Dhuhr
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The dhuhr (Arabic: ظهر) prayer ("dh" representing Ẓāʼ, an emphatic voiced dental fricative"; it is often simplified to "z") is the prayer after midday (but before the shadow of the sun becomes twice its length from midday.) Performed daily by practicing Muslims, it is the second of the five daily prayers (salat). The five daily prayers collectively are one of the Five Pillars of Islam in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the Religion (Furū al-Dīn) according to Shia Islam. It is reduced to two rak'ahs when traveling. The Dhuhr prayer is mentioned by name in the Qur'an at 17:78.
In both types of Islam, four raka'ah are required (Fard) and are prayed silently1 . However, in Sunni Islam, four raka'ah prior to the Fard raka'ah and two raka'ah following the Fard raka'ah are highly recommended.
On Friday the Dhuhr prayer is replaced by Jumu'ah, which is obligatory for all Muslim males above the age of puberty who are resident and without a legitimate excuse.
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[edit] Waqt
The waqt (prescribed time) of the Dhuhr salat is determined differently by the different branches of Islam. In each case however, it is best to perform the prayer as soon as the waqt is “in”, and inadvisable to unnecessarily delay it.
[edit] Shia Islam
The time period within which the Dhuhr daily prayer must be recited is the following:
- Time begins: once the Sun has crossed the celestial meridian (true noon), exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset. This is when the Sun is at the highest point in the sky.
- Time ends: before the time it takes to recite the daily Asr prayer (afternoon prayer).
[edit] Sunni Islam
The time period within which the Dhuhr daily prayer must be recited is the following:
- Time begins: once the Sun has crossed the celestial meridian (true noon), exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset. This is when the Sun is at the highest point in the sky and a little after that.
- Time ends: at the time when the Asr prayer begins (afternoon prayer) (there is scholarly disagreement as to exactly when that occurs). Also, according to the Maliki school, the dharoori time (Time of Necessity for those who had a legitimate excuse to miss the prayer during the Prescribed Time) for Dhuhr lasts all the way until a little before sunset, the beginning of Maghrib prayer. Thus, according to the Maliki school, if someone prays Dhuhr 30 minutes before sunset, he is considered to have prayed the prayer "on time", though he would be sinful if he had delayed that long without a legitimate excuse.
1This is for the individual prayer. In the congregation, the recitation will also be unnoticeable except for the expressions which indicate each of the stages of the prayer.
