الضحى
al-Ḍuḥā
The part of the day from when the sun has risen high until noon, and the name of the supererogatory prayer offered in that time.
What it means
Al-ḍuḥā is the forenoon, once the sun has climbed well above the horizon and the morning is bright. The Quran swears by it at the opening of surah 93, which is named al-Ḍuḥā: “By the morning brightness” (93:1). The time ends as the sun reaches its height at midday, when the noon prayer approaches. Many Muslims treat this bright part of the day as a good time for work and for remembrance.
Muslims also use the word for the voluntary prayer offered in this period, called ṣalāt al-ḍuḥā. It is not obligatory. Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet said two rakʿas of ḍuḥā are enough to stand for the charity owed by every joint of the body each day (Sahih Muslim). Most people pray two to eight rakʿas, a number that scholars treat as a matter of choice.
Often misunderstood as
Often rendered simply as “morning”, which blurs the exact span the term names: after sunrise has become full daylight and before noon.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 36, listed as AL ḌUḤĀ. The definition is restated here.