Which Times of the Day Are Mentioned in the Quran?
ما هي أوقات النهار وساعاته المذكورة في القرآن الكريم؟
Different times of the day are mentioned in the following Ayahs: night, noon, dawn, al-Asr (time) and the morning brightness (ad-Duha).
(It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights preceding the fast. Your spouses are a garment for you as you are for them. Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you. So now you may be intimate with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you. ˹You may˺ eat and drink until you see the light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall.) [Al-Baqarah 2:187]
(Observe the prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night and the dawn prayer, for certainly the dawn prayer is witnessed ˹by angels˺.) [Al-Isra' 17:78]
(O believers! Let those ˹bondspeople˺ in your possession and those of you who are still under age ask for your permission ˹to come in˺ at three times: before dawn prayer, when you take off your ˹outer˺ clothes at noon, and after the late evening prayer. ˹These are˺ three times of privacy for you. Other than these times, there is no blame on you or them to move freely, attending to one another. This is how Allah makes the revelations clear to you, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.) [An-Nur 24:58]
(By the dawn) [Al-Fajr 89:1]
(It is all peace until the break of dawn.) [Al-Qadr 97:5]
(By the morning brightness) [Ad-Duha 93:1]
(By time,) [Al-Asr 103:1]
تم ذكر أوقات مختلفة من اليوم في الآيات التالية: الليل، الظهيرة، الفجر، العصر، الضحى.
(أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَائِكُمْ ۚ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ ۗ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنْكُمْ ۖ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۚ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ) [البقرة 2: 187]
(أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا) [الإسراء 17: 78]
(يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِيَسْتَأْذِنكُمُ الَّذِينَ مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَبْلُغُوا الْحُلُمَ مِنكُمْ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ ۚ مِّن قَبْلِ صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ وَحِينَ تَضَعُونَ ثِيَابَكُم مِّنَ الظَّهِيرَةِ وَمِن بَعْدِ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ ۚ ثَلَاثُ عَوْرَاتٍ لَّكُمْ ۚ لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا عَلَيْهِمْ جُنَاحٌ بَعْدَهُنَّ ۚ طَوَّافُونَ عَلَيْكُم بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ) [النور 24: 58]
(وَٱلْفَجْرِ) [الفجر 89: 1]
(سَلامٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ) [القدر 97: 5]
(وَالضُّحَى) [الضحى 93: 1]
(وَالْعَصْرِ) [العصر 103: 1]
1. Dawn and Night in the Fast | الفجر والليل في الصيام
In the verse of fasting, Allah says: eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of dawn, then complete the fast until the night (2:187). Adi ibn Hatim placed a black and a white cord under his pillow and looked at them through the night; the Prophet told him: it is only the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the day (Sahih al-Bukhari 1916). The days of the week named in the Quran are covered in the days of the week mentioned in the Quran.
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ (سورة البقرة: 187)
قال تعالى في آية الصيام: (وكلوا واشربوا حتى يتبين لكم الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود من الفجر ثم أتموا الصيام إلى الليل) (البقرة 2: 187). وجعل عدي بن حاتم رضي الله عنه عقالا أسود وعقالا أبيض تحت وسادته ينظر إليهما في الليل، فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "إنما ذلك سواد الليل وبياض النهار" (صحيح البخاري 1916).
2. Prayer From the Decline of the Sun | الصلاة لدلوك الشمس
Allah says: establish the prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night, and the recitation at dawn; indeed the recitation at dawn is witnessed (17:78). Ibn Kathir reports that some, among them Ibn Mas'ud and Mujahid, took the decline of the sun to mean sunset, while Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar took it to mean the sun passing its height at noon, the view Ibn Jarir chose. The daily prayers are set out in how many prayers a Muslim prays in a day.
أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ (سورة الإسراء: 78)
قال تعالى: (أقم الصلاة لدلوك الشمس إلى غسق الليل وقرآن الفجر إن قرآن الفجر كان مشهودا) (الإسراء 17: 78). ونقل ابن كثير أن دلوك الشمس قيل: غروبها، قاله ابن مسعود ومجاهد، وقيل: زوالها، رواه الشعبي عن ابن عباس، ونافع عن ابن عمر، واختاره ابن جرير.
3. Noon: Three Times of Privacy | الظهيرة: ثلاث عورات
In Surah An-Nur, servants and children who have not reached puberty ask permission at three times: before the dawn prayer, when you lay aside your clothes at noon, and after the night prayer (24:58). Ibn Kathir explains why: before the dawn prayer people are asleep in their beds, at noon is the midday rest, and after the night prayer is the time of sleep. Read more in the tafsir of Surah An-Nur.
مِّن قَبْلِ صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ وَحِينَ تَضَعُونَ ثِيَابَكُم مِّنَ الظَّهِيرَةِ وَمِن بَعْدِ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ (سورة النور: 58)
في سورة النور يستأذن الخدم والأطفال الذين لم يبلغوا الحلم ثلاث مرات: (من قبل صلاة الفجر وحين تضعون ثيابكم من الظهيرة ومن بعد صلاة العشاء) (النور 24: 58). وبين ابن كثير أن الناس قبل صلاة الغداة يكونون نياما في فرشهم، وأن الظهيرة وقت القيلولة، وأن ما بعد صلاة العشاء وقت النوم.
4. Oaths by the Dawn, the Forenoon and al-Asr | القسم بالفجر والضحى والعصر
Three surahs open with an oath by a time of day: By the dawn (89:1), By the forenoon (93:1) and By al-Asr (103:1). Ibn Kathir explains the oath by the forenoon as an oath by the light Allah placed in it. On al-Asr he says it is time, in which the deeds of people happen, good and bad, and reports Zayd ibn Aslam's view that it is the late afternoon, adding that the first is the well-known view. Surahs that bear these names are listed in which surahs are named after prayer times. Each of these three oaths is a complete verse of one word in Arabic, as counted in which verse consists of one word only. Allah also swears by the dawn when it breathes (81:18), explained in what breathes in the Quran yet has no soul.
وَالضُّحَىٰ * وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ (سورة الضحى: 1-2)
تفتتح ثلاث سور بالقسم بوقت من اليوم: (والفجر) (الفجر 89: 1)، و(والضحى) (الضحى 93: 1)، و(والعصر) (العصر 103: 1). وفسر ابن كثير القسم بالضحى بأنه قسم بالضحى وما جعل فيه من الضياء، وقال في العصر: الزمان الذي يقع فيه حركات بني آدم من خير وشر، وقال زيد بن أسلم: هو العشي، والمشهور الأول.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Which times of the day are named in these verses?
The night, noon (az-zahirah), dawn (al-fajr), al-Asr and the forenoon (ad-duha).
What do the white and black threads of dawn mean?
The Prophet explained that they are the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the day (Sahih al-Bukhari 1916).
What does the decline of the sun in Al-Isra 17:78 mean?
Ibn Kathir reports two views: sunset, and the sun passing its height at noon, which Ibn Jarir chose.
Is al-Asr a time of day or time itself?
Ibn Kathir says the well-known view is that al-Asr is time, in which people act, and reports that Zayd ibn Aslam took it to mean the late afternoon.