Salah al-Zuhr (Ritual Prayer at Noon)

As the sun rises up high, a Muslim who started working hard after performing the Morning Ritual Prayer takes a break and rests, and even remember his Lord –who he might have forgotten due to his busy daily occupations- to refresh his religious awareness. When the sun is at its peak and starts to incline towards the East, the time of the Noon Ritual Prayer begins.  (Sahih Muslim, Masajid, 188; Sahih Bukhari, Adhan, 104) No salah can be performed while the sun is at its peak.

The Salah al-Zuhr consists of ten rak’ah: four rak’ah of first sunnah prayer, four rak’ah of fardh prayer and two rak’ah of final sunnah prayer.  The two rak’ah before the fardh prayer are among the emphasized (muakkadah) sunnah. The time of the Salah al-Zuhr ends when the shadow of an object is as long as the object itself.