Salat, also spelled salah, Arabic ṣalāt, the daily ritual prayer enjoined upon all Muslims as one of the five Pillars of Islam (arkān al-Islām). There is disagreement among Islamic scholars as to whether some passages about prayer in the Muslim sacred scripture, the Qurʾān, are actually references to the salat. Within Muhammad’s lifetime, five obligatory prayers, each preceded by ablution, were observed: ṣalāt al-fajr (dawn), al-ẓuhr (midday), al-ʿaṣr (afternoon), al-maghrib (sunset), and al-ʿishāʾ (evening). Under such special circumstances as illness, a journey, or war, a modification or limited postponement of these salats is allowed.