Fajr (prayer)

"Fajr" redirects here. For other uses, see Fajr (disambiguation).

The fajr prayer,^[a] alternatively transliterated as fadjr prayer, and also known as the subh prayer,^[b][c] is one of the five daily mandatory Islamic prayers (salah). Consisting of two rak'a ("bows"), it is performed between the break of dawn and sunrise.^[2][3] It is one of two prayers mentioned by name in the Qur'an.^[4][5]

fajr prayer
Official name	صلاة الفجر، صلاة الصبح، صلاة الغداة
Observed by	Muslims
Type	Islam
Significance	Morning prayer
Begins	Dawn
Ends	Sunrise
Frequency	Daily

History and significance

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Muslims begin fasting with the fajr prayer.^{[citation needed]}

Fajr is mentioned twice in the Qur'an. The verse in which Muhammad is commanded to recite at dawn (11:114)^[6] is taken as foundational for prescribing the times for prayer.^[7]

In Qur'an 17:78, dawn is one of the three times that prayer is to be performed.^[8] 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.^[9]

Salat al-duha replaced fajr as the morning prayer when the five prayers were standardized.^[10]

Performance

The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the Isha prayer and the Fajr prayer. If only they knew what (reward) there is in them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.

Muhammad, narrated by Ibn Majah in Sunan Ibn Majah

The fajr prayer consists of two compulsory (fardh) units of prayer (rak'a). In addition, the voluntary sunnah prayer consists of two units of prayer and can be performed before the compulsory prayer.^[11]

In fajr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read aloud (jahr), as during Maghrib and Isha.^[12] It is commonly performed silently when waking up in the morning.^[13]

The prayer includes wudu (ritual purification) and salat (ritual prayer).^[14]

Timings

The timings for the prayer are prescribed by the hadith.^[15]

School	Start time	End time
Ahmadi Islam	dawn [16]	a few minutes before sunrise [16]
Quranist Islam	dawn [17][18][19]	sunrise [17][18][19]
Shia Islam	true dawn[20]	sunrise [20]
Sunni Islam	"the true dawn" (al-fajr al-sadiq) The true dawn is indicated by a white line appearing across the horizon, in contrast to "the false dawn" (al-fajr al-kadhib) shortly before which appears as a vertical line.[21][20][1]	sunrise; in the Maliki school, until ifsar or until sunrise with a valid excuse [20][1]

See also

The other Islamic obligatory prayers in chronological order following the fajr prayer: Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

• Sunnah and nafl prayers – optional prayers performed by Muslims, some of which are performed before or after the obligatory prayers
• Shacharit – the Jewish morning prayer

Notes

1. Arabic: صَلَاةُ الْفَجْر, romanized: Ṣalāt al-Fajr
2. Arabic: صَلَاةُ الْصُبْح, romanized: Ṣalāt al-Ṣubḥ
3. Some Malikis do not use them interchangeably, referring to the two-rakat voluntary Sunnah prayer as "fajr" and the two-rakat mandatory fardh prayer as "Subh"^[1]