of the night until dawn is not the appointed time for any obligatory prayer; rather, it is the period for tahajjud (the late-night vigil) for those whom Allah enables. Likewise, the stretch from sunrise until the sun passes its zenith is not the time of a prescribed prayer; it is an interval reserved for unrestricted voluntary prayers, such as the ḍuḥā (forenoon) prayer and similar devotions. Thus the dawn prayer is set apart in that it is witnessed by angels and in that it occupies a discrete time-slot, linked to neither the prayer that precedes it nor the one that follows.

As for the afternoon prayer, it is distinguished by being the “middle prayer,” for the authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ explicitly identifies the middle prayer as the afternoon prayer. It is further honored in that Allah, Exalted is He, highlighted its merit by mentioning it specifically after a general command, saying, “Guard strictly your prayers”—a general exhortation—“and the middle prayer,” meaning the afternoon prayer. He singled it out because of its particular excellence.

There are additional virtues shared by the dawn and afternoon prayers, some of which the author (may Allah have mercy on him) cites in this chapter:

1 – Whoever performs the two cool prayers will enter Paradise. The two cool prayers are dawn and afternoon, for dawn comes in the coolness of the night at its end, and afternoon comes in the coolness of the day at its end. Hence the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever prays the two cool prayers shall enter Paradise.”

2 – The Prophet ﷺ also stated that no one who prays before the sun rises and before it sets will ever enter the Fire—that is, whoever observes the dawn and afternoon prayers.