Fajr (prayer)

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Muslims begin fasting with the fajr prayer. Fajr is mentioned twice in the Qur'an. The verse in which Muhammad is commanded to recite at dawn (11:114) is taken as foundational for prescribing the times for prayer. In Qur'an 17:78, dawn is one of the three times that prayer is to be performed. According to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's commentary on angels (''Al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik''), this verse describes the witnessing of dawn prayer by the angels of the day and the night. Salat al-duha replaced fajr as the morning prayer when the five prayers were standardized. == Performance ==

The fajr prayer consists of two compulsory (fardh) units of prayer (rak'a). In addition, the voluntary sunnah prayer consists of two units of prayer and can be performed before the compulsory prayer. In fajr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read aloud (jahr), as during Maghrib and Isha. It is commonly performed silently when waking up in the morning. The prayer includes wudu (ritual purification) and salat (ritual prayer). == Timings ==

The timings for the prayer are prescribed by the hadith. ==See also==