The dhuhr (Arabic: ظهر‎) prayer ("dh" representing Ẓāʼ, an emphatic voiced dental fricative"; it is often simplified to "z") is the prayer after midday (but before the shadow of the sun becomes twice its length from midday.) Performed daily by practicing Muslims, it is the second of the five daily prayers (salat). The five daily prayers collectively are one 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. It is reduced to two rak'ahs when traveling.

In both of the sects, four raka'ahts are required (Fard) and are prayed silently . However, in Sunni Islam, four raka'aht prior to the Fard raka'ah and two raka'ah following the Fard raka'ah are highly recommended.The second rakat is sunnat

On Friday the Dhuhr prayer is replaced by Jumu'ah, which is obligatory for all Muslim males above the age of puberty who are resident and without a legitimate excuse.

Waqt

The waqt (prescribed time) of the Dhuhr salat is determined differently by the different branches of Islam. In each case however, it is best to perform the prayer as soon as the waqt is “in”, and inadvisable to unnecessarily delay it.