The History of the Obligatory Prayer: From the Night Journey to Today (UK Guide)

How the five daily prayers became obligatory

Of all the major Islamic obligations, the five daily prayers are unique in how they were given. They were not revealed to the Prophet ﷺ through the angel Jibrīl in the usual way. They were commanded directly by Allah to the Prophet ﷺ during the Night Journey and Ascension (al-Isrāʾ wa al-Miʿrāj) — the only act of worship the Prophet ﷺ ascended through the seven heavens to receive personally.

This guide is the British Muslim parent\'s reference: how the obligation of the five daily prayers was given, the negotiation with Allah for the reduction from fifty to five, and why this matters for understanding salah.

The Night Journey and the gift of salah

In approximately the 12th year of the Prophet ﷺ\'s mission — the year before the Hijrah, in the late Makkan period — the Night Journey took place. The Prophet ﷺ travelled in a single night from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to al-Aqṣā Mosque in Jerusalem, then ascended through the seven heavens, met previous prophets at each heaven, and entered the divine presence beyond all the heavens.

It was at this final moment — beyond the reach of any other created being — that Allah commanded the Prophet ﷺ directly: fifty daily prayers obligatory on his ummah.

The negotiation

The hadith preserved in Bukhari (3887) and Muslim (162) describes what happened next. As the Prophet ﷺ began his descent, he passed Mūsā ﷺ at one of the heavens. Mūsā asked what Allah had commanded. The Prophet ﷺ said: fifty daily prayers. Mūsā replied: "Your ummah cannot manage fifty prayers a day. By Allah, I tested the Children of Israel and tried them with much less than that — they could not. Go back to your Lord and ask for a reduction."

The Prophet ﷺ returned. Allah reduced the number. The Prophet ﷺ descended again. Mūsā asked again; the new number still seemed too high to Mūsā; he urged the Prophet ﷺ to ask for further reduction. This pattern repeated multiple times, with Mūsā at each pass urging further reduction, until the obligation reached five daily prayers.

At this point Mūsā again urged the Prophet ﷺ to ask for further reduction. The Prophet ﷺ replied: "I am too embarrassed to ask my Lord for less."

Then Allah said: "They are five, but they have the reward of fifty. The word does not change with Me."

The theological lesson

The narrative carries a layered teaching:

• The obligation is from Allah directly, not delivered through Jibrīl — emphasising the centrality of salah among all acts of worship
• The original divine command was fifty — establishing the baseline weight Allah originally placed on prayer
• The reduction to five is a mercy — not a diminution of importance but an accommodation of human capacity
• The reward remains fifty — the believer who establishes the five prayers is rewarded as if performing fifty
• Mūsā\'s intercession was on behalf of our ummah — the role of previous prophets in the prophetic story is honoured
• The Prophet ﷺ\'s embarrassment to ask for less — the prophetic dignity even at the moment of receiving accommodation

The prayers before the Night Journey

For the first 12 years of the prophetic mission, Muslims prayed — but the structure was different. Most classical sources indicate the early prayers consisted of two rakʿahs in the morning and two in the evening, rather than the five prayers we know today. The exact format of the early Makkan prayer is somewhat debated, but the consensus is that the five daily prayers as we know them began only with the Night Journey.

The implications for British Muslim daily life

1. The five daily prayers are non-negotiable

Allah originally commanded fifty. Mūsā\'s intercession reduced them to five. The Prophet ﷺ refused to ask for further reduction out of embarrassment. The five we have are already the result of substantial mercy. There is no theological space for further reduction or for treating them as optional.

2. The reward is multiplied

"They are five, but they have the reward of fifty." Every prayer carries ten-fold reward. Across a lifetime of consistent five daily prayers, the cumulative reward exceeds the literal arithmetic.

3. The structure of the obligation reflects mercy

If Allah had commanded fifty daily prayers and held us to it strictly, no human being could have managed. The reduction to five reflects Allah\'s knowledge of human capacity. British Muslims who feel overwhelmed by religious obligation should know — Allah has already designed the system to be manageable.

4. The Night Journey is foundational to understanding salah

Every time you pray, you are performing the act that the Prophet ﷺ ascended through seven heavens to receive. This frames the prayer as the most precious gift, not as routine.

The five prayers in their order of revelation

After the Night Journey, the five prayers were established in their fixed times and forms. The order they came to be performed:

• Dhuhr — the first prayer the Prophet ﷺ taught after the Night Journey, with Jibrīl leading him through the formal motions
• ʿAṣr, Maghrib, ʿIshāʾ, Fajr — established in sequence over the following days

Frequently asked questions

Where to go next

For more on prayer, see our guides on Salah and Its Significance, The Favour of Congregational Prayer, The Friday Prayer, and our pillar on The Night Journey (Isra and Miʿraj) — when the five daily prayers were given. To learn the Quranic recitations of salah with proper tajweed, book a free trial lesson.