call to prayer is a summons for participants of a faith to attend a group worship or to begin a required set of prayers. The call is one of the History of telecommunication, earliest forms of telecommunication, communicating to people across gre ...

at the beginning of each interval. Because the start and end times for prayers are related to the solar diurnal motion, they vary throughout the year and depend on the local latitude and longitude when expressed in local time. In modern times, various religious or scientific agencies in Muslim countries produce annual prayer timetables for each locality, and electronic clocks capable of calculating local prayer times have been created. In the past, some mosques employed astronomers called the ''

muwaqqit In the history of Islam, a ''muwaqqit'' (, more rarely ''mīqātī''; ) was an astronomer tasked with the timekeeping and the regulation of prayer times in an Islamic institution like a mosque or a madrasa. Unlike the muezzin (reciter of the ...

''s who were responsible for regulating the prayer time using mathematical astronomy.

Baháʼí Faith

Followers of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

must choose either a short, medium, or long prayer each day to fulfill the requirement of the daily obligatory prayer. Reciting these prayers is considered one of the Baháʼí's most important obligations. The short prayer can only be said between noon and sunset, while the medium prayer must be said three times during the day: once between sunrise and noon, once between noon and sunset, and once in the two hours following sunset. The long prayer is not bound by a fixed prayer time. The text of these prayers is taken from the writings of the religion's founder,

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...

Sikhism

Initiated Sikhs are obligated to perform five daily prayers at varying times during the day, from the collection of Nitnem prayers. In the morning, typically right after waking and bathing, the

Japji Sahib ''Japji Sahib'' (, pronunciation: ) is the Sikh thesis, that appears at the beginning of the '' Guru Granth Sahib'' – the scripture of the Sikhs. ''Jap'' is the original name of the prayer and to show respect, it is called ''Jap ji Sahib''. I ...

, Jaap Sahib, and Tav Prasad Savaiye prayers are recited. In the evening, the Sodar Rahras Sahib is recited, and before bed the Kirtan Sohila is recited.

Notes

References

External links

;Christian Prayer
Shehimo - Indian Orthodox Christian prayer timesAgpeya - Coptic Christian prayer timesLutheran Christian prayer timesCatholic Christian prayer times
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