What are the names of the five daily prayers?
Yes, there are five, and each has its own Arabic name: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. Each name describes the time of day it is prayed: dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset and night. Together they have 17 obligatory rakat (units) and are spread from before sunrise to late evening.
The five prayers at a glance
- Fajr (dawn): prayed between true dawn and sunrise. It has 2 rakat.
- Dhuhr (midday): prayed after the sun passes its highest point, until Asr begins. It has 4 rakat.
- Asr (afternoon): prayed in the later afternoon, until sunset. It has 4 rakat.
- Maghrib (sunset): prayed right after the sun sets, until the red twilight fades. It has 3 rakat.
- Isha (night): prayed once the twilight has gone, until about the middle of the night. It has 4 rakat.
The word "Maghrib" literally means "the west", where the sun sets, and "Dhuhr" comes from the sun's midday position. The Prophet ﷺ described these time windows in a hadith, from Fajr until the sun appears to Isha until the middle of the night (Sahih Muslim 612). For how Asr time is worked out, see When does Asr time start?
Where the names come from
The Quran refers to the prayer times in several places. One verse gives the overall rhythm of the day:
Another verse names Fajr and Isha directly, in a passage about privacy at home, mentioning the times "before the dawn prayer" and "after the late evening prayer" (Quran 24:58). The names Dhuhr, Asr and Maghrib are taught in the hadith.
Why five?
A man from Najd once asked the Prophet ﷺ about Islam, and he told him the duty was five prayers in a day and night (Sahih al-Bukhari 46). When the man asked if there was anything more, the Prophet ﷺ said no, unless he wished to pray extra voluntary (nafl) prayers. So five is the obligatory minimum, and the rest is a bonus. See How many times a day do Muslims pray?
Some extra things to know
- Friday: the Jumu'ah prayer takes the place of Dhuhr for men.
- Sunnah prayers: extra rakat before or after some prayers are recommended but not required.
- Witr: an odd-numbered prayer after Isha, which is a separate prayer, not one of the five.
For the Friday prayer, see What time is Jumu'ah prayer?
- The five prayers are Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha.
- They have 2, 4, 4, 3 and 4 obligatory rakat.
- Each name reflects its time: dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset, night.
- Five is the obligatory minimum; extra prayers are optional.
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