The morning prayer (fajr) is performed at the first light of dawn and ends with the
appearance of the first part of the sun. There is often confusion between the “deceptive”
dawn and the “true” dawn. The former offers vertical glows that do not cover the horizon,
and then night returns. The other forms a white glow that covers the horizon from north to
south, and only fades away when the sun rises.
The second prayer (dhohr) is performed at midday. It begins when the sun has passed its
zenith and moves toward the direction of sunset. Its period ends when the shadow of an
object is the same size as the object itself.
The afternoon prayer (‘asr) begins at the end of Dhohr time and lasts until sunset. Its end is
calculated when the shadow of the object is now twice its own size.
At sunset, and when the solar disk has completely disappeared from the horizon, the fourth
prayer (maghrib) begins. It ends when there is no more red glow.
And finally, the last prayer (‘icha) ends at the beginning of dawn. And so on and so forth.