Prayer Times

The Prayer Times Calculator computes the five daily Islamic prayer times — Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha — plus sunrise, for any location on Earth and any date. It solves the same astronomical equations used by official timetable authorities, supports 14 calculation methods (Muslim World League, ISNA, Umm al-Qura, Egyptian, Karachi, Diyanet and more), both Asr juristic schools, and high-latitude rules for northern regions. Alongside the timetable you get a sun-path diagram that shows why each prayer falls when it does, the Qibla direction from your coordinates, the approximate Hijri date, the day’s fasting window, Islamic midnight, the last third of the night, and a live countdown to the next prayer. Everything is calculated instantly — no account, no app install.

The Five Daily Prayers and Their Windows

Sunrise (الشروق) is also shown because it closes the Fajr window; it is not itself a prayer time.

How Prayer Times Are Calculated Astronomically

Every prayer time is a statement about the sun’s position at your coordinates. This calculator first computes the solar declination \( \delta \) and the equation of time for the date, then solves the standard hour-angle equation for each event:

where \( \varphi \) is your latitude. The event occurs \( H/15 \) hours before (morning) or after (evening) solar noon. Applied per prayer:

• Dhuhr — solar noon: \( 12 + \text{UTC offset} - \frac{\text{longitude}}{15} - \text{EqT} \)
• Sunrise / Maghrib — sun 0.833° below the horizon (refraction + solar disc radius)
• Fajr / Isha — sun at the method’s twilight angle (12°–20°) below the horizon
• Asr — shadow factor \( t \): the time when \( \text{altitude} = \operatorname{arccot}\left(t + \tan\lvert\varphi - \delta\rvert\right) \), with \( t = 1 \) (Standard) or \( t = 2 \) (Hanafi)

The solar model is accurate to about a minute for 1950–2050 — the same approach used by praytimes.org and most published timetables.

Calculation Methods Compared

Methods differ only in the twilight angles (or interval) used for Fajr and Isha:

During Ramadan, Umm al-Qura extends the Isha interval to 120 minutes; check your local announcement, as this tool uses the standard 90-minute interval year-round.

High-Latitude Rules Explained

Above roughly 48° latitude, midsummer twilight can last all night: the sun never sinks 18° below the horizon, and the Fajr/Isha equation has no solution. Scholars developed estimation rules, all supported here:

• Angle-based (recommended): the twilight angle is converted into a fraction of the night — e.g. 18° → 18/60 of the night before sunrise for Fajr.
• Middle of the night: Fajr and Isha are never placed later (or earlier) than the night’s midpoint.
• One-seventh of the night: Isha after the first seventh of the night, Fajr before the last seventh.

In polar day or polar night (no sunrise or sunset at all), no astronomical timetable exists; communities follow the timetable of the nearest normal-cycle city or a 45° reference latitude, as advised by their scholars.

Qibla Direction

The Qibla is the great-circle bearing from your coordinates to the Kaaba in Makkah (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), measured clockwise from true north. Remember that magnetic compasses need the local magnetic declination added; smartphone compasses usually handle this automatically.

How to Use This Calculator

1. Set your location: tap a city button, press 📍 Use my location, or type latitude and longitude directly. City and geolocation input also fill the UTC offset — including daylight saving — for the chosen date.
2. Pick the date: it defaults to today at the location; change it to plan ahead (e.g. for Ramadan).
3. Choose your convention: the calculation method used in your region, your Asr school, and a high-latitude rule if you live far north.
4. Click Calculate Prayer Times: read the six times, the sun-path diagram, the 24-hour timeline, the Qibla compass, the fasting window and night-worship markers — plus a live countdown when viewing today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are Islamic prayer times calculated?

Prayer times are derived from the position of the sun at your coordinates. Dhuhr is solar noon, Maghrib is sunset, and Asr is when a shadow grows by the length of the object casting it (or twice that length in the Hanafi school). Fajr and Isha are defined by twilight: they begin when the sun is a specific angle below the horizon, typically between 12 and 20 degrees depending on the convention. This calculator solves the standard astronomical hour-angle equations for those angles.

Which calculation method should I choose?

Use the method adopted where you live, since local mosques follow it: ISNA in North America, Muslim World League in Europe and much of Asia, Umm al-Qura in Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian General Authority in Egypt and parts of Africa, University of Islamic Sciences Karachi in Pakistan and India, Diyanet in Turkey, and MUIS in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The differences only affect Fajr and Isha, usually by 10 to 30 minutes.

What is the difference between Standard and Hanafi Asr?

The Shafii, Maliki and Hanbali schools time Asr when the shadow of an object equals its height plus the shadow at noon. The Hanafi school waits until the shadow is twice the object height. Hanafi Asr therefore falls later, typically by 40 to 70 minutes depending on latitude and season.

Why do Fajr and Isha times differ between apps and mosques?

Because different authorities define dawn and nightfall at different solar depression angles, from 12 degrees (France) to 20 degrees (Singapore). Apps also differ in high-latitude adjustments and rounding. A 1 degree difference in the Fajr angle shifts the time by roughly 4 to 8 minutes at mid latitudes. Your local mosque timetable is authoritative for congregation times.

How accurate is this prayer times calculator?

The astronomical model is accurate to about one minute for the years 1950 to 2050, the same standard algorithm used by most timetable software. Real-world visibility of dawn can vary slightly with altitude, temperature and horizon obstructions, which is why many communities add small precautionary margins. Always make sure the UTC offset includes daylight saving time when it is in effect.

What are high-latitude rules and when do I need them?

Above roughly 48 degrees latitude, summer twilight can persist all night, so the sun never reaches the Fajr or Isha angle and the astronomical formula has no solution. High-latitude rules estimate the times instead: angle-based scales the angle into a fraction of the night, middle-of-the-night places Fajr and Isha so they never pass the night midpoint, and one-seventh uses the last or first seventh of the night. If you live in northern Europe or Canada, keep a rule enabled.

Additional Resources

• Salah Times - Wikipedia
• Qibla - Wikipedia
• Prayer Times Calculation - PrayTimes.org