Maghrib
Encyclopedia
The Maghrib prayer prayed just after sunset, is the fourth of five formal daily prayers (salat
) performed by practicing Muslim
s.
The formal daily prayers of Islam
comprise different numbers of units, called rak'at. The Maghrib prayer has three obligatory (fard
) rak'at. The first two fard rak'at are prayed aloud, and the third is prayed silently. In Sunni
Islam, two further sunnah
rak'at following the fard rak'at are highly recommended.
To be considered valid salat, the formal daily prayers must each be performed within their own prescribed time period. People with a legitimate reason have a longer period in which their prayers will be valid (known as the daroori period, here called "the Period of Necessity"). The period within which to offer valid Maghrib prayers is the shortest of the five periods of the day.
The time period within which the Maghrib daily prayer must be recited is as follows:
Time ends
It is the 4th prayer of the day
Time ends
Despite the relatively long period in which valid prayers can be recited, it is considered important to recite the prayer as soon as the time begins.
Sometimes Shia's read their salah together e.g zuhur and Asr, Magrib and Isha.
Salat
Salah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
) performed by practicing Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s.
The formal daily prayers of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
comprise different numbers of units, called rak'at. The Maghrib prayer has three obligatory (fard
Fard
also is an Islamic term which denotes a religious duty. The word is also used in Persian, Turkish, and Urdu in the same meaning....
) rak'at. The first two fard rak'at are prayed aloud, and the third is prayed silently. In Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
Islam, two further sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
rak'at following the fard rak'at are highly recommended.
Prayer times
The time period within which the Maghrib daily prayer must be recited is as follows:
Sunni Sect
Time begins- When the sun has completely set beneath the horizon; immediately after the AsrAsrThe Asr prayer is the afternoon daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. It is the third of the five daily prayers . The five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the Religion according to Shia Islam...
prayer period ends.
Time ends
- According to the predominant opinions of the MalikiMalikiThe ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
and Shafi'iShafi'iThe Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
schools of lawMadhhabis a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
, the prescribed prayer time ends as soon as enough time for a person to purify him/herself and pray has passed. After that, according to the MalikiMalikiThe ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
school, the Period of Necessity lasts until a little before dawn, i.e., the beginning of FajrFajrThe Fajr prayer is the first of the five daily prayers offered by practising Muslims. The five daily prayers collectively form one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the Religion according to Shia Islam.The Fajr prayer is mentioned by name in the...
prayer. - Most other scholarly opinions hold that the time for Maghrib prayer ends when the time for Isha'aIsha'aThe Isha prayer is the night-time daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. It is the fifth of the five daily prayers– [islamic evening begins at maghrib]. The five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the...
salat begins. There is disgreement amongst Sunni scholars as to when that occurs. According to the HanafiHanafiThe Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school, Isha'a begins when complete darkness has arrived and the yellow twilight in the sky has disappeared. - According to a minority opinion in the Maliki school, the prescribed time for Maghrib prayer ends when the red thread has disappeared from the sky. In another opinion of the Shafi'i school, the disappearance of the red thread marks the end of the Period of Necessity. These times can be approximated by using the sun as a measure. When the sun has descended 12 degrees below the horizon, it is approximately equivalent to the disappearance of the red from the sky. For approximating when complete darkness begins, i.e. the disappearance of the white thread from the sky, some astronomers argue that it occurs when the sun has descended 15 degrees below the horizon while others use the safer number of 18 degrees.
It is the 4th prayer of the day
Shia Sect
Time begins- When the redness of the eastern sky - that persists in the east for some time after sunset - disappears from the eastern half of the sky, and thus from above one's head when one looks vertically upwards in the sky.
Time ends
- At midnight. The end of its time is after approximately eleven-and-a-quarter hours have passed from the legal noontime. This is for when one is under normal circumstances. However, in the case of one who was asleep, or forgot to perform the prayer or was coerced by extraordinary circumstances or factors beyond his control or in the case of woman whose prayer was delayed due to menstruation, the end of the Maghrib prayer time is Fajir.
Despite the relatively long period in which valid prayers can be recited, it is considered important to recite the prayer as soon as the time begins.
Sometimes Shia's read their salah together e.g zuhur and Asr, Magrib and Isha.
See also
- Wudhu (Abolution)
- SalatSalatSalah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
(Prayer) - SunriseSunriseSunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...
(When the sun comes out) - FajrFajrThe Fajr prayer is the first of the five daily prayers offered by practising Muslims. The five daily prayers collectively form one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the Religion according to Shia Islam.The Fajr prayer is mentioned by name in the...
(Dawn prayer) - DhuhrDhuhrThe dhuhr prayer is the prayer after midday Performed daily by practicing Muslims, it is the second of the five daily prayers...
(Mid-day prayer) - AsrAsrThe Asr prayer is the afternoon daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. It is the third of the five daily prayers . The five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the Religion according to Shia Islam...
(Afternoon prayer) - Maghrib (Dusk prayer)
- Isha'aIsha'aThe Isha prayer is the night-time daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. It is the fifth of the five daily prayers– [islamic evening begins at maghrib]. The five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the...
(Night prayer) - DhikrDhikrDhikr , plural ; ), is an Islamic devotional act, typically involving the repetition of the Names of God, supplications or formulas taken from hadith texts and verses of the Qur'an. Dhikr is usually done individually, but in some Sufi orders it is instituted as a ceremonial activity...
- TasbihTasbihA misbaha , subha , Tasbih , or tespih is a string of prayer beads which is traditionally used by Muslims to keep track of counting in tasbih....
- VespersVespersVespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
in Christianity