Is Fajr a Day Prayer or a Night Prayer?

Question

Zayd says that Fajr is a day prayer, and Umar says that it is a night prayer. In support of his position Zayd cites as evidence the statements of Mawlana Abd al-Hayy Lakhnawi ﵀, Mawlana Ashiq Ilahi Mirthi ﵀ and Hazrat Thanawi ﵀, as well as Hazrat Shah Abd al-Qadir ﵀, while Umar cites as evidence the customary (‘urfi) notion of day. So according to the Shari‘a, is Fajr a day prayer or a night prayer?

Answer

In a noble hadith it is stated: [ar]صَلَاةُ النَّهَارِ عَجْمَاءُ[/ar] “The prayer of the day is silent,” that is, in the day prayer the recitation is not done aloud. In view of this hadith it is also correct not to count Fajr among the day prayers, since the recitation in it is done aloud — hence it is a night prayer.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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