Asr

The Asr prayer (Arabic: صلاة العصر‎ ṣalāt al-ʿaṣr, "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. The Asr prayer is a four rakaʿāt daily prayer and is prayed (barely) silently. 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.