The names of islamic prayers and some other names.

Fajr is the Dawn prayer before the sunrise, Zuhr is around noon, Asr is the afternoon prayer, Maghrib is right after the sunset and the Esha is the night prayer.

Muslims are prohibited to pray at sunrise and sunset, I think that gives people a chance to enjoy the beautiful views of sunrise and sunset, although that is not the reason behind it.

There are Islamic Prayer Apps that list the range of prayer times based on the local time zone.

A chart or an app must be followed for the prayer times in places where there are no calls to prayers or Adhans as the time changes every day. As each of the seasons comes the prayer times change quite a bit.

1. Fajr – 2 Raka Sunna followed by 2 Raka Fard

2. Zuhr – 4 (2 and 2) Raka Sunna followed by 4 Raka Fard followed by 2 Raka of Sunnah

3. Asr - 4 (2 and 2) Raka Sunnah followed by 4 Raka Fard

4. Maghrib – 3 Raka of Fard followed by 2 Raka of Sunnah

5. Esha - 4 (2 and 2) Raka Sunnah followed by 4 Raka Fard followed by 2 Raka of Sunnah followed by 3 Raka of Biter.

Each of the five prayers has obligatory part called the Fard and the voluntary part called the Sunnah that used to be prayed by Prophet Muhammad SAWS, furthermore, these parts have designated numbers of sections called the Raka.

Biter is in between obligatory and voluntary, meaning there is a lot of emphasis to pray these three Raka of Biter.

So, as you can see, Islam is very structured. If you ever wondered, in a group prayer, how does everyone know to vow together, well, this is the secret, each prayer is structured, in addition to knowing the above numbers of Raka, they know the steps within a Raka. For example, each Raka has 1 vow and 2 prostrations.

Each raka has one ruku and two sujuds.

1. Vow (1) - Ruku

2. Prostrations (2) - Sujud

Of course, there are more details to each of the Raka and what goes in it, such as, saying at least three verses of the Holy Quran in Arabic is a must in each of the first two Raka. But the verses can be very small, and the entire prayer goes pretty fast.

In each of the Vows or Prostrations, God is glorified with a short prayer at least three times, or five times or seven times or in increment of two times after that.

In between vow and the prostration there are specific prayers that are said. From vow while standing up, it is said "Sami Allahu liman Hamida - God hears the one that praises Him." From the standing position while going down on the floor for prostration it is said, "Rabbana lakal hamd - O our Lord, to you be the Praise."

These are some examples. It is fascinating how each tiny move of the prayer has its designated prayer!

Each raka has one ruku and two sujuds.

1. Vow (1) - Ruku

2. Prostrations (2) - Sujud

Of course, there are more details to each of the Raka and what goes in it, such as, saying at least three verses of the Holy Quran usually in Arabic is a must in each of the first two Raka. But the verses can be very small, and the entire prayer goes pretty fast.

Depending on the situations, people are allowed to pray in different positions if it is impossible for them to stand up and pray. But in most cases, once people start to pray regularly, often times, their bodies adjust, it becomes easier and easier. Body muscles are very adaptive, and it is also good for the health to stretch muscles like this.

The ninth lunar month called Ramadan is famous, because Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during this month, so this month is well known to many people of the other faiths. Because these months are based on the phases of the moon, and the lunar calendar is shorter than the regular calendar by about 10 or 11 days the lunar calendar is a moving calendar, every year, for example, Ramadan moves 11 days earlier than the previous year and so on.

The ninth lunar month called Ramadan is famous, because Muslim fasts from dawn to dusk during this month, so this month is well known to many people of the other faiths. Because these months are based on the phases of the moon, the lunar calendar is shorter than the regular calendar by about 10 or 11 days. So, what this means is that the lunar calendar is a moving calendar, every year, for example, Ramadan moves 11 days earlier than the previous year and so on.

The Three meals of the 24-hour day, during Ramadan:

1. Iftar - Break of fast in the evening

2. The night meal - a couple of hours after the evening meal

3. Suhur - Before dawn, before the start of fasting. But most, or many, people miss this meal, they rather sleep.

So, People still eat three meals during a 24-hour period except these meals are at night when the fasting ends. And what meals these are! Because people fast during the day, they go out of their ways to prepare delicious meals. These meals are nothing like your normal everyday meals, everything is more and extravagant.

Sometimes people say Ramadan Mubarak and sometimes they say Ramadan Kareem. It is usually said after the normal Islamic Greeting: As Salamu Alaikum - May Peace be up on you. So, it will go like this:

"As Salamu Alaikum, Ramadan Mubarak!"

Because of the emphasis on the lunar months, people often miss the important role that the sun plays in Islamic prayers and celebrations. The five daily prayers depend on the position of the sun – the ranges of times for each of the prayers are closely aligned with the position of the sun.