How are Islamic prayer times calculated?

Prayer-time calculations use the sun’s position at a location on a date. The chosen method and local adjustments affect the result.

Start with the city and date

A calculation needs latitude, longitude, the local civil date and the city’s time zone. The site calculates each city page for its own time zone, including daylight-saving changes where applicable. The HTML shows today’s six times and a monthly table before the browser runs JavaScript.

See the actual method and coordinates on Casablanca, Paris or another city page.

Sunrise, noon and sunset

Sunrise and sunset are calculated from the apparent solar position near the horizon. Dhuhr follows solar noon. Maghrib ordinarily follows sunset, though a selected method may add minutes or use another parameter. City pages show the applied method so users can compare local timetables.

Fajr, Isha and Asr

Fajr and Isha depend on twilight. Calculation methods use different solar depression angles or, for some locations and methods, a fixed interval after sunset for Isha. Asr is based on the length of an object’s shadow after noon. The standard and Hanafi conventions use different shadow factors; where relevant, the city page shows the Hanafi Asr time separately.

At high latitudes, ordinary twilight may not occur on some dates. The site applies an angle-based night adjustment to keep Fajr and Isha available, and discloses its parameters on the city page.

Why a local timetable can differ

Different coordinates, angles, Asr conventions, rounding, elevation, time-zone data, and mosque-specific minute adjustments can produce different printed times. A calculated time is an aid, not a ruling that overrides a trusted local authority. If your mosque publishes a timetable, use that for congregational prayer.

For method definitions, see Aladhan’s calculation methods. The site’s data and calculation notes are in Sources and methodology.