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5 Daily Prayers

Salat [Prayers] Enjoined
[Quran 4:103 – Pickthall] “…………Worship at fixed times hath been enjoined on the believers”

Allah’s Command to Believers (Muslims)
[Quran 2:238 – Al-Muntakhab] “Observe your duty to Allah and maintain the prescribed prayers, especially AL-‘Asr, the afternoon prayer, and humble yourselves to Allah and exercise unqualified obedience to Him”

ENJOINED, Fajr Prayer
[Quran 11:114 – Al-Muntakhab] “Observe your act of worship at both ends of the day -the early morning and the close of the day- and at the early hours of the night -following sunset and before bedtime- and keep in mind that pious and virtuous deeds cancel evil deeds. This is simply a reminder for those who keep Allah in mind and lift to Him their inward sight”

[Quran 24:58 – Amatul Rahman Omar] “O you who believe! it is binding on those whom your right hands possess (domestic servants) and those (of your children) who have not reached the age of puberty to ask your permission (before coming into your private rooms) in three instances, before the morning Prayer, and when you lay aside your clothes due to the heat (in summer) at noon and after the night Prayer. These are three times when your privacy should be respected. At other times no blame shall lie on you or on them (if they come to you without permission), for they have to move about (waiting upon you) some of you (attending) upon others (according to need). That is how Allah explains to you His commandments, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise”

ENJOINED, Zuhur Prayer
[Quran 17:78 – Muhammad Asad] “BE CONSTANT in [thy] prayer from the time when the sun has passed its zenith till the darkness of night, and [be ever mindful of its] recitation at dawn: for, behold, the recitation [of prayer] at dawn is indeed witnessed [by all that is holy]”

[Quran 30:18 – Yusuf Ali] “Yea, to Him be praise, in the heavens and on earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline”

ENJOINED, Asr Prayer
[Quran 2:238 – Al-Muntakhab] “Observe your duty to Allah and maintain the prescribed prayers, especially AL-‘Asr, the afternoon prayer, and humble yourselves to Allah and exercise unqualified obedience to Him”

ENJOINED, Maghrib Prayer
[Quran 11:114 – Amatul Rahman Omar] “And observe Prayer at the two ends of the day and in some early hours of the night. Surely, the good deeds wipe out the evil ones. That is a reminder for those who would remember”

ENJOINED, Isha Prayer
[Quran 24:58 – Aisha Bewley] “You who have iman! those you own as slaves and those of you who have not yet reached puberty should ask your permission to enter at three times: before the Dawn Prayer, when you have undressed at noon, and after the Salat al-‘Isha’ – three times of nakedness for you. There is nothing wrong for you or them at other times in moving around among yourselves from one to another. In this way Allah makes the Signs clear to you. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

ENJOINED Salat[Prayers], According to the Prophet of Islam’s Ahadith
[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 2, Hadith 0430] “Narrated Abu Qatadah ibn Rab’i: Allah, the Exalted said: I made five times’ prayers obligatory on your people, and I took a guarantee that if anyone observes them regularly at their times, I shall admit him to Paradise; if anyone does not offer them regularly, there is no such guarantee of Mine for him.”

[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 8, Hadith 1415] “There are five prayers which Allah has prescribed on His servants. If anyone offers them, not losing any of them, and not treating them lightly, Allah guarantees that He will admit him to Paradise. If anyone does not offer them, Allah does not take any responsibility for such a person. He may either punish him or admit him to Paradise”

[Bukhari, Book 23, Hadith 478] “Narrated Ibn Abbas: Thy Prophet sent Muadh to Yemen and said, “Invite the people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah’s Apostle, and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night (in twenty-four hours), and if they obey you to do so, then teach them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor.”

[Bukhari, Book 23, Hadith 480] “Narrated Abu Huraira: A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, “Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it.” The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, “Worship Allah, and worship none along with Him, offer the (five) prescribed compulsory prayers perfectly, pay the compulsory Zakat, and fast the month of Ramadan.” The Bedouin said, “By Him, in Whose Hands my life is, I will not do more than this.” When he (the Bedouin) left, the Prophet said, “Whoever likes to see a man of Paradise, then he may look at this man.”

[Muslim, Book 002, Hadith 0450] “Abu Huraira reported: Verily the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: five (daily) prayers and from one Friday prayer to the (next) Friday prayer, and from Ramadhan to Ramadhan are expiations for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals) provided one shuns the major sins”

[Malik’s Muwatta Book 9, Hadith 9.25.97] “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him, ‘There are five prayers during the day and the night.”

Merits Of Offering Five Daily Prayers

Let me start by saying that there are many passages in the Qur’an, which directly order us to obey Allah and His messenger. When we take Islam as our way of life, we are voluntarily surrendering to the commands of Allah and we are choosing to follow the practice (sunnah) of the prophet (peace be upon him).

In Surah Al-Isra verse 78, we are told:
Perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) from mid-day till the darkness of the night (i.e. the Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha prayers), and recite the Qur an in the early dawn. Verily, the recitation of dawn Qur an (i.e. the morning – Fajr prayer) is ever witnessed.
Then, from the time the sun declines, which is mid-day, until the darkening of the night, includes Zuhr (noon prayer), Asr (evening prayer), Maghrib (sunset prayer), and Isha (night prayer). These five prayers were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the Isra a and Mi`raj and were performed by him in their specified number of rak’aas. He also taught them to Muslims, who performed them in that sequence and form ever since.
There is no secret in the number of prayers. It is simply that they are related to the course of the day and relevant to the different states of nature (day and night) that are linked to the biological clock of any Muslim. Thus, the Muslim is in continuous connection with God, throughout the different phases of the day. The day starts with Fajr (dawn) prayers, to renew the oath of worship and obedience. Then, the workday of a Muslim society should start after that. Zuhr is in the middle of the day, and Asr is a bit later. As for Maghrib, it is with sunset and Isha is when the night falls.

The prayer times are also related to the manners and times of rest in social life. There are verses in the Qur’an, which say that before Fajr, after Zuhr, and after Isha, Muslim parents are allowed a time of privacy and that other family members should respect that. Also, a Muslim is encouraged to perform prayers with a group of Muslims (jama a), these are also times of social gathering in mosques. Such gatherings are where people can simply meet and discuss their communal affairs and grass root lobbying, for societal causes. The number of prayers is simply appropriate for such social structures, relations, neighborhoods, and community ties. It is also suitable for the special structure of worship, which connects the Muslim to his Creator throughout the long day.

In a modern economy, where family members are located in different areas and where the workplace introduces new forms of communication and personal relations, the times of prayers re-formulate these relations. They remind people of their relation to Allah and to each other as well.

Hence, the competitive capitalist atmosphere of modern businesses is rendered milder. The embedded values of submission to Allah and remembering the hereafter and the socio-religious bond of Islam, keep the balance of the human self intact. One should read in our current global economy how the daily routine can result in the corrosion of character. Herein, the wisdom and philosophy of the five daily prayers in Islam, gain new meanings and implications.