More about Prayer-QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ON PRAYER SCHEDULE

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Question G2: How do I know the beginning and ending times of every prayer. The schedules I get give the beginning of prayer times but not the ending, after which Salat is QAZA. Also I want to know the Zawaal timing.
Answer: According to Hanafi Fiqh, Fajr ending time is 5 to 10 minutes before sunrise. Zuhr time begins approximately 5 minutes after Zawaal (So, Zawaal is 5 minutes before Zuhr in the schedules provided by Moonsighting.com). Zuhr ends at Asr time. Asr ends 5 to 10 minutes before Maghrib. Maghrib ends at Isha. Isha ends at Fajr, but it is preferrable to pray Isha before Midnight.

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Question G3: At polar regions day and night are several months long, so how do Muslims fast and pray in those regions?
Answer: The answer is simpler than what you may think. Polar regions like Norway, Finland, and Alaska have areas where the sun stays below horizon for several months in winter, and stays above horizon for several months in summer. However, there comes a time in every day when the sun is at its highset point (Noon) and at lowest point (Midnight). At temperate latitudes, the highest point is visible but lowest point is below horizon. But at higher latitudes (Polar region, like Norway, Finland, and Alaska) the highest and lowest point occur below horizon in winter (meaning several months long night), and above horizon in summer when the sun never sets for several months (meaning several months long day). But we can calculate those two points and determine Prayer times around those two known times every day. Having determined the prayer times, the fasting time is already set.
For more information in Polar regions read on: http://moonsighting.com/6monthdays.html

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Question G6: If you stand on the moon, you see earth only from one side of the moon. Would you see the sun rise and set?
Answer: Sunrise and sunset are the phenomena due to the rotation of earth on its own axis. The sun rotates in 24 hours. The moon rotates on its own axis in about 27.3 earth days. So no matter where you are on the moon you will see the sunrise and sunset once in 27.3 earth days, but you can call that 1 moon day. Now, would you pray 5 times in one moon day or follow earth days for prayer is a Fiqh question. Ask any Aalim for that.

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Specific Questions in Flights
Question S1: In a flight on December 19, leaving Chicago at 1645 CST and arriving Zurich at 0745, when should we stop suhoor (in CST)?
Answer: This is not an easy problem. We have a moving target and want to calculate Subh-e-Sadiq!
Approximate calculations are as follows:
Your journey is 9 hour long. You have to travel from 88W longitude to 8E longitude (total of 96 longitude). End of Sehri time locally anywhere on your journey would be around 5:30am. You will have covered around [(29:30-16:45)/(31:45-16:45)]= 85% of your journey to be at local time of 5:30. Time of travel by the clock will be about (0.85 x 9.0 hrs.) 7.6 hours. Your clock will be reading 0:30am Chicago time for start of Fajr, which is end of Suhoor.
Exact calculations are not easy to describe, but the result is 0:00 Chicago times:

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Question S2: What timing to follow for seher and iftaar during a flight say from USA to India via Europe? Say, a person leaves USA (East Coast) during Ramadan at 7:00 PM ... he reaches somewhere in Europe in the morning around 7:00 AM and then flies from their and reaches India in the night around 1:00 AM.
Answer: Use common sense and the answer is not that difficult.
Say you start from USA (East Coast) during Ramadan at 7:00 PM ... The actual flying time to somewhere in Europe is about 7 hours, but after seven hours you reach Europe and your local time is 7:00 AM. That means you have covered 12 hours of thime difference in 7 hours. The ratio of 7/12 could be applied say to find Fajr time. Assume Fajr is approx. 5:00AM, which is 10 hours after your start. so 10x7/12=6 hours. When your watch that shows East Coast time says 7+6=1:00AM you can perform Fajr prayer and stop eating around 12:45 your watch time.
Now, you start from Europe say around 8:30AM and reach India say around 1:00AM next day, and actual flight time is about 11 hours, but you have covered 16.5 hours because of time difference. So applying the ratio of 11/16.5, you calculate Iftaar time or any other prayer time approximately. Say Iftar time is 6:30pm local time, which is 10 hours after your start of Journey from Europe. 10x11/16.5=6:40 So, when your watch says 8:30+6:40 meaning 3:10PM you can Iftaar. Similarly, you can calculate or estimate other prayer times.

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Fajr & Isha
Question F1: How about the method employed by Saudi Arabia for Isha' which, to my knowledge, is 1-1/2 hour after Maghrib all year long? Isn't that disregarding the change in sun's declination?
Answer: For latitudes close to Equator, like Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, 1-1/2 hours is a good approximation and also practical, and the variation of twilight time (due to sun's angle of depression) is small in different seasons. The Isha' time on some days begins earlier then 1.5 hours, but there is nothing wrong in starting prayers after 1.5 hours. So, this practice of 1.5 hours ia a matter of convenince and of course is within Shari'ah guidelines. Saudi Arabia (Haramain) use the folowing:
Fajr 19°
Shurooq 1 minute before sunrise
Zuhr Zawaal - 0 minute
Asr Hanbali (Shafi'i)
Maghrib 1 minute after sunset
Isha 90 minute


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Question F2: What is your opinion about 15° versus 18° for Subh-Sadiq?
Answer: The real answer is that no degrees can be fixed for all latitudes. The phenomenon of subh-Sadiq will vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons, becuase of the sun travelling (apparently) along a specific latitude on a specific date. The sun (apparently) travels between tropic of cancer and tropic of Caprocorn in different seasons. People in different locations around the globe have made obervations about Subh-Sadiq and the results are anywhere between 13.5° to 18°. Here is an e-mail sent to me by Brother Ghulam Dandia (CREAMICE@aol.com) of Miami.
"On Dec 3rd year 2000, 5 of us went to Miami Beach area of Sunny Isles to observe the start of Subh Sadiq. The time that moonsighting.com had provided for 15° was 100% accurate. The phenomena was observed at 5:45 am eastern standard time. The witnesses were myself (Salam Dandia), Raffia Dandia, Abdul Razz Khanani, Kaiser Perverse, and Mufti Rafique Ahem (imam of bait-ul-mukkram masjid Dhaka, Bangladesh) Jazak Allah... "
In 1987 and 1988 a group of Ulema in Blackburn, England including Molana Yaqub Miftahi from UK, desired to solve this problem for the Ummah in the UK and sacrificed their valuable time by diligently striving to determine the correct times for Subh-e-Sadiq. They carried out the Mushahada during a complete year and chose to disregard the times provided by the Observatory therefore starting from a clean sheet and not being psychologically swayed by already given Observatory times. Their Observations, therefore, unlike the observations by others did not seek to confirm or reject any of the Observatory Degree times but to provide prayer timings based purely on what was observed. Observations show that the Fajr times do not conform to any given degrees but fluctuate throughout the year between approximately 12° to 13.5° in different seasons, and Isha times fluctuate between approximately 15° to 18°.
From UK, Maulana Y.Ismail Qasmi (in his book, Bartaniya me Subh-e-Sadiq ka Sahih Waqt: Dewsbury U.K., 1983...Suppl. 1984) mentions several observations by the Ulama in England citing that Fajr prayer should be at 12° or even to 6°.
Limited Observations made in Chicago in 1985 for Subh-Sadiq by Rajaullah Qureshi, Azmatullah Qadri, Mohammad Abdul Hai, Maulana Abdurrahman Sayeed Siddiqi, Maulana Irfan Ahmed Khan and a few others confirms 13 to 15°.
Other individual limited observations made in Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco, Tempe (AZ), Houston (TX), Washington DC show 12° to 14°.
Limited Observations for Subh-Sadiq in Tando Adam (Pakistan) show 15°.
Observations made in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in 2004 by a group with Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Fauzan for the whole year shows Subh-Sadiq was observed at 15°.
A decade long research by Moonsighting.com found that the Subh-Sadiq or disappearance of Shafaq is a function of latitude and seasons. When this function is checked against all round the year observations of Blackburn, UK, the calculations matched observations with amazing accuracy. So, Moonsighting.com calculates Fajr and Isha using that function of latitude and seasons.

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Question F3: Some Ramadan timetables in my area have the sehri end time based at 15 degrees and others at 18°. Which one is the correct one?
Answer: 18° is considered appropriate by most Ulamaa, although observations for Subh-Sadiq in many parts of the world show that Suh Sadiq fluctuates in degrees. No fixed degree is the correct answer. It is suggested that if one has 15 degree chart for fajr then one should finish eating 20 to 30 minutes before that chart time for Fajr. Get the most accurate Prayer Times from Moonsighting.com by sending email.

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Question F4: I was very surprised to see a wide difference in timing for Fajr & Isha calculated by assumptions of various organizations. Can you explain?
Answer: Different organizations used degrees based calculations, because they do not have complete year observations for Subh-Sadiq and disappearance of Shafaq. Muslims have resorted to some easy solution of choosing specific degrees, but that is not right. Remember, in the times of Prophet (SAV), there were no watches. Much more variations were in practice, even to the extent that Sahaabah (RA) prayed Fajr in Ghalas (darkness of night mixed with light) or Isfaar (when the light has spread conspicuously). This variation was more than half an hour. Qur'an mentions Fajr time as when you can differentiate a black thread from a white thread. Some Sahabi (RA) was observed to physically take two threads and trying to see them; the Prophet (SAV) clarified to him (RA) that this is not the intent of Shari'ah. It is when the very faint light of morning begins to spread horizontally in the darkness of night. This phenomenon of Subh-Sadiq and disappearance of Shafaq is very carefully observed systematically throughout the year from Blackburn, UK. Moonsighting.com has been doing research for the calculation methods and after a continuous effort of more than a decade, we are in a position to calculated Fajr and Isha based on actual observations meeting the the Shari'ah for Sub-Sadiq and disappearance of Shafaq matching the Blackburn observations.

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Question F5: Our local masjid in Chicago publishes Isha timetable at 12°. To date I have not seen a fatwa which establishes 12 degress as acceptable (most of my reading supported 15 or 18°). In your scientific judgement is 12 degress for Isha acceptable?
Answer: No. Any fixed degree is not the answer. Moonsighting.com calculates Fajr and Isha as a function of latitude and seasons, and that function matches systematic observations of the whole year at Blackburn, UK.

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Question F6: Is it true that disappearance of Shafaq for Isha, and Subh-Sadiq for fajr cannot be related with any degrees (neither with 18 nor with 15°)?
Answer: Yes, observations made by many ulamaa' and other groups confirm that these phenomena occur at different degrees for different latitudes, (see observations reported in Question 2 above). Sometimes disappearance of Shafaq for Isha, and Subh-Sadiq for fajr do not even occur at higher latitudes. This is becuase at higher latitudes the sun does not go much below horizon on some days and its light remains on the horizon for a long time and the phenomenon in Ahadith cannot be observed. So, 15° or 18° is not a solution for all latitudes.
I have been studying this problem for over 25 years, and with my background of having Shari'ah knowledge as well as the capability of computer programming and being able to calculate prayer times, I have found a practical solution, that other computer programmers have not used because they did not spend enough time to look into this problem.
At latitudes beyond 66.5°, only some days in summer will not have any night and for them a practical solution can be provided with specific calculations done manually, but that occurs only a few days in summer for all land masses where people live. I have been providing the prayer times specially to extreme Northern latitides up to 72° (Barrow, Alaska and Tromso, Norway) and the people over there found my solution most accurate and more convincing than any solution proposed by others who do not have clear understanding of what is happening at such latitudes. One Aalim (Shaikhul-Hadith from India, Maulan Mohammad Naeem from Daoband) has gone to Dead Horse, Alaska after talking to me, observed what happens there in summer time, and compared those phenomena with what I had calculated and his conclusion was that my prayer schedule is a better solution, than adopting Makkah time there or any other solution Ulamaa' had proposed.

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Question F7: Islamicfinder.org gives an option for ISNA prayer Schedule. If that is ISNA's official position, then why moonsighting.com gives a different prayer shcedule compared to Islamicfinder.org's ISNA option?
Answer: Islamicfinder.org has used ISNA's name without verifying from ISNA. ISNA never had any official position. Islamicfinder.org is wrong and at fault to use ISNA's name and that ISNA uses 15 degrees. Use of 15 or 18 degrees is not correct. Read more about it on http://moonsighting.com/prayer.html The correct schdule is the one that moonsighting.com provides, and that does not use any fixed degrees nor any fixed interval from Maghrib. It uses a complex formula based on latitudes and actual observation of Subh-Sadiq and disappearance of Shafaq as observed by teams of Muslims/Ulamaa in different parts of the world. Some observations were for the entire year capturing the difference in all seasons. There are 10 reasons on http://moonsighting.com/prayer.html that it is not a good idea to have it automated on ISNA's web site or any web site for anyone to calculate it himself.

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Question F8: Are prayer times given by Islamicfinder.org correct and reliable?
Answer: Islamicfinder.org has serious errors. Sometimes, sunrise and sunset time jump by several hours in one day. Go to Islamicfinder.org, click on Norway, Click on "N" in search of a city, "Narvik". Click on "Na" in search of the same city, "Narvik". Scroll down and click on "To see more Click Next". Scroll down and click on "Narvik". Scroll down and look in the right column for Gregorian Annual Schedule. Click on "Annual Schedule". Look on January 8 & 9 Sunrise time. On Jan 8, it is 7:28. On Jan 9, it is 11:14. Look on July 20 & 21 Sunset time. On July 20, it is 8:31. On July 21, it is 12:22.
Reproduced here please find the same example.

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Zuhr
Question Z1: Does Zuhr time begin at noon?
Answer: According to Shari'ah, Zuhr time does not begin at noon. It begins after Zawaal. Noon or Zawaal is when the sun is at its highest altitude during its journey from sunrise to sunset. At this time, no prayer should be performed. At least 5 minutes after Zawaal should be allowed before beginning Zuhr prayers (Adhaan, Sunnah and fard).

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Question Z2: The terms 'zawwal time' and 'noon time' have been used interchangeably in your web site regarding the prayer timings. I think the term 'noon' generally refers to 12:00pm while the zawwal time keeps on shifting all year round. Could you please tell me what time have you used in your calculations?
Answer: The term "Noon" is loosely used for 12:00Noon, but the "Noon" in geography and astronomy (which is also "Zawaal" in Islamic terminology) changes every day when the sun comes to a highest point in its journey from sunrise to sunset. Zuhr is prescribed after Zawaal when the sun has past Zawaal. For the sun's disc to completely pass Zawaal, it takes few minutes after "Astronomical Noon" time. For Zuhr, 5 minutes after "Astronomical Noon" is a good approximation having a little factor of safety, because at Zawwal (Astronomical Noon), no prayer should be performed.

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Question Z3: I am a bit confused with the timings of Asr. Shafi'i Asr time is one hour before us (Hanafi). Due to this I get confused with the Zuhr time. Can I also say the Zuhr prayer after Shafi'i Asr time. Also people say that Maghrib time is just for 20 to 30 minutes. Is that correct?
Answer: I appreciate your thirst for knowledge. Asr times according to Imam Abu-Hanifa starts at twice the shadow, and Zuhr time continues till that time. According to Shah Waliullah Dehlvi (a famous scholar born in India around 1654 AD) who made research (in Qur'an, Hadith & Fiqh) and came to the conclusion that "Between the shadow of one time length and two times length, i.e. between Asr(Shafi'i) and Asr(Hanafi) is the time permissible for both Zuhr and Asr, and in that time Zuhr would not be considered Qaza, and Asr would be considered acceptable also.
According to Hanafi Fiqh, Maghrib time continues till the beginning of Isha time. However, it is very much stressed that Maghrib should not be delayed after sunset, and should be prayed as soon as possible preferably within 15 to 20 minutes of sunset. It is considered Makrooh to delay Maghrib prayer without any legitimate justification. If due to unavoidable circumstances, you are delayed for Maghrib, it will not be Qaza until the beginning of Isha time.

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Question Z4: I heard that one can find true north from the position of shadow at zawal. Is this correct?
Answer: Yes, it is true that one can find true North from the position of shadow at Zawal time when the sun reaches its maximum height during the day, then it starts declining. However, at some latitude on earth, the shadow would be unnoticeable or very very small. But many locations will have a definite shadow small or big.

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Asr
Question A1: It seems impractical to find the time for Asr based on object's length plus shadow at Zawaal time for Shafi'i, or twice the object's length plus shadow at Zawaal time for Hanafi. How, an individual is supposed to know what is the shadow at Zawaal time. It appears to me that both Shafi'i and Hanafi Fiqh are not practical for this.
Answer: We in the 20th century may feel so much difficulty in knowing the shadow at Zawaal, but the Muslims in early centuries of Islam did not have any such difficulty. That's why, no one ever posed this question in early centuries objecting the Fiqh positions. Those early Muslims knew the time telling by sun's shadows, star's positions and moon phases. However, in the 20th century, we do not have time to observe skies during day or night as much as our ancestors did, but we have the technology to get much of that type of information from our computers, astronomical knowledge, and mathematics. Let us use the tools available in the times we are living in, and not object Fiqh positions.
Sun's shadow at Zawaal time is zero when the sun is exactly overhead at a location. Say, at Equator the sun is exactly overhead on March 21 and September 21. On those dates, the shadow of a stick at noon time would be zero on Equator. However, at the same time on the same longitude in Northern Europe, the shadow may be more or less equal to the length of the stick. So, Asr time (one length shadow according to Shafi'i) has already begun at Noon. When would you pray Zuhr. That's why the shadow at noon must be neglected in order to calculate Asr time.

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Question A2: What is Asr Shafi'i and Asr Hanafi. I do not know the difference. Could you explain?
Answer: Fiqh (jurisprudence) is the interpretation of Hadith. Since every Muslim in not knowledgeable enough to interpret the Qur'an and Hadith, he/she must rely on some scholar who has done this interpretation. In early Islamic period there were four major scholars, Imam Abu-Hanifah in Iraq, Imam Malik in Madinah, Imam Shafi'i in Egypt, and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in Baghdad, who did a thorough job for this interpretation. An overwhelming majority of Muslims (Sunni or Ahl-e-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah) have converged to limit the interpretation with-in these four school of thoughts of Fiqh. All, or at least overwhelming majority, of the Fiqh scholars (Fuqahaa') in the later centuries consider themselves either Hanafi, Malikii, Shafi'i, or Hanbali.
For the beginning time of Asr, there are two distinct Fiqh positions and both are valid. Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali fuqaha' agree that Asr time begins when shadow of any vertical object is equal to its length. Hanafi fuqahaa' say that Asr time begins when the shadow of any vertical object is twice its length. Both are based on authentic Hadith and practices of Sahaabah.

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Maghrib
Question M1: Is Maghrib prayer time at sunset or not? What is the definition of sunset in Islam? Is it the time when the solar disc touches the horizon or is the time when the solar disc has completely disappeared below the horizon?
Answer: The definition of sunset in Islam is no different than astronomical definition, i.e. it is the time when the solar disc has completely disappeared below the horizon. It is not the time when the solar disc touches the horizon. However, there is a difference in theoretically calculated sunset and actual sunset. Maghrib time is actual sunset. The calculated sunset is when the sun has just disappeared below horizon to an observer on the surface of the earth assuming earth as perfect sphere and level ground, and assuming some estimated values of temperature, pressure, and humidity conditions in the atmosphere, that affect refraction of light. Maghrib is when looked at the western horizon, the sun just vanishes below horizon with actual effects of refraction, that could change by actual temperature, pressure, and humidity, and the actual ground whether it is sloping downward towards horizon or level ground. Calculations for sunset are done assuming the earth is perfect sphere (which it is not), also assuming that the ground towards western horizon is perfectly level (which may not be), and assuming estimated values of temperature, pressure, and humidity conditions in the atmosphere.
For this purpose at least 3 minutes must be added to the calculated time of astronomical sunset for Islamic sunset or Maghrib. There are 3 reasons for this addition of 3 minutes:
1. The calculations are made at one point by longitude and latitude, and the observer in most cases could be up to 15 miles away from it.
2. The refraction of light through atmosphere whose density keeps on changing due to temperature, pressure and humidity and that changes angle of refraction.
3. There is a possibility of the sloping downward ground towards western horizon, while the calculations are made assuming level ground.


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