Fatwa ID: 05003

Answered by: Imam Abdul-Malik Sheikh

Question

Are the five prayers mentions in the Quran?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Firstly I would like to say that the Quran is not the only source of guidance. The Sunnah of the prophet makes clear the number of prayers and how they should be performed.

Secondly, it is not true that these prayers are not mentioned in the Quran. The scholars highlight the following verse evidence for the five prayers:

“So glorify Allah [above all that (evil) they associate with Him (O believers)], when you come up to the evening [i.e. offer the (Maghrib) sunset and (‘Isha’) night prayers], and when you enter the morning [i.e. offer the (Fajr) morning prayer]. And His is all the praises and thanks in the heavens and the earth, and (glorify Him) in the afternoon (i.e. offer ‘Asr prayer) and when you come up to the time, when the day begins to decline (i.e. offer Zuhr prayer). (Rum: 17-18)

Nafi` bin Al-Azraq asked Ibn Abbas can we find (the timing of the five daily prayers in the Book of Allāh? Ibn ‘Abbas explained that the five daily compulsory prayers are mentioned in the Quran in the above verse.

Reference:

Tafsiral-Tabari, Vol. 20, p.84, Mu’assat at-Risalah

Only Allah knows best

Written by Imam Abdul-Malik Sheikh

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham