Islamic prayer times

By Prof. Dr. Mohammad Mohy Eldin Louden

Prophet Mohammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam has shown us how the five daily
prayers are to perform, the number of Rakaa per prayer and the times of prayers.
The starting times of Zohr, Asr and Maghrib are determined by positions of the sun,
which are easy to see with the naked eye. And so those times are undisputed. Only
the starting time of Fajr and Ishaa are controversial. At these times the sun is below
the horizon, so that it can not be seen.

The basis for determining the start times of prayers

Zohr: The start time for Zohr is noon when the sun leaves its highest position in the
sky. To determine this, a straight stick is placed vertically in a flat earth. After sunrise
the shadow of the stick decreases until it reaches a minimum, then the shadow starts
to increase. At this instant the time for Zohr starts.

Asr: It starts when the growing shadow after noon reaches a length that is equal to
the fragment length of the stick above the ground plus the minimum shade at noon.

Maghreb: The Maghrib prayer begins when the entire solar disk disappears below
the horizon.

Ishaa: It starts when the reddish colour of dawn disappears from the western horizon
after sunset.

Prophet Mohammad salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam has said:

(The dawn is red. When it disappears, the prayer is due.)

This Hadith is quoted by Al-Bayhaqi in his book great-Sunnah.

In the arabic book "Alfiqh, ala Almazaheb alarba'a" = The Fiqh of the four schools of
law, Al'ibadat part, on page 157-158, sixth edition, Ministry of Alawqaf, Cairo 1387
Hijri = 1967 AD, it is written:
that the Maghreb prayer ends with the disappearance of the red dawn. This is the
opinion of the three imams: Malek, Al-Shafi'i and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and also by the
two disciples of Abu Hanifa: Mohammad Al-Shaibani and Abu Yussuf.
The followers of Abu Hanifa say, however, that after sunset three phases occur on
the western horizon: a red, then white, then blackness. The dawn of Abu Hanifa is
white (color), and if that disappears, and darkness prevails, then the time for the
Maghreb prayer ends.
The above book states that the mosques (in Egypt) follow the opinion of Abu
Hanifa. That means the starting time given in the time table for Ishaa prayer in Egypt
is when darkness prevails which is not in accordance to Prophet Mohammad salla
Allahu alaihi wa sallam.This singular opinion of Abu Hanifa is also followed in many
other countries.
In places northern the 48th Latitude N or southern the 48th Latitude S, no darkness
occur in part of the summer. These are the so-called white nights. At this point I
would stress that all five prayers per day are to be done, even if the darkness does
not occur, and even if as in polar regions the sun does not rise or does not set.
The Islamic foundation of Al-Azhar in Cairo gave a fatwa for the prayer and fasting
times for places where the day is long and the night short or vice versa. That was
around 1920 when Muslims living in northern parts of Russia asked the Al-Azhar for
a fatwa to help them determine the prayer and fasting times. The former Majles
Kobar El-Olamaa, i.e. the Council of the great scholars in Al-Azhar, has determined
that at such places the Muslims have to fast exactly as long as the Muslims in
the places where the Islamic Sharia law was adopted, i.e. Mecca or Medina. This
fatwa is published in the following book: Fiqh Al-Sunnah by Professor Sayed Sabeq,
rahimaho Allah.

Fajr (morning prayer): Begins with the appearance of the true dawn on the eastern
horizon.
As can be read in the arabic book "Al-Moghni" by Ibn Qodama there are two Fajrs
before sunrise. The first is called the false Fajr. This is a vertical light that resembles
a wolf's tail: white in the middle and black on both sides. The true Fajr starts later and
is a horizontal light in the eastern sky, right and left of the later rising sun and is
accompanied with a reddish color.

The basis for this are the following quotes of the Prophet Mohammad, salla Allahu
alayhi wa sallam.
The Prophet Mohammad salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam warned us:
(There are two Fajrs, the one that looks like a wolf tail, it allows and prohibits nothing.
Only the one which extends horizontally allow the prayer and forbids eating.)
Cited by Aldar-Qatni from Abd-el-Rahman ibn Abbas.

Another Hadith states:

(Eat and drink and the bright uprising does not prohibit, so eat and drink until the
horizontal red appears to you.)
Quoted by Ibn Dawud.

It is a shame, that despite the clear quotes from Prophet Mohammad salla Allahu
alaihi wasallam, most calendars are in error and give the time for the false Fajr and
not the true Fajr.

A control statement that everyone can do, is based on the following very important
fact that Ibn Hazm, the great Andalusian European theologist, has found a thousand
years ago:

The time span for the morning prayer (Fajr) is equal to the length of time for the
Maghrib prayer. For Fajr enters with the appearance of the morning red dawn and
Ischaa starts with the disappearance of the evening red dusk.

Scientifically speaking the red colour of Fajr first shows when the sun is 12 degrees
below the eastern horizon before sunrise. The red colour after sunset disappears
when the sun is 12 degrees below the western horizon.

Most calendars in the world assume angles greater than 12 degrees for the
determination of the Fajr and Ischa. Some even give different angles for Fajr and
Ischa.
The following table shows the angle of the sun below the eastern horizon for Fajr and
the angle of the sun below the western horizon for Ischaa.

Source Applied at Angle of Fajr Angle of Ischa

Prophet Union of Islamic French 12 12
Quotations Organisations
Egyptian Authority Egypt, Africa, Syria, 19.5 17.5
for Surveying Lebanon, Irac, Melesia,
some States in USA
University Om Arabic Peninsula 19 90 Minutes after
Alqora (Makka) sunset, but in
Ramadan 120
Minutes
University of Pakistan, Bangladesh, 18 18
islamic sciences in India, Afganistan, in some
Karatschi parts of Europe
Islamic society in some states in USA, 15 15
North America Canada, parts of UK
Union of islamic Some parts in Europe, far 18 17
World east, some states in USA

The prayer times can be obtained at any place in the world with the help of the
program which can be down loaded freely from the following link:

http://www.salaattime.com/