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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Timing of Prayers |
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| Rina |
| 11/15/04 at 09:35:33 |
| I surely hope that you people are patient with me. I'm going to ask some really basic questions. But a big part of that is because I'm going to be talking to 12 - 14 year olds and I want to anticipate their questions. So please, feel free to roll your eyes but know I ask in the spirit of interfaith understanding. Feel free to correct or expand however you might feel moved to do so. I was listening to my own daughter the other day and we were talking about "salas". We talked about muslim prayers as stopping five times during the day to check in with Allah, center oneself upon him and reaffirm faith. She is very logistical minded and asked about the practical aspect of things like life interfering with prayer times. "Mom, that could be really inconvenient if you're stuck in traffic." My answer was that I imagine there is some leeway in the timing of these things. Can someone (or several someones) take a moment or two and talk about the rhythm of the day in terms of prayer life? Thank you. Rina |
| it can be said alone if necessary. Re: Timing of Prayers |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/15/04 at 13:22:09 |
| peace! there is plenty of leeway. Islam allows adjustment at times of necessity or undue hardship. The only times forbidden for Salah are exact sunrise, exact sunset, and the time when the sun is exactly above one's head. The time of the morning (Fajr) prayers is from dusk to sunrise, excepting the exact sunrise time (with say five minutes or so either way). The timings of the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers is from a few minutes after midday to the time the shadow equals one length (in one school of thought, two lengths) of the object's height. The timings of the late afternoon (early evening) prayer is from the time Zuhr ends to the time the shadow is twice the height, (or in the case in brackets, to the Maghrib time). The timings of the Maghrib (evening or sundown) prayers is a few minutes after sundown. The timing of the isha (night) prayer starts about one and a half hour after Maghrib. It is preferable to say the Salah in its early times, except the night (isha) prayers, which should be delayed so as to be before going to bed. However, in case of emergency, the Salah can be prayed late. The Salah can also be said even if one is unable to make the movements required for Salah. For example, if one is bed-ridden, if one suffers from a stroke, if one is travelling in an aeroplane, or is otherwise restricted in motion. Although it is preferable to say the Salah in congregation (even if two Muslims are together, they should say it together). Saying it in congregation has extra merit, and puts one in touch witht the community as well, so it is preferred. However, it can be said alone if necessary. I read that the Muslim cab drivers of New York are a sight as they park their taxis at prayer times, and take out their prayer mats to pray on the sidewalks or park nearby. :) I hope I have explained it correctly. :) |
| 11/15/04 at 13:36:27 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: Timing of Prayers |
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| buL-buL |
| 11/15/04 at 18:45:43 |
| Hi Rina. :-) I would say praying 5 times a day is a challenge but it's not impossible. Many people I know are able to work their schedules around the prayer times without a problem. This means carefully planning your day. Most prayers last for a couple of hours or more until it's time for the next one and it only takes 5-10 minutes to do each prayer. So out of 24 hours we only spend about 30-40 minutes worshipping Allah(swt). And if you sleep for 8 hours then you got 15 waking hours to yourself. That is still a lot of time to do other things in life. On most campuses, Muslim clubs reserve a room so students can pray in between classes. And in most big cities, there is a mosque every couple of miles. Many sisters I know pray in fitting rooms if they are out shopping. Yes it's hard, but our duty is first to Allah(swt) and insh'Allah (Allah willing), we will be rewarded for any inconveniences that we go through for His sake. Who said getting into heaven was easy? ;) |
| 11/17/04 at 21:49:38 |
| buL-buL |
| Re: Timing of Prayers |
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| Nadeem |
| 12/14/04 at 07:58:54 |
| [slm] I was having a discussion with some brothers and sisters the other day about Isha timings. I was wondering if anyone had any comments or knowledge on it. The Isha time is essentially the night time (i.e when the sky is dark), so this would theoretically mean frm the start of Isha timing to just before the twilight (or start of Fajr) if I'm not mistaken. From this one might assume that Isha prayer can be read at any time in this period. However, in the course of this discussion, we found that some people practice the reading of Isha before midnight as correct, and that the Isha prayer becomes makruh (disliked) after midnight - the reason being given that the latter part of the night is for Tahajjud prayer only. Others regard reading Isha at any time before Fajr time as correct. Is this merely a madhabi issue? I know madhabi issues are often regarded as hot potatoes, and hence closed. If this is the case, I'd appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction of some literature or webistes that would discuss this further. :) [wlm] [wlm] |
| Re: Timing of Prayers |
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| jannah |
| 12/14/04 at 10:41:27 |
| [slm] I believe it is a madhabi issue from what I remember vaguely on this topic in class, but perhaps you can ask your imam... I think that it was like you said that it is permissible to pray until fajr but that the majority believe that it is disliked to pray after half the night has passed. (not necessarily midnight...u have to do the calculation between isha start and fajr start to find the mid point) |
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