It is therefore probable that Muḥammad obtained his idea of five stated periods of prayer during his two journeys to Syria. But he changed the time, as will be seen from the table annexed, which was drawn up by Mr. Lane at Cairo, and shows the times of Muḥammadan prayer with the apparent European time of sunset, in or near the latitude of Cairo at the commencement of each zodiacal month:—

Mag͟hrib or Sunset. ʿIshāʾ or Night. Fajr or Daybreak. Z̤uhr or Noon. ʿAṣr or Afternoon.
Muslim Time. European Time. Muslim Time. Muslim Time. Muslim Time. Muslim Time.
June 21 Sunset, or 12 o’clock Muslim Time. 7 4 P.M. 1 34 8 6 4 56 8 13
July 22 May 21 6 53 P.M,, . 1 30 8 30 5 7 8 43
Aug. 23 Apl. 20 6 31 P.M,, . 1 22 9 24 5 29 9 4
Sept. 23 Mar. 20 6 4 P.M,, . 1 18 10 24 5 56 9 24
Oct. 23 Feb. 18 5 37 P.M,, . 1 18 11 18 6 23 9 35
Nov. 22 Jan. 20 5 15 P.M,, . 1 22 11 59 6 45 9 41
Dec. 21 5 4 P.M,, . 1 24 12 15 6 56 9 43

N.B.—The time of noon, according to Muḥammadan reckoning, on any particular day, subtracted from twelve, gives the apparent time of sunset on that day according to European reckoning.

HOUSES. Arabic bait (بيت‎), pl. buyūt; dār (دار‎), pl. diyār, dūr; Heb. ‏בַּיִת‎. In the time of Muḥammad the houses of the Arabs were made of a framework of jarīd, or palm-sticks, covered over with a cloth of camel’s hair, or a curtain of a similar stuff, forming the door. Those of the better class were made of walls of unbaked bricks, and date-leaf roofs plastered over with mud and clay. Of this description were the abodes of Muḥammad’s family. (Burton, vol. i. p. 433.)

Sir William Muir, translating from the account given by the secretary of al-Wāqidī (Life of Mahomet, new ed., p. 546), says:—

“Abdallah ibn Yazîd relates, that he saw the house in which the wives of the Prophet dwelt at the time when Omar ibn (ʿAbd) al-Azîz, then governor of Medîna (about A.H. 100) demolished them. They were built of unburnt bricks, and had separate apartments made of palm branches, daubed (or built up) with mud; he counted nine houses, each having separate apartments in the space from the house of Ayesha, and the gate of Mahomet to the house of Asma, daughter of Hosein. Observing the dwelling-place of Omm Salma, he questioned her grandson concerning it; and he told him that when the Prophet was absent on the expedition to Dûma, Omm Salma built up an addition to her house with a wall of unburnt bricks. When Mahomet returned, he went in to her, and asked what new building this was. She replied, ‘I purposed, O Prophet, to shut out the glances of men thereby!’ Mahomet answered, ‘O Omm Salma! verily the most unprofitable thing that eateth up the wealth of a believer is building.’ A citizen of Medîna present at the time, confirmed this account, and added that the curtains (Anglo-Indice, purdas) of the doors were of black hair-cloth. He was present, he said, when the despatch of the Caliph Abd al Malîk (A.H. 86–88) was read aloud, commanding that these houses should be brought within the area of the Mosque, and he never witnessed sorer weeping than there was amongst the people that day. One exclaimed, ‘I wish, by the Lord! that they would leave these houses alone thus as they are; then would those that spring up hereafter in Medîna, and strangers from the ends of the earth, come and see what kind of building sufficed for the Prophet’s own abode, and the sight thereof would deter men from extravagance and pride.

THE USUAL PLAN OF AN ORDINARY HOUSE IN CENTRAL ASIA.

“There were four houses of unburnt bricks, the apartments being of palm-branches; and five houses made of palm-branches built up with mud and without any separate apartments. Each was three Arabian yards in length. Some say that they had leather curtains for the doors. One could reach the roof with the hand. The house of Hâritha was next to that of Mahomet. Now, whenever Mahomet took to himself a new wife, he added another house to the row, and Hâritha was obliged successively to remove his house and build on the space beyond. At last this was repeated so often, that the Prophet said to those about him, ‘Verily, it shameth me to turn Hâritha over and over again out of his house.’ ”