The Five Watches
How Zoroastrians Divided the Day Into Five Sacred Periods — and Why Islam's Five Daily Prayers Look Familiar The Inner Fire — Part 1 Five times a day, 1.8 billion Muslims around the world stop what they're doing and pray. Fajr at dawn. Dhuhr at noon. Asr in the afternoon. Maghrib at sunset. Isha at night. Five prayers, spaced across the day, aligned to the movement of the sun. Most Muslims believe this practice was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during his Night Journey. Most of the world accepts that framing.
What this resource contributes
How Zoroastrians Divided the Day Into Five Sacred Periods — and Why Islam's Five Daily Prayers Look Familiar The Inner Fire — Part 1 Five times a day, 1.8 billion Muslims around the world stop what they're doing and pray. Fajr at dawn. Dhuhr at noon. Asr in the afternoon. Maghrib at sunset. Isha at night. Five prayers, spaced across the day, aligned to the movement of the sun. Most Muslims believe this practice was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during his Night Journey. Most of the world accepts that framing. But if you look at the Zoroastrian liturgical calendar — a system documented centuries before Islam existed — you find five daily prayers, spaced across the day, aligned to the movement of the sun, each governed by a specific divine being: Hāvan — sunrise to noon. Rapithwin — noon to 3:00 PM. Uzayēirin — 3:00 PM to sunset. Aiwisrūthrem — sunset to midnight.
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Yasna · Avesta