How we calculate prayer times
The astronomy
Prayer times are computed from the position of the sun for each city's latitude, longitude and time zone (including daylight saving time), using the well-established formulas published by the open-source PrayTimes project (Hamid Zarrabi-Zadeh). Results typically agree with timetables that use the same method to within one or two minutes.
- Fajr and Isha: when the sun is a set angle below the horizon (see methods below).
- Sunrise and Maghrib: when the upper edge of the sun touches the horizon, including atmospheric refraction (0.833°).
- Dhuhr: one minute after solar noon (zawal), as a precaution.
- Asr: when an object's shadow equals its length plus its noon shadow (standard: Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali) or twice its length plus its noon shadow (Hanafi).
Calculation methods
| Method | Fajr angle | Isha |
|---|---|---|
| Muslim World League | 18° | 17° |
| Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) | 15° | 15° |
| Egyptian General Authority of Survey | 19.5° | 17.5° |
| Umm al-Qura University, Makkah | 18.5° | 90 min after Maghrib |
| University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi | 18° | 18° |
| UAE (General Authority of Islamic Affairs) | 18.2° | 18.2° |
| Kuwait (Ministry of Awqaf) | 18° | 17.5° |
| Qatar (Ministry of Awqaf) | 18° | 90 min after Maghrib |
| MUIS / JAKIM / Kemenag (Southeast Asia) | 20° | 18° |
| Diyanet (Turkey) | 18° | 17° |
| Morocco (Ministry of Habous) | 19° | 17° |
| Syria (matched to local mosque timetables) | 17° | 17° |
| Jordan (Ministry of Awqaf) | 18° | 18° (Maghrib +5 min) |
Default method by country — United Arab Emirates: UAE (General Authority of Islamic Affairs), Afghanistan: University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi, Bangladesh: University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi, Bahrain: Umm al-Qura University, Makkah, Brunei: MUIS / JAKIM / Kemenag (Southeast Asia), Canada: Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Egypt: Egyptian General Authority of Survey, Indonesia: MUIS / JAKIM / Kemenag (Southeast Asia), India: University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi, Iraq: Egyptian General Authority of Survey, Jordan: Jordan (Ministry of Awqaf), Kuwait: Kuwait (Ministry of Awqaf), Lebanon: Egyptian General Authority of Survey, Libya: Egyptian General Authority of Survey, Morocco: Morocco (Ministry of Habous), Malaysia: MUIS / JAKIM / Kemenag (Southeast Asia), Oman: Umm al-Qura University, Makkah, Pakistan: University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi, Palestine: Egyptian General Authority of Survey, Qatar: Qatar (Ministry of Awqaf), Saudi Arabia: Umm al-Qura University, Makkah, Sudan: Egyptian General Authority of Survey, Singapore: MUIS / JAKIM / Kemenag (Southeast Asia), Syria: Syria (matched to local mosque timetables), Tunisia: University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi, Turkey: Diyanet (Turkey), United States: Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Yemen: Umm al-Qura University, Makkah. All other countries use the Muslim World League method.
High latitudes
In places such as the UK, Canada and Scandinavia, the sun may not reach the Fajr or Isha angle on summer nights. In that case we use the angle-based rule: Fajr is set no earlier than sunrise minus (Fajr angle ÷ 60) of the night, and Isha no later than sunset plus (Isha angle ÷ 60) of the night.
Rounding and precautions
Prayer times are rounded up to the next minute and sunrise is rounded down, so the displayed window never starts too early. In Ramadan timetables, Imsak is shown 10 minutes before Fajr; suhoor must end by Fajr.
Hijri dates
Hijri dates follow the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia. The start of Ramadan, Shawwal and Dhu al-Hijjah may differ by a day in countries that rely on local moon sighting.
Qibla
The Qibla bearing is the initial great-circle bearing from the city to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), measured clockwise from true north. Distances use a mean Earth radius of 6,371 km.
City data
City names, coordinates and time zones come from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time-zone rules come from the IANA time zone database.