❓ Islamic FAQ

The five daily prayers (Salah) are obligatory upon every adult Muslim:

• Fajr (Dawn) — 2 rak'ahs, from true dawn until sunrise
• Dhuhr (Noon) — 4 rak'ahs, from midday until mid-afternoon
• Asr (Afternoon) — 4 rak'ahs, from mid-afternoon until sunset
• Maghrib (Sunset) — 3 rak'ahs, immediately after sunset
• Isha (Night) — 4 rak'ahs, from dark until midnight

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The first matter that the servant will be accountable for on the Day of Judgement is the prayer." — See our full guide: How to Perform Salah.

Fard (Obligatory): The five daily prayers. Missing them without valid excuse is a sin requiring immediate make-up (qada).

Sunnah Mu'akkadah (Confirmed Sunnah): Prayers the Prophet ﷺ prayed consistently — 2 before Fajr, 2 or 4 before Dhuhr, 2 after Dhuhr, 2 after Maghrib, 2 after Isha, and Witr. Regularly missing them is discouraged.

Nafl (Voluntary): Any extra prayers offered for additional reward — Duha (mid-morning), Tahajjud (night prayer), Tarawih (Ramadan), and others.

Sunrise (Shuruq) marks the end of the Fajr prayer window and the beginning of the prohibited time for prayer. It is not a salah — you cannot pray during or immediately after sunrise. WeMuslim Pro shows it as an informational time marker in the prayer schedule so you know when Fajr ends and when the Duha prayer window begins (about 15-20 minutes after sunrise). The hero card and countdown in the app always display only the five obligatory prayers.

If you miss a prayer without a valid excuse, you must make it up as soon as possible. Perform the missed prayer exactly as you would normally, but say in your intention that it is a qada (make-up) prayer. There is no expiry for making up prayers — the obligation remains until fulfilled.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever sleeps through a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it. There is no expiation for it except that." (Bukhari & Muslim)

If you have accumulated many missed prayers over months or years, scholars recommend making a consistent plan to pray the current prayer plus one or two make-ups daily until all are completed.

The vast majority of scholars hold that the obligatory portions of Salah — particularly Surah Al-Fatiha — must be recited in Arabic. This is based on the Prophet's ﷺ consistent practice and the Quranic command to recite what is "easy of the Quran."

For new Muslims who have not yet learned Arabic, scholars make an allowance to recite in their native language temporarily while learning the Arabic. However, the intention is to learn the Arabic as soon as possible. Begin with Surah Al-Fatiha (7 short verses) and a few short surahs. The WeMuslim Pro Quran section has audio to help you learn pronunciation.

The Holy Quran contains 114 surahs (chapters) and 6,236 ayahs (verses), divided into 30 juz (parts) for ease of reading. The shortest surah is Al-Kawthar (3 verses), and the longest is Al-Baqarah (286 verses). The Quran was revealed over approximately 23 years.

Reading one juz per day allows a Muslim to complete the entire Quran in one month — a popular practice especially during Ramadan. Use the WeMuslim Pro Quran reader to track your progress. Learn the benefits of daily Quran reading →

Allah specifically highlights Fajr recitation in the Quran: "Indeed, the Quran of Fajr is ever witnessed" (17:78) — meaning the angels of night and day both attend this recitation. After Fajr is therefore the most virtuous time.

Other excellent times include: after each prayer, in the last third of the night (Tahajjud time), and during Ramadan at any hour. There is no "bad" time to recite the Quran — any consistent time you can commit to is the best time for you.

There are two aspects to this question:

Touching a physical Mushaf (printed Quran): The majority of scholars (Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) hold that physical contact with a Mushaf requires Wudu. The Hanafi school and some other scholars permit touching with a cover or barrier.

Reciting from memory or a screen: Most scholars permit reciting the Quran from memory without Wudu, though being in a state of Wudu is always preferable for the sanctity of the act.

During menstruation or janabah (major ritual impurity): The majority of scholars hold that recitation should be avoided during janabah until Ghusl is performed, and is either avoided or done only briefly during menstruation.

Zakat is calculated as 2.5% of all zakatable assets held for one full lunar year above the Nisab threshold:

1. Add up all zakatable assets: cash, savings, gold/silver jewellery (held as investment), stocks, business inventory, and money owed to you.
2. Subtract immediate debts (rent due, loan payments due this month).
3. If the net total ≥ Nisab (85g gold or 595g silver value), Zakat is due.
4. Multiply the total by 2.5% (or divide by 40). That is your Zakat amount.

Read our complete guide: What Is Zakat? Understanding the Third Pillar of Islam →

Zakat is obligatory (fard) — a specific annual percentage of wealth that eligible Muslims must pay. It has precise rules about who pays, who receives it, and how it is calculated. Failing to pay Zakat is a major sin.

Sadaqah is voluntary charity given freely at any amount, at any time, to anyone in need. There are no rules on the amount or frequency. Any act of kindness — even a smile — can be Sadaqah. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Every act of goodness is a Sadaqah." (Muslim)

The fast is broken intentionally by: eating or drinking anything (including water), smoking, sexual relations between spouses, and deliberately inducing vomiting.

The following do not break the fast: unintentional swallowing of saliva or dust, using miswak (tooth stick) or toothbrush without toothpaste, eye drops, injections (not nutritional), blood tests, and genuinely forgetting and eating — the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever forgets he is fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is Allah who fed him and gave him drink." (Bukhari & Muslim)

Full guide: The Complete Ramadan Guide →

Zakat al-Fitr must be paid before the Eid al-Fitr prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever pays it before the Eid prayer, it is an accepted Zakat. Whoever pays it after the prayer, it is merely a charity." (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah)

It is best to pay it in the last few days of Ramadan so it reaches recipients in time for Eid. The amount is approximately 2.5kg of a staple food (rice, wheat, dates) per household member, or its cash equivalent.

Islam provides compassionate exemptions: "So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during Ramadan] — then an equal number of other days [are to be made up]." (Quran 2:185)

If ill: If fasting would worsen your illness or significantly delay recovery, you may break the fast and make up the missed days when recovered.

If travelling: A journey of approximately 80km or more permits breaking the fast. You make up the missed days later.

Permanent inability (chronic illness, extreme old age): Pay fidyah — feeding one poor person for each missed day instead of making up the fasts.

The Qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah (21.4225°N, 39.8262°E). The easiest modern methods:

• WeMuslim Pro Qibla Finder — uses GPS for a precise real-time compass bearing to Makkah
• Google Maps — drop a pin at your location and draw a line to Makkah
• Local mosque — the prayer direction (mihrab) always faces Qibla

Note: From North America, the Qibla is northeast — not southeast as flat maps suggest. Always use a calibrated digital compass. Learn the full science of Qibla →

No. The scholars of all four major schools of Islamic law agree that if a person makes a genuine effort to find the Qibla and faces approximately the correct direction, the prayer is valid. A small deviation of a few degrees does not invalidate Salah.

The Quran says: "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear." (2:286). If you prayed facing the wrong direction due to an honest mistake and had no means to determine the correct direction, your prayer is accepted. Simply use a reliable Qibla tool for future prayers.

WeMuslim Pro uses the Aladhan API (aladhan.com) to calculate prayer times based on your precise GPS coordinates. The API supports all major calculation methods: Muslim World League, ISNA, Egyptian General Authority, Umm Al-Qura (Makkah), and University of Islamic Sciences Karachi.

Times are accurate to the minute for your exact location. If your local mosque's times differ slightly, it may be using a different calculation method or local moon-sighting adjustments — change the method in WeMuslim Pro Settings to match your mosque.

Yes! Core features are fully available offline:

• ✅ Prayer times (calculated on-device from your last known location)
• ✅ Qibla compass (uses device GPS and compass hardware)
• ✅ Morning and Evening Azkar (stored locally)
• ✅ Tasbih counter (local storage)
• ✅ Islamic Calendar (algorithm-based, no internet needed)
• 🌐 Quran reader (requires internet for initial load, then caches via service worker)
• 🌐 Quran audio (streams from CDN, requires internet)

No. Your location is used only to calculate prayer times and Qibla direction directly on your device. GPS coordinates are never transmitted to or stored on our servers. The only external request is to the Aladhan API (passing your coordinates to get prayer times) and the OpenStreetMap Nominatim service (to convert coordinates to a city name). Both requests are stateless and no personally identifiable data is retained.

See our full Privacy Policy for complete details.

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