Prayer Time Calculation Methods
Prayer times come from the sun’s angle below the horizon. Organisations disagree slightly on the twilight angle for Fajr and Isha, which is why "calculation methods" exist. The five daily times themselves — Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha — are the same everywhere; only the exact minutes shift by method and location.
Below are the common methods. Each city on this site shows which method its times use.
Fajr 18°, Isha 17°. A widely used worldwide standard.
Fajr 15°, Isha 15°. Common in the United States and Canada.
Fajr 18.5°; Isha is a fixed 90 minutes after Maghrib. Used across Saudi Arabia.
Fajr 18°, Isha 18°. Common in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
Fajr 19.5°, Isha 17.5°.
Fajr 19.5°; Isha a fixed 90 minutes after Maghrib.
The method used by Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs.
Asr: Standard vs Hanafi
Most methods calculate Asr when an object’s shadow equals its own length (the Shafi‘i, Maliki and Hanbali view). The Hanafi school uses twice the object’s length, so Asr falls later. Where a city’s community follows the Hanafi position, its Asr time will differ accordingly.
The five prayers
- Fajr — from dawn until sunrise.
- Dhuhr — after the sun passes its zenith (midday).
- Asr — afternoon (see above).
- Maghrib — just after sunset.
- Isha — night, after twilight disappears.
Understand how these methods, the five prayers, the Qibla and Ramadan fit together.