The timings of the five prayers is an established Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). Its source is not the Qur'an but the practical perpetuation and consensus of all the Muslim generations from the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) till our times. However, the Qur'an has, indeed made reference to these timings of prayers. For instance, in Al-Israa 17: 78, the Qur'an says: Establish prayers from the timings of the sun's decline till the darkness of the night has fully spread. And reading of the Qur'an (during prayers) at Fajr [1] . (17: 78) Before deriving the prayer timings from these verses, let us first try to understand the implication of the Arabic words used in this verse. ' Dulu'k al-Shams ' implies timings of the decline of the sun. ' Dul'uk ' is the plural of ' Dalk ' and should therefore refer to at least three timings of decline. ' Ilaa ghasak al-layl ' means 'till darkness of night has fully spread. Keeping the above verse in perspective, it should be clear that the prayer timings set by the Prophet (pbuh) in his Sunnah , correspond with the timings mentioned in this verse of the Qur'an. As is obvious, Zuhr , `asr and maghrib are prayers 'at the timings of the decline of the sun', `isha is offered at the time when 'the night has fully spread'. While ' fajr ' itself is the name of the time, at which the morning prayer is offered. Besides the referred verse, there is also a reference towards the prayer timings in Ta'Ha' 20: 130 and Qa'f 50: 39 - 40. In view of these references of the Qur'an, it may be said that it is not necessary that while referring to prayer timings, the Qur'an would refer to all the prayer timings at each instance. Sometimes only those prayers may be mentioned which are particularly important for something that is being discussed in the context. Furthermore, it is not only the obligatory prayers, the timings of which have been referred in the Qur'an but sometimes, as is the case in Ta' Ha' 20: 130 and Qaaf 50: 39 - 40, even some supererogatory ( naf'l ) prayers are also referred to, due to their particular importance in training for sabr (remaining steadfast in the way of Allah) and also due to their obligatory nature for the Prophet (pbuh) -- as the prayer of Tahajjud . 8 th May 2000 [1] Early morning. Also used as a title for the morning prayers. Answer published by Moiz Amjad