Let me walk you through it step by step.
1. The time of Fajr
Fajr begins at the *true dawn* (al-fajr al-ṣādiq) — when a white light spreads horizontally across the horizon — and ends just before sunrise. The Prophet ﷺ distinguished between two dawns: the "false dawn" (a vertical light like a wolf's tail, which does not start the prayer time) and the "true dawn" (the horizontal light, which does) [Source 6, Sahih, narrated by Al-Hakim].
2. The two sunnah rak'ahs before Fajr
Before the obligatory prayer, the Prophet ﷺ used to pray two short rak'ahs after the adhan and after the break of dawn. 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said he would pray them so briefly that she wondered whether he had even recited al-Fatihah [Source 4, Sahih Bukhari; Source 2, Sahih Bukhari & Muslim].
In these two rak'ahs, the Prophet ﷺ would recite Surah al-Kafirun (109) in the first and Surah al-Ikhlas (112) in the second [Source 8, Sahih Muslim].
3. The two obligatory rak'ahs
Each rak'ah follows the same structure:
- Takbir ("Allahu Akbar") to begin
- Recite al-Fatihah, then another surah (in Fajr, the Prophet ﷺ would recite longer portions)
- Ruku' (bowing), then standing
- Two sujud (prostrations) with a sitting between them
- Tashahhud and taslim ("As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah") at the end
4. A key point about the time
Whoever catches even one rak'ah before sunrise has caught the Fajr prayer in its time. The Prophet ﷺ said: *"Whoever catches one rak'ah before sunrise, he has caught the Fajr prayer"* [Source 10, Sahih Bukhari & Muslim].
5. The witr before Fajr
If you pray witr at night, complete it before dawn. The Prophet ﷺ said: *"Perform Witr prayer before the morning"* [Source 3, Sahih Muslim] and *"Make haste to perform the Witr prayer before the morning"* [Source 9, Sahih Muslim].
6. After the prayer
It was the Prophet's ﷺ habit to remain seated in his prayer spot after Fajr until the sun rose brightly, remembering Allah and letting people talk [Source 1, Sahih Muslim]. The Qur'an also highlights the special status of Fajr: *"…and [fais] aussi la Lecture à l'aube, car la Lecture à l'aube a des témoins"* — the dawn recitation is witnessed (by angels) [Coran, Al-Isra: 78].
Practical tip: Set your Fajr alarm using the prayer times section in your Al Muslim Plus app so you know exactly when true dawn enters in your location, and use the Qibla compass in the app to confirm your direction before starting. Try to pray the two sunnah rak'ahs at home and the obligatory ones in congregation when possible — and stay seated in dhikr until sunrise to follow the Sunnah.