The Obligation of Prayer and Its Conditions
fiqh
Level: basic
salah
fqh-001
إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ كَانَتۡ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ كِتَٰبٗا مَّوۡقُوتٗا
— النساء 103
Verse: "Indeed prayer has been decreed upon believers at specified times." (4:103)
Ruling: Prayer is an individual obligation on every sane adult Muslim.
Five prayers and times: Fajr (dawn to sunrise), Dhuhr (noon to shadow-length), Asr (to sunset), Maghrib (to disappearance of red twilight), Isha (to midnight).
Conditions of valid prayer: Ritual purity, facing Qiblah, covering awrah, correct time, intention.
"Mawquta" (specified times): Prescribed in defined times — not advanced or delayed except with legal excuse.
Source: Ibn Al-Arabi (1/538); Al-Qurtubi (5/369); Ibn Qudama (1/271)
Question: What does "mawquta" (specified times) mean in the prayer verse?
Answer: Prescribed at defined times not to be advanced or delayed except with legal excuse — like travel, illness, or sleep.