Fourth point:·The consecutive divisions of day and night, as well as the years and phases of your life, function like a huge clock’s wheels and levers. For example:

The time for fajr (before sunrise) may be likened to spring’s birth, the moment when sperm takes refuge in the protective womb, or to the first of the 6 consecutive days during which Earth and the sky were created. It recalls how God disposes His Power and acts in such times and events.

The time for zuhr (just past midday) may be likened to the completion of adolescence, the middle of summer, or the period of humanity’s creation in the world’s lifetime. It also points to God’s compassionate manifestations and abundant blessings in those events and times. The time for ‘asr·(afternoon) resembles autumn, old age, and the time of the Last Prophet (the Era of Happiness). It calls to mind the Divine acts and the All-Compassionate’s favors in them.

The time for maghrib (sunset) reminds us of many creatures’ decline at the end of autumn and also of our own death. It thus forewarns us of the world’s destruction at the Resurrection’s beginning, teaches us how to understand the manifestation of God’s Majesty, and wakes us from a deep sleep of neglect. The time for ‘isha (nightfall) calls to mind the world of darkness, veiling all daytime objects with its black shroud, and winter covering the dead Earth’s surface with its white shroud. It brings to mind the remaining works of the dead being forgotten, and points to this testing arena’s inevitable, complete decline. Thus ‘isha·proclaims the awesome acts of the Overpowering One of Majesty.

Night reminds us of winter, the grave, the Intermediate World, and how much our spirit needs the All-Merciful One’s Mercy. The late-night tahajjud prayer reminds and warns us of how necessary this prayer’s light will be in the grave’s darkness. By recalling the True Bestower’s infinite bounties granted during these extraordinary events, it proclaims how worthy He is of praise and thanks.

The next morning points to the morning following the Resurrection. Just as morning follows night and spring comes after winter, so the morning of the Resurrection or “spring” follows the intermediate life.

Each appointed prayer time is the beginning of a vital turning point and a reminder of greater revolutions or turning points in the universe’s life. Through the awesome daily disposals of the Eternally Besought One’s Power, the prayer times remind us of the Divine Power’s miracles and the Divine Mercy’s gifts regardless of time or place. So the prescribed prayers, which are an innate duty, the basis of worship, and an unquestionable obligation, are most appropriate and fitted for these times.