The Prophetic Biography: Determining the Times of Prayer When the prayer was first prescribed, the number of units was not specified, nor were the prayer times defined. It was not clear when each prayer should be performed or how many units each prayer contained. On the second day, the Angel Gabriel came when the sun had slightly passed its highest point in the sky—this moment is known as when the sun is at its zenith, when objects cast almost no shadow because the sun is directly overhead. He said: “O Muhammad, rise and pray.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed ablution, and Gabriel led him in prayer as an imam for the purpose of teaching him. He showed him that this was the time for the noon prayer, consisting of four units. Then he departed. When the shadow of everything became equal to its length, Gabriel returned and said: “Rise and pray.” He led him in a four-unit prayer and said: “This is the time for the afternoon prayer.” Then he left. When the disk of the sun began to incline toward sunset, Gabriel came again and said: “Rise and pray, O Muhammad.” He led him in a three-unit prayer and said: “This is the time for the sunset prayer.” Then he departed. When the twilight disappeared and darkness set in, Gabriel returned and led him in the night prayer of four units. Then he left. At dawn, Gabriel came to him, woke him, and said: “Rise and pray.” He led him in a two-unit prayer and then departed. On the following day, Gabriel did not come at the usual time for the noon prayer, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) waited. Shortly before the time of the afternoon prayer, Gabriel came and led him in the noon prayer—so as to teach him the span of time available for each prayer. Then he left. When the sun was about to set and its light had begun to turn yellow, Gabriel came again and said: “Rise and pray.” He led him in the afternoon prayer. When the sun had completely set, Gabriel came and led him in the sunset prayer—teaching that the sunset prayer has a single, fixed time. Then he departed. After the first third of the night had passed and it approached the middle of the night, Gabriel came and led him in the night prayer. Then he left. At dawn, Gabriel did not come immediately. He delayed until the light spread widely and people could clearly see one another—just before sunrise. This stage is known as the brightening of dawn, when light fully overcomes the darkness. Then he came and led him in the dawn prayer. Then Gabriel said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Muhammad, these are your times and the times of your community, and between these two limits there is flexibility.” Thus, the companions learned the prayer times without the need for clocks. As for today, there is no need to determine prayer times by observing shadows and measurements. When the call to prayer is made, and until the next call comes, there is time to perform the prayer—except for the dawn prayer. Once the sun rises, the time for the dawn prayer has ended. In this way, the times of prayer were fully established, along with their prescribed units and proper timings.