Islam_in_Focus_text

Prayer. Failure to observe these Prayers is a serious and
punishable sin, if there is no reasonable excuse.
2. Supererogatory (Wajib and Sunnah), which includes
the Prayers accompanying the obligatory Prayers, and the
congregations of the two great festivals ('Ids). Failure to ob-
serve these is a harmful negligence and a reproachable con-
duct
.
3. Optional Prayer which includes all voluntary Prayers
at any time of the day or the night. Two periods have a spe-
cial preference: the later part of the night until just before the
breaking of the dawn and the mid-morning period.
Times of Prayer
Every Muslim, male or female, must offer at least five
daily Prayers in tirne, if there is no lawful reason for exemp-
tion, combination, or temporary delay. They are:
1. The Early Morning Prayer (Salatu-1-Fajr), which
may be offered any time after the dawn and before sunrise, a
total period of about two hours.
( 1
)
We should note that the Funeral Prayer is a common collective duty
(Fard Kifayah). This means that some Muslims should offer it, and when it
is offered by some Muslims it suffices the whole community of Muslims.
(2) Other Schools of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) differentiate between
the Wajib and the Simna, (Edit.).