Salah: how and why Muslims pray
Islamic Studies · Key Stage 2 · The School
Five prayers, spread through the day
Muslims pray five times daily: FAJR before sunrise, DHUHR after midday, ASR in the afternoon, MAGHRIB just after sunset and ISHA at night. The times follow the sun rather than the clock, so they shift through the year and differ by place — which is why prayer timetables are printed locally rather than nationally.
What the prayer looks like
Each prayer is made of units called RAKAHS. Within a rakah the worshipper stands and recites, bows (ruku), stands again, prostrates with the forehead to the ground (sujud), sits, and prostrates once more. Prayer faces the Kaaba in Makkah, the direction called the QIBLA, so worshippers everywhere face one point.
Washing first
Before praying, a Muslim performs WUDU — washing the hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, head and feet in order. It is a preparation rather than a cleaning of dirt, marking the move from ordinary activity to prayer. If water is genuinely unavailable, tradition provides an alternative using clean earth, called tayammum.
A timetable for one December day in London: Fajr 06:12, sunrise 08:03, Dhuhr 11:53, Asr 13:38, Maghrib 15:52, Isha 17:22. Notice that Fajr's window ENDS at sunrise, so it is not a long one. Notice how close Asr and Maghrib sit in winter. Now find the same city in June and the whole shape stretches. The printed time is when the window OPENS, not a deadline.