Every Muslim above the age of puberty is commanded to
perform prescribed five times daily prayers (salaat) within the prescribed
time, (waqt) Al-Isrâ 17:78; Hûd 11:114; TâHâ 20:130, which
are determined using the position of the sun.
The time of the first Dawn-prayer Fajr begins
when the morning light appears and lasts just
before the sunrise. The second Mid-day prayer Dhuhr begins
when the sun appears the highest in the
sky and begins to decline Zawal , this is the approximate
halfway between sunrise and sunset, the Dhuhr lasts
when the beginning of the third afternoon-prayer Asr begins
when the shadow of an object reaches certain length
ratio in the afternoon. The ‘Asr lasts prior to local sunset
which the beginning of the fourth prayer Magrib when the sun is fully set and lasts until the
beginning of the fifth and final Night-prayer ‘Isha when the
western sky begins to darken. The ‘Isha lasts until
the beginning of first Dawn-prayerFajr.
Nowadays
hardly any Muslim observes the sky or the sun to determining the
prayers timing, entirely all urbanized as well Muslims living in rural areas
rely on pre-determine prayer tables prepared with the help of computer programs
simply requiring the coordination (latitude and longitude) of a
location. The times computed by these programs are considered
accurate to ±2 minutes in most cases, relative to various acceptable criteria.
In summer, at latitudes higher than 48.5° (extreme
northern regions), the sun does not go 18° below the horizon and at the
latitudes higher than 51.5°, the sun does not go 15° below the horizon,
for example Manchester England and Edmonton Canada, in summer, the sun hardly
goes beyond 13.5° below the horizon thus full darkness does not occur, in such
cases several alternative methods are suggested by the leading scholars such as
start of ‘Isha time 90 minute after the sunset and beginning of Fajr 90 minutes
before the sunrise or other acceptable methods.
1. Fajr Dawn-Prayer
Globally the beginning time of Fajr is pre-determine by the
leading Islamic organizations such as Egyptian General Authority of Survey
19.5°, Umm Al-Qura of Saudi Arabia 19°, University Of Islamic Sciences, Karachi
and Muslim World League 18° and several Islamic organizations in the west
use 15°. The higher number (19.5°) correspondences early Fajr
and the lower number correspondences to late Fajr (15°). It seems
that 19.5°- 18° fixed by the reputable Islamic organizations are more concern
with the importance of end of ‘Isha time where such time also coincides with ending of the
dawn-to-sunset Islamic fasting period (Sahur – sehri – imsak) especially during the month of Ramadhan.
The fasting commences at Subah Sadiq (true dawn) this is also the commencing
time for Fajr Salat.
The experts differ as far as pre-determination of subh saadiq - true dawn. The majority opinion is about 18° but there is a minority opinion that calls for 15°. Also several recent studies worth noting, reveal that the phenomenon of subh-Sadiq could vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons throughout the year, the new study suggest that, it is incorrect to calculate Fajr assuming any fixed degree (whether 18° or 15°) or any fixed minutes (like 90 minutes or 75 minutes). A possible explanation is given that because the sun apparently travels along specific latitude on a specific date between the tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn, Muslims in various locations around the globe have made observations about Subh-Sadiq and the results are anywhere between 9° to 18°. A prayer table, for the City of Montreal, prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com revealed that the time for subh-sadiq fluctuates slightly throughout the year, occurring as low as 14.54° in summer and as high as 17.20° in winter.
Based
on conflicting estimation, It is our view that fixing late Fajr
time such as 15° could be problematic for those who intended to fast during the
day and conversely saying Fajr salaat too early (e.g. 19.5° or 18°) could be
equally unsafe. Therefore, 17.5 to 18°
is good approximate for sahur (imsak) –
extreme limit of a pre-dawn meal if one is fasting during the day - 15° is good approximate for the start
of Fajr. Those who use prayer tables using 18° for Fajr, it is recommended to wait for 10 to 20 minutes before starting Fajr
salaat. Equally, complete sahur
(imsak) (pre-dawn meal) 10 to 20 minutes Fajr time when using 15°
table. The delay between the end
of ‘Isha (imsak or sahur) and
beginning of Fajr ( approximately 10 minutes) is also supported by a
hadith by Zayd ibn Thabit (3) . This delay is
the only recommendation as a precaution
if one is sure of the time of Subah sadiq
occurs, one can stop eating and perform Fajr salat
thereafter. The prayer table published by ‘Aisha Charity , for
the city of Montreal Canada, uses 17.5°
for Imsak of the end of Sahur and uses 15° for beginning of
Fajr. Fajr ends when the sun
begins to rise. (1 + 2)
2. Dhuhr (Zhur - Mid-Day Prayer) Dhuhr begins at Zawal when the sun crosses the meridian (when the sun reaches its highest point - nearest zenith) and begins to decline. As performing prayer is not desirable according to most leading jurists (1) when the sun is at its highest. We recommend that stop performing salaat just prior to ten minutes from the time shown in this table, which adds 6 minutes to the local midpoint as the margin of safety. Dhuhr ends when ‘Asr salaat begins 3. ‘Asr (Afternoon-Prayer)
(1) When
the shadow of an object becomes its length (plus the length of its shadow
at the mid-point, shadow ratio: 1
(2) When
the shadow of an object becomes twice its length plus the addition to the
shadow at the mid-point, shadow ratio: 2
‘Asr
ends as the sun begins to set, but to say the ‘Asr prayer is
undesirable (makrooh) when the
sun has gone down much and the sunlight
has become weak and pale. (2)
4. Maghrib (After-sunset Prayer) Maghrib begins when the sun completely set beneath the horizon, delaying Maghrib 3 to 5 minute from the local sunset time is preferred for safety margin - This prayer calendar adds 5 minutes to the local sunset time. Maghrib lasts until 'Isha (till fading of twilight or complete darkness). 5. ‘Isha (Night-Prayer) The beginning of ‘Isha time begins when Shafaq (twilight) is set in. All Islamic scholars agree on this point. Two different interpretations are expressed in describing the word shafaq in the books of hadith. These are commonly referred to as Shafaqe Ahmar and Shafaqe Abyadh. Both these phenomena occur one after the other and represent two distinct levels of illumination in the western sky. Shafaqe Ahmar occurs before Shafaqe Abyadh.
1. 1. Shafaqe
Ahmar: under clear-sky, when disappearance (sun’s red afterglow) of
redness in the western sky. (Shafaqe Ahmar – roughly
correspondence to Nautical twilight)
It is believed that this method was accepted by Syedna Ibn Abbas,
Umar bin khatab, Ali Talib, Ibadah Bin Thamit, Moosa Ashari and Ibn Umar (Radiallahu
Anhum) including Imam Malik, Imam Shafi‘i, and Imam Ahmad and Sahibayn -Imam Mohammed and Imam Abu
Yusuf (Rahmatullah Alaihi) well respected students of
Imam Abu Hanifah. This phenomenon (i.e.
disappearance of redness roughly correspondence to nautical twilight between
12°and 15°) is difficult to identify, quantify, and may fluctuate through the seasons, latitudes and
atmospheric conditions, furthermore, lately,
the artificial light pollution is a major problem.
2. Shafaqe Abyadh: under a clear sky, when the western sky begins to darkens into one color and when almost darkness occurs or there is no trace of light left in the sky (Shafaqe Abyad - roughly correspondence to Astronomical twilight).
It is believed that this method was accepted by Syedna Abu Bakr,
Muadh Bin Jabal, Ubay Ibn Kab, Abdullah Bin Zubair, Anas, Abu Hurairah, and
Aisha (Radiallahu Anhum) also leading jurist Imam Abu
Hanifah (Rahmatullah Alaihi).
It is generally estimated when the sun approaches 17.5° to 18° below the horizon. It is worth noting that the-the Islamic scholars of Hanafi school of jurisprudence strictly fix ‘Isha after Shafaqe Abyadh , but in certain circumstances, it is permitted, (based on rulings of the Sahibayn) to offer ‘Isha after Shafaqe Ahmar where the circumstances in which the ‘Isha is so late e.g. in some northern regions especially in summer months and if Muslims likely to encounter considerable hardship. No Hanafi scholar, however,is likely to permit ‘Isha any earlier than Shafaqe Ahmar except in extreme northern regions. Globally the beginning of Isha time (based on Shafaqe Abyadh complete darkness) is fixed by leading Islamic organizations, such as, Umm Al-Qura of Saudi Arabia - 90 minutes after sunset which approximate 20° throughout the year, University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi 18°, Egyptian General Authority of Survey 17.5°, and Muslim World League 17° and several Islamic groups in the west 15°. The higher degree correspondences (i.e. 18°) to slightly late ‘Isha and lower number (i.e. 14°) correspondences to slightly early Isha. The prayer tables published by ‘Aisha Charity uses 17.5° for ‘Isha Shafaqe Abyadh and Shafaqe Ahmar 15º
The experts also differ as far as pre-determination
of Shafaqe Abyadh when the western sky begins to darkens
into one color. The majority opinion is around 18° but there is a minority
opinion that calls for 15°. Also several recent studies worth
noting, reveal that the phenomenon of Shafaqe Abyadh could vary in
degrees at different latitudes and different seasons throughout the year, the
new study suggest that, it is incorrect to calculate ‘Isha assuming
any fixed degree (whether 18° or 15°) or any fixed minutes (like 90 minutes or
75 minutes). Some Muslims in various locations around the globe have
made observations of Shafaqe Abyadh and the results vary anywhere
between 9° to 18°. A prayer table, for the City of Montreal,
prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com revealed that the time for Shafaqe
Abyadh fluctuates considerably throughout the year, occurring as low as
10.92° in summer and as high as 16.08° in
winter.
We
have compared the table prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com to
our limited study (less than 30 observations) throughout summer at least for 2
years for City of Montreal, we conclude that there are considerable differences about 4° to 7° representing 50 to 60
minutes time difference in summer. It is our view that further study may be
needed to accept such conclusion.
The prayers tables published by ‘Aisah Charity also shows early ‘Isha timing (Shafaqe Ahmar) using 14° in summer only from May 15 to August 15 based on our limited study conducted ( only in summer – outside the city of Montreal Canada under clear sky and minimum artificial light), It was observed that the disappearance of redness (Shafaqe Ahmar) varies from 12.5° to 13.8°. Our well-respected elder and an experienced observer Hakimullah Gauri – Canada - views that 15° is a safe estimate for Shafaqe Ahmar but for Shafaqe Abyadh can not be less than 17.5°. ‘Isha prayer lasts till (Fajr) just before subh saadiq -true dawn as long as the dawn has not yet risen – (evening twilight). (1) It is forbidden to perform salaat or funeral prayer when the sun begins to rise until it is fully up; when the sun is at its height until it passes the meridian (zawal); and when the sun begins to set until it is completely set. [Muslim-1040]
(2) 'There
is no prayer after performing Fajr until the sun (sufficiently) rises, and
there is no prayer after performing ‘Asr until the sun completely sets.' [Muslim-1041, agreed upon]
some exceptions are possible - it is permissible to offer qadâ (makeup for missed prayers) or sajdah tilâwah.
(3) hadith
of Zayd ibn Thabit Bukhari and Muslim (the extent of reciting 50 verses),
[Nawawi, Majmu` 6.406; Ibn Qudama, Mughni 3.2127; Ibn al-Humam, Fath al-Qadir
2.374-375; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina` 2.331]
References:Fajar and Isha By Yaqub Ahmed Miftahi Ramadan 1426/ October 2005 Hizbul Ulama U.K., 74 Upton Lane, London, E7 9LW, England, Dr. Monzur Ahmed MoonCalc 6 © October 2001 Beginning of Isha time in Summer - Fatwa (Islamic ruling) from Darul Uloom Karachi Pakistan 1999 ‘Aisha Charitable Support Services Montreal Canada www.as-sidq.org Researcher Siddique Katiya Montreal Canada © |
Friday, September 9, 2011
Explanation of Muslims Prayer Timing
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