The
Asr prayer ( , "afternoon prayer") is
the afternoon daily prayer recited by practising
Muslims. It is the third of the
five daily prayers (the
Islamic date begins at
maghrib). The five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the
Five Pillars of Islam, in
Sunni Islam, and one of the ten
Practices of the Religion (
Furū al-Dīn) according to
Shia Islam. When travelling, according to some
madh'habs, it may be reduced to two
rakaʿāt. The Asr daily prayer may be mentioned as the middle prayer in the
Qur'an at
sura 2 (
Al-Baqara),
ayat 238, and also the name of a short sura (surat
al-Asr). This raises the middle daily prayer to a preciously higher rank for practicing Muslims in particular when it falls on Fridays.