المعنى الاصطلاحي :

The times set by the Shariah for the performance of prayers.

الشرح المختصر :

"Awqāt as-salāh" (prayer times) are the times that have been specified by Allah, the Almighty, to perform the prayers. These are of three types: 1. Obligatory times: such as the times of the obligatory daily prayers. They are five times: a) Fajr prayer time, which starts from the true dawn and lasts till sunrise. b) Zhur prayer time, which starts when the sun passes its zenith and lasts till the time at which an object’s shadow equals its height. c) ‘Asr prayer time, which starts from the time at which an object’s shadow equals its height and lasts till sunset. d) Maghrib prayer time, which starts at sunset and lasts till the disappearance of the red twilight. e) ‘Ishā’ prayer time, which starts when the red twilight disappears and lasts till the break of the true dawn. 2. Recommended times: such as the times of the Sunnah (supererogatory) prayers. There are many Sunnah prayers. Some of them have Shariah specified times, such as the Witr prayer, whose time starts after the ‘Ishā’ prayer and lasts till the break of dawn. Other Sunnah prayers do not have specified times, such as the rest of the voluntary prayers. 3. Undesirable times: These are three times. a) During the sunrise until the sun rises. b) At the meridian time, i.e. midday, when the sun is at its absolute zenith. c) When the sun turns yellow (before sunset) until sunset.