Fajr is 4 rakats: 2 rakats of sunnah, then 2 rakats of fard. Nothing follows the fard, and there is no Witr. It is the shortest prayer of the day, and the one whose sunnah is stressed the most.
| Part | Rakats | Ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Sunnah before | 2 | emphasized sunnah |
| Fard | 2 | fard |
| Total | 4 |
Why is the Fajr sunnah singled out?
The Diyanet Namaz İlmihali counts the two rakats before Fajr among the emphasized sunnahs, and the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam calls them the strongest of the voluntary prayers. 'Ā'ishah reported:
— ‘Ā’ishah; al-Bukhari and MuslimThe Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not observe a voluntary prayer more regularly than the two Rak‘ahs of Fajr.
The High Council of Religious Affairs also recalls the Muslim narration that these two rakats are better than the world and what is in it.
— Source (Turkish): High Council of Religious Affairs, on skipping the Fajr sunnah for the congregation; TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Namaz"The iqamah has been called: pray the sunnah or join?
Praying voluntary prayers once the iqamah is being said is makruh, but the Fajr sunnah is the exception. According to the High Council, if you think you can still catch the last rakat of the fard prayer in congregation, or in some views at least the Tashahhud, pray the sunnah first. If praying it would make you miss the whole fard, skip it and join the congregation.
— Source (Turkish): High Council of Religious Affairs; Namaz İlmihali, "Times when voluntary prayer is makruh"When does Fajr start and end?
The time begins at fajr al-sadiq, the second dawn: a horizontal band of light spreading across the eastern horizon. It ends at sunrise. The earlier, vertical flash of whiteness (fajr al-kadhib) does not count. This moment is also imsak, when the fast begins, so the "Imsak" time in a prayer-times table marks the start of Fajr.
According to the Hanafis it is recommended to pray Fajr once it has grown light (isfar). The other schools prefer the first part of the time. The Qur'an points to the dawn prayer:
— Surah al-Isra, 78 (Pickthall) — Source (Turkish): Namaz İlmihali, "Times of the daily prayers"; TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Vakit"Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed
If the sun rises while you pray
For the Hanafis, if the sun rises while you are praying the Fajr fard, that prayer is invalid, because sunrise is a time when prayer is not allowed. The other jurists hold that whoever catches one rakat before sunrise has prayed Fajr in time. This is why Hanafis are advised not to leave Fajr to the very end of its time.
— Source (Turkish): Namaz İlmihali, "Times of the daily prayers"Making up a missed Fajr
Oversleeping or forgetting is not a sin, but you pray as soon as you remember. The ruling then depends on the clock:
- Made up before noon (zawal) the same day: The fard is prayed with its sunnah, so 2 rakats of sunnah and 2 rakats of fard.
- Made up after noon: Only the 2 rakats of fard are made up; the sunnah is not.
- At sunrise: For roughly the first 40 to 45 minutes after sunrise no make-up prayer is offered. Wait until that period has passed.
The only sunnahs that can be made up are those of Fajr, Dhuhr and Friday, and only if they could not be prayed before the fard. See also how to make up missed prayers.
— Source (Turkish): High Council of Religious Affairs, "Hangi namazlar kaza edilir?"; Namaz İlmihali, "Making up sunnah prayers" and "Makruh times"Voluntary prayer after Fajr
Once Fajr time has begun, no voluntary prayer is offered other than the Fajr sunnah. This lasts until the sun has risen high. The High Council adds that after praying the sunnah, a make-up prayer may be offered if there is still time before sunrise.
— Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri; al-Bukhari and MuslimThere should be no prayer after the morning prayer until the sun rises high
Of the Fajr prayer itself, the Prophet also said:
— Jundub ibn ‘Abdullāh; MuslimWhoever performs the Fajr prayer is under the protection of Allah
How is Fajr prayed?
Both the sunnah and the fard are prayed like any two-rakat prayer: al-Fatihah and a surah in each rakat, then the Tashahhud, the Salawat and the Rabbana supplications in the final sitting, and the salam to the right and left. Men say the iqamah before the fard. In a congregational Fajr the imam recites al-Fatihah and the surah aloud, which is wajib in the Hanafi school. For the full sequence see how to perform Salah, and for what to recite, surahs recited in prayer.
The whole day's rakats are compared in how many rakats in each prayer, and today's Fajr time is on the prayer times page.
Sources
- Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, Namaz İlmihali (Karagöz, Altuntaş), Ankara 2011 (Turkish): PDF
- High Council of Religious Affairs, the Fajr sunnah and the congregation (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
- High Council of Religious Affairs, which prayers are made up (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
- High Council of Religious Affairs, prayer between dawn and sunrise (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, "Vakit" (Turkish): islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/vakit; "Namaz": islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/namaz
