Nowadays, Muslims just look at their watches or clocks and are able to tell the time of a prayer . Before the invention of watches and clocks, Muslims had to depend on the sun to find out the time of prayer . This section goes over how to tell the time of a prayer by the movement of the sun.

Fajr :

Beginning - The first prayer of the day, which is Fajr , begins at the time of Subbah Sadiq . Subbah Sadiq is when the first beam of light from the sun is spread on the horizon from south to north in the east and spreads from east to west. This is a white light that appears on the horizon from the direction where the sun is to rise every morning. For the best view, it is necessary for the skies to be clear and is more clearly seen in a countryside than in a city. A person may need to focus because it is usually very thin.

End - The Fajr prayer time ends at the start of sunrise so it must be read before sunrise. This is usually maximum of 1.5 hours after the start of Subbah Sadiq . Sunrise is usually pretty obvious because at the time the sky is visible with light and the sun can usually be seen in the east with a reddish glow of light on the horizon.

Zuhr :

Before continuing it must be noted that Zuhr does not start at the time of noon as many people presume. Noon is when the sun reaches the peak of the sky and the shadow of any person or object is under it's feet. In another words that the shadow is so small in size that it barely goes beyond the feet. This shadow is called Saye Asli .

Beginning - The second prayer of the day, which is Zuhr , starts when the sun begins to go down and the shadow of any object or person starts to increase and become longer than Saye Asli (see above paragraph). This is usually 20 minutes or so after the time of Saye Asli .

End - The time of Zuhr ends when the shadow of any object or person becomes so long that it is it is equivalent to its height (also known as 1 missle ).

Asr :

Beginning - The third prayer of the day, Asr , is started when the time of Zuhr ends. When the shadow of any object or person becomes so long that it is equivalent to its height (also known as 1 missle ).

End - The time of Asr ends at sunset, and if someone were to look to the west they would see a yellowish-pale light on the horizon and the sun will be almost hidden.

Maghrib :

Beginning - The fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib , starts during Shafaq-e-Ahmar - a red light which appears on the west horizon, at sunset, for just a few minutes.

After Shafaq-e-Ahmar (see above paragraph) the red light in the west on the horizon turns white. This is called Shafaq-e-Abyadh .

End - The time of Maghrib ends when Shafaq-e-Abyadh ends, which means when the white light on the horizon in the west disappears.

NOTE: Maghrib should be read as soon as possible, because the time of Maghrib passes quickly and is very limited.

Isha :

Beginning - The time of Isha , the last prayer of the day, starts at the end of Maghrib or, in another words, when the stage of Shafaq-e-Abyadh (see Maghrib above) passes.

End - The time of Isha ends at the start of Subbah Sadiq (see Fajr above), which is the start time for Fajr prayer.

NOTE: Reading Isha very late at night or just before Subbah Sadiq should not be turned into a habit. Every prayer should be read on time and with ease and relaxation. It should not be read with speed or without concentration. As for the witr prayer in Isha, the best time to read it is during the last 1/3rd of the night, but if you cannot wake up during that time and are continuously missing the witr prayer then it is better to pray it before going to bed.

Times When Prayer Is Forbidden

There are three cases when any type of prayer is forbidden, such as nawafal , farz , sunnats , or ANY other sort of prayer . A person should avoid performing prayer in the following times of day:

1. The start of sunrise - It is forbidden to perform prayer during this time period and must wait at least 20 minutes or so after sunrise.

2. The start of Saye Asli - This is the time when the sun is at the peak of the sky and an object or a person's shadow is so small that it is under its feet. A person must wait until the shadow of an object or person starts to increase (20 minutes or so later) and then they can perform prayer , please note that this is also the start of Zuhr prayer .

3. 20 minutes before sunset - It is forbidden for a person to perform prayer 20 minutes before sunset, therefore he/she must wait a whole 20 minutes until sunset. The only exception to perform prayer during this forbidden time is if someone has not yet performed the Asr prayer , but as noted before a Muslim should not delay a prayer and always read on time.

NOTE: In case someone has passed away and needs to be buried then it is acceptable to have a Namaz-e-Janaza during any of the forbidden times, but only if the Janaza is ready.