Question about prayer

[maxoverton]

Hello, I am a new member and non-Muslim, but I am researching your very interesting religion. I know that you pray at regular times - pre-dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and evening before retiring - but when I read some accounts of Hajj, it said that in the old days the caravans would sometimes travel at night and sleep during the day to escape the heat.

What I wondered was... are the prayer times the same during a reversal of day/night, or are they adjusted to meet the new circumstances? I imagine the same might apply for someone on shift work. If you came home after working all night, do you say Fajr at dawn as normal or do you consider that to be Maghrib because it is at the end of your day? You say 'Isha just before retiring - but if you go to bed at 9am, do you still say 'Isha? What about noon prayers? Are you expected to interrupt your sleep for these prayers? Yes, I know prayer is better than sleep, but is it a choice or mandatory?

I seriously want to know. I write novels and I have a Muslim in one of them, travelling at night. I want to know what he does because I do not want to misrepresent him or his religion. Can anybody help me please?

Cheers,
Max

[Insaanah]

Hello, I am a new member and non-Muslim, but I am researching your very interesting religion. I know that you pray at regular times - pre-dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and evening before retiring - but when I read some accounts of Hajj, it said that in the old days the caravans would sometimes travel at night and sleep during the day to escape the heat.

What I wondered was... are the prayer times the same during a reversal of day/night, or are they adjusted to meet the new circumstances? I imagine the same might apply for someone on shift work. If you came home after working all night, do you say Fajr at dawn as normal or do you consider that to be Maghrib because it is at the end of your day? You say 'Isha just before retiring - but if you go to bed at 9am, do you still say 'Isha? What about noon prayers? Are you expected to interrupt your sleep for these prayers? Yes, I know prayer is better than sleep, but is it a choice or mandatory?

I seriously want to know. I write novels and I have a Muslim in one of them, travelling at night. I want to know what he does because I do not want to misrepresent him or his religion. Can anybody help me please?

Cheers,
Max

Peace, Max, and welcome to the forum.

Thats a really good question that you asked.

The prayer times are the same, even if you have been awake or travelling all night, they don't get adjusted. So after working all night, you'd pray your Fajr at dawn as normal, that wouldn't become Maghrib. Similarly if you have gone to bed in the morning after working at night, yes you would get up for your Dhuhr (midday-ish) prayers. And the five daily prayers are mandatory, and not a choice.

Hope that answers your question.

Peace.

[Masuma]

Bismillah Hir Rahman Nir Rahim! (In the name of Allah, the most Gracious and the most Merciful!)

Assalamu Alikum! (Peace be on you!)

very interesting religion.

:statisfie Islam is lovely and simply AWESOME! No other religion better than this! Islam means "Peace". It also means "Submitting your will to GOD".

I know that you pray at regular times - pre-dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and evening before retiring - but when I read some accounts of Hajj, it said that in the old days the caravans would sometimes travel at night and sleep during the day to escape the heat.

Brother, Hajj has some different rituals. But by your question, do you mean
that in the old days, the caravans would miss their prayers which were supposed to be offered during the day?

But this I think is not authentic or right. Where did you read it? It is Fard (obligatory) on every Muslim to offer prayers and not to miss any! Do you know that the Prophet(pbuh) and his companions even had to offer prayers during wars?! Whenever the prayer time would become due, the Muslims would take turns to offer their prayers right on the battlefield! And...

Yes, I know prayer is better than sleep, but is it a choice or mandatory?

yes, it is mandatory! Leaving prayer intentionally is a sin.

What I wondered was... are the prayer times the same during a reversal of day/night, or are they adjusted to meet the new circumstances?

"Reversal of day/night?" didn't understand that one.
And brother, what has been established in the Quran and Sahih Hadith, that remains same no matter what! Allah (God) commands to offer 5 time prayers and so the number will always remain 5! It can't be reduced to 4 or 3 just to meet the requirements of new circumstances. No addition or reduction can be done to the laws of the Creator.

One more thing, I read a hadith (sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad) in which time of, I guess, Zuhar prayer became due. But the sun was shining brightly and so the temperature was very high. So the Prophet told these companions to wait for some time till the temperature drops a bit and then to offer prayer. The Prophet didn't allow them to skip the prayer at all! He just said to wait for a little while.

I imagine the same might apply for someone on shift work. If you came home after working all night, do you say Fajr at dawn as normal or do you consider that to be Maghrib because it is at the end of your day?

The time of prayers doesn't depend on Muslim's activity, it depends on the time of the day! There are prescribed times for all these 5 prayers and they must be offered at their right time. Fajr prayer would remain Fajr prayer in the above case because the definition of Fajr prayer is "a prayer which is offered at pre-dawn time". So Fajr prayer will not be called Magrib prayer even if the Muslim's day end at this time.

Like, these are just definitions and prayers' names depend on time of the day.

If a Muslim comes home after working all night, he has to offer Fajr prayer at the right time, at its due time.

You say 'Isha just before retiring - but if you go to bed at 9am, do you still say 'Isha?

Yes, it is still called Isha. For better understanding, read the paragraph below.

"Adaan" which means "call for prayer" is given by Imams 5 times a day. Each time "Adaan" is given,it informs people that the time of one prayer, say Fajr prayer has become due. For example, at pre-dawn time, you will hear Adaan which tells you that now the time for Fajr prayer has started. Then at noon, Adaan is again heard which tells that now is the time for Zuhar prayer. Then another Adaan after 2 or 3 hours, which tell you that now has started the time of Asr prayer. Then after 2 hours maybe, another Adaan is given telling us that now the time for Maghrib prayer. Then lastly after some time, another Adaan tells you that now has begin the time for Isha prayer. And so the same cycle continues the next day.

What about noon prayers? Are you expected to interrupt your sleep for these prayers? Yes, I know prayer is better than sleep, but is it a choice or mandatory?

Dear brother in humanity, prayer is actually for our own benefit. Every teaching or obligation in Islam has some very logical and beneficial reasons behind it. And for prayers, there are spiritual, medical, scientific etc benefits behind it.

I seriously want to know.

And you are most welcome to ask me anything like regarding Islam. It would be a pleasure to answer you!:statisfie

So anything else you are curious about, or don't understand which concerns Islam?

I write novels and I have a Muslim in one of them, travelling at night. I want to know what he does because I do not want to misrepresent him or his religion.

You write novels? WOW! :statisfie And it is good to know that you don't want to misinterpret Islam.
Do you know that according to one research, every day more than one book is written against Islam! Everyday!!! (Believe me, the people who try to misinterpret Islam earn nothing but failure! What these people do, they pick up verses out of context, give false ideas about Islamic teachings, in brief, they try to use each and every method available to malign Islam!)

And the Muslim of your novel, do you represent him as a villain, an evil guy, hero or side character?

I too wanted to write a novel but just gave up that idea few years ago. I wanted to write about the adventures of a teenager Muslim, named Abdullah. :) But that idea didn't survive long. Now have got more important things to do...

So brother, is there anything else you want to know about Islam?

[islamlover_girl]

First welcome to the forum

What I wondered was... are the prayer times the same during a reversal of day/night, or are they adjusted to meet the new circumstances? I imagine the same might apply for someone on shift work. If you came home after working all night, do you say Fajr at dawn as normal or do you consider that to be Maghrib because it is at the end of your day? You say 'Isha just before retiring - but if you go to bed at 9am, do you still say 'Isha?

let me first answer this question,the prayer name still the same,if the person come home in the time of fajr we call it fajr even if it`s at the end of his day,it depend on the sun not on the persons day .there is a deffrence between Fajr prayer and maghreb prayer ,as the first is two cycles(raq`a)and the second is three cycles,Zohr and Asr and `Isha are four cycles.

when I read some accounts of Hajj, it said that in the old days the caravans would sometimes travel at night and sleep during the day to escape the heat.

travelling have diffrent rules,in travelling we pray both Zohr and Asr prayer at the time of zohr prayer (noon) also we pray Maghreb and `Isha prayer at the time in `Isha prayer ,also in traveling the prayers which are four cycles(Zohr,Asr and `Isha) we pray them two cycles only.This is called Shortening and Combining and it applied only in travelling .

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[Muslimlearner]

No reversal,but when muslims travel is allowed to shorten the prayers from 4 to 2 rak'at .Fajr prayer stays aways alone..
Do you need some details about this?

[maxoverton]

Wow!

Thank you all so much for your many answers to my question. They really help and I should be able to 'get it right' in my novel.

I think it is very important to do research and in answer to An33za, my novel is made up of 14 stories from the time of Ibrahim to modern day and ranging geographically from Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Arabia, Yemen, Iran, and India. The Muslims within it are heroes and villains and bit players, male and female, but what I am trying to do is represent them accurately. They are fictional people, but I'm trying to get inside their heads, to experience what they might have experienced if they had actually lived in those times - warriors, shepherds, leather makers, farmers, Sufis, soldiers, and it includes one man on Hajj. The caravan he is in travels at night to avoid the heat and that is why I wondered about prayer times. You have all answered it wonderfully. Thank you again.

Trying to represent a religion fairly is a daunting task for an outsider, so I am not attempting a text-book on the subject, just enough to give a flavour of Islam and why it is such a dynamic force in the world today. I hope I can treat it fairly.

By the way, An33za, I too have a character in my novel called Abdullah (servant of God). It is a good name.

I hope I can come to this list again if I have a question about Islam. Actually, I have many questions, but I'll have to figure out which threads they properly belong in.

Cheers,
Max

[tresbien]

ayer, in Islam, has its own particular times at which it must be performed. Allah, Most High, says, "Prayer at fixed hours has been enjoined upon the believers." (An-Nisa': 103)

As for the times in which one is to abstain form offering Prayer, the prominent Muslim jurist, Ahmad ibn Naqeeb Al-Misri, states in his well-known book, The Reliance of the Traveler:

"The Prayer becomes unlawful and invalid in the following five times:

1. from sunrise until the sun is a spear's length above the horizon (meaning when a distance equal to the sun's diameter appears between the sun and the horizon),

2. from the time the sun is at its highest point in the sky until it moves on,

3. from the time when the sun yellows before sunset until after it has set,

4. after praying the current Dawn Prayer (Subh), and

5. after praying the current Afternoon Prayer (`Asr).
‏
It is permissible at the above times to offer non-obligatory Prayers that are performed for a particular reason, such as the funeral prayer, greeting the mosque, or the two Rak`as that are Sunnah after ablution (Wudu'); and is also permissible to make up missed Prayers.

It is not offensive to pray within the Sacred Precinct (Haram) in Makkah at any time, i.e. the above rule doesn’t apply to Prayer within the Haram, nor is it offensive to pray when the sun is at its zenith on Fridays (whether in the Sacred Precinct or elsewhere).” ‏

[tresbien]

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible for a Muslim man or woman to delay an obligatory prayer beyond the proper time, rather every accountable Muslim man and woman is obliged to perform the prayers on time as much as they can.

Work is not an excuse for delaying prayer, neither is impurity on clothes or clothes being dirty. None of these are acceptable excuses.

People should be excused from work at prayer times; at the time of prayer a worker has to wash the impurity from his clothes, or change into clean clothes. As for regular dirt (as opposed to impurities), this does not prevent one from praying in those clothes, so long as that dirt is not impure and does not have an offensive smell that would bother other worshippers. But if the dirt or its smell will bother others, then he has to wash it before praying, or change into clean clothes so that he can pray in congregation.

It is permissible for those who have legitimate shar’i excuses, such as those who are sick or are travelling, to combine Zuhr and ‘Asr at the time of either of them, and to combine Maghrib and ‘Isha’ at the time of either of them.

This was narrated in the saheeh Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It is also permissible to join prayers when there is heavy rain or mud, which cause difficulty for people.

[OurIslamic]

This is a repost, threads should be merged.