When is it forbidden to pray?

The Prophet ﷺ named three times in which prayer is withheld: as the sun rises until it has fully risen, when it stands at its zenith until it passes the meridian (zawāl), and as it sets until it has set (Muslim 831). To these the jurists add two extended windows in which new voluntary prayer is not begun: after the entry of Fajr until sunrise, and after praying Asr until Maghrib. What exactly is restricted differs by school: the Ḥanafī school restricts all prayer, including make-ups, in the three strict times, while the Shāfiʿī school bars only voluntary prayer without a cause. An obligatory prayer whose time is running is never forbidden. The live verdict below applies your school and your intention to this exact minute.

Is zawāl always at 12?

No. Zawāl is the moment the sun crosses your local meridian and begins to decline, not a fixed clock time. When it falls depends on your longitude and the date: the same city reaches solar noon at a different clock time two months later, because the length of the solar day shifts across the year. A prohibited window pinned to "12 o'clock" would be wrong for most places on most days.

Can I Pray Now, which I built, computes zawāl for your exact location and date rather than assuming noon, so the midday window it draws is right for where you actually are.

Rulings differ by madhhab and by what you intend to pray - the live answer below is conditioned on both. New to the terms? See how prayer times work and the rulings & evidence.