Prayer Times: How Daily Salah Timings Work (2026)

By Sharif Hossain · Last reviewed 2026
This guide explains how the five daily prayer times are calculated, the differences between major calculation methods (MWL, ISNA, Karachi, Umm al-Qura, etc.), the Standard vs Hanafi asr methods, and how to use the prayer times tool below for your specific location. Sources are listed at the end.

Salah is performed five times a day at times tied to the sun’s position. Get the times right and your prayers are valid. Get them wrong and you may pray too early or too late. The tool below gives you all five daily times for your location, with a live “next prayer” countdown. There’s a free, location-aware prayer time calculator and an explanation of the calculation methods underneath.

→ Jump to prayer times tool

The Five Daily Prayers

Each of the five obligatory prayers (salawat) has a window of permitted time, defined by the sun’s position in the sky:

• Fajr — begins at true dawn (when the first light appears on the eastern horizon) and ends at sunrise. This is the dawn prayer, performed before the sun rises.
• Dhuhr — begins when the sun passes its highest point (zawal) and ends when an object’s shadow equals its own length (Standard) or twice its length (Hanafi). This is the midday/noon prayer.
• Asr — begins when Dhuhr ends, and ends just before sunset. This is the afternoon prayer.
• Maghrib — begins immediately after sunset and ends when the red twilight disappears. This is the sunset prayer.
• Isha — begins when the twilight has fully disappeared, and extends until just before Fajr. This is the night prayer.

Sunrise itself isn’t one of the five prayers, but it’s a marker that helps frame the day — it’s the cutoff for Fajr, and it marks the time after which it’s not permitted to pray (until the sun is at least a spear’s height above the horizon, about 15 minutes after sunrise).

How Prayer Times Are Calculated

Three of the five times (sunrise, Dhuhr, Maghrib) are derived directly from the sun’s position and have nearly universal agreement. The two that vary by calculation method are Fajr and Isha — both depend on the angle of the sun below the horizon at twilight, which is harder to observe and has scholarly disagreement.

Why Fajr and Isha angles vary

True dawn (Fajr) and the disappearance of twilight (Isha) happen when the sun is at certain angles below the horizon. The specific angle depends on:

• How “dark” the sky needs to be to count as Isha’s twilight disappearance, or how “light” it needs to be to count as Fajr’s true dawn.
• Scholarly interpretation of the relevant Qur’anic verses and hadith.
• Regional observational tradition — communities developed their own conventions based on local sky conditions.

Modern calculation methods adopt specific angles. The most common:

• Muslim World League: 18° (Fajr), 17° (Isha)
• Umm al-Qura (Saudi Arabia): 18.5° (Fajr), 90 min after Maghrib (Isha)
• ISNA (North America): 15° (Fajr), 15° (Isha)
• Karachi (South Asia): 18° (Fajr), 18° (Isha)
• Egyptian General Authority: 19.5° (Fajr), 17.5° (Isha)
• Diyanet (Turkey): 18° (Fajr), 17° (Isha)
• Moonsighting Committee Worldwide: Region-specific adjustments based on observations

For most cities, the difference between these methods is 5–15 minutes for Fajr and Isha. Pick the one your local mosque uses for community consistency.

Standard vs Hanafi Asr

The asr prayer starts at a specific shadow length, but there are two scholarly opinions:

• Standard (Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali): Asr begins when an object’s shadow equals its own length.
• Hanafi: Asr begins when an object’s shadow equals twice its own length.

The practical effect: Hanafi asr starts later than Standard asr — typically 30 to 90 minutes later depending on the season and your latitude.

Which to use:

• South Asia, Turkey, Central Asia — typically Hanafi (most followers are Hanafi)
• Most of the Arab world, Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia — typically Standard (Shafi’i/Maliki/Hanbali)
• Saudi Arabia — typically Standard (Hanbali-dominant)
• Western convert communities — varies, often Standard

Both opinions are valid. Pick the one your madhab or local mosque follows, and stick with it consistently.

Use the Prayer Times Tool

Allow location access (or enter your city) and pick your calculation method and asr school. The tool shows all five daily prayer times, plus sunrise, plus a live countdown to your next prayer.

Choosing Your Calculation Method

If you’re not sure which method to use, here’s the typical convention by region:

• Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan: Karachi method, Hanafi asr
• Saudi Arabia, GCC: Umm al-Qura, Standard asr
• UAE, Qatar, Bahrain: Gulf Region method or Umm al-Qura, Standard asr
• Egypt, North Africa: Egyptian Authority, Standard asr
• USA, Canada: ISNA, Standard asr (some Hanafi communities use Karachi method)
• UK, EU: Muslim World League, Standard or Hanafi based on community
• Turkey: Diyanet, Hanafi asr
• Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore: Singapore (MUIS) method or regional standard, Standard asr
• South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa: Muslim World League or local convention

If you’re new to a city, ask at the local mosque. They’ll tell you which method aligns with the adhan timing there.

Sunrise: An Often-Ignored Important Time

Sunrise marks two things:

1. The end of Fajr’s window. If you haven’t prayed Fajr before sunrise, you’ve missed the prayer time.
2. The start of a brief no-prayer window. It’s prohibited to perform voluntary prayers from sunrise until the sun is roughly 15 minutes above the horizon (sometimes called “spear’s height”).

This is why our prayer times tool displays sunrise alongside the five obligatory prayers — it’s relevant for knowing when Fajr’s window closes and for understanding daily prayer patterns.

Common Prayer-Timing Mistakes

• Praying before the time has fully begun. A common Fajr mistake — people pray when the alarm goes off, but the actual Fajr time may be 10 minutes later. Wait for the calculated time.
• Mixing calculation methods. Don’t use Karachi method for Fajr and Umm al-Qura for Isha. Pick one method and use it consistently.
• Switching between Standard and Hanafi asr randomly. Same as above. Commit to one based on your madhab.
• Trusting a static printed schedule for the whole year. Prayer times shift daily as the sun’s position changes. Use a daily-updating tool, not a January schedule in June.
• Ignoring DST. Daylight Saving Time transitions shift clock-times by an hour. Live tools handle this automatically; printed schedules may not be updated.
• Setting an “Isha alarm” without checking your method’s Isha time. Isha varies more than other prayers between methods. Verify it’s actually the time your mosque uses.
• Praying Asr early without realizing it’s still Dhuhr’s window. If you follow Hanafi asr, this is a real risk — Standard asr is permitted earlier, but you’ve committed to the later Hanafi time.

Special Situations

High latitudes (Scandinavia, Iceland, far-northern Russia)

In summer at very high latitudes, the sun may not dip far enough below the horizon for Fajr or Isha angles to be reached at all — true dawn never fully arrives, or twilight never fully disappears. Scholars have several positions:

• Estimate using the nearest “normal” latitude city
• Use Mecca’s timing
• Use the longest day of the year as the maximum
• Calculate Isha at a fixed interval after Maghrib (e.g., 90 minutes)

This is community-specific. Follow your local imam’s guidance — there’s no single correct answer.

Traveling across time zones

Pray according to wherever you are physically. If you cross time zones during a flight, the local time at your current position is what governs your prayer times. The tool will recalculate when you re-enable location detection.

Combining prayers when traveling

Travelers are permitted to combine certain prayers (Dhuhr + Asr, Maghrib + Isha) and shorten four-rakat prayers to two. Specific rules vary by madhab — consult your scholar.

Combining when sick or in difficulty

Permitted under certain conditions per most schools of thought. Again, madhab-specific guidance applies.

Sources and Scholarly Notes

This guide draws on:

• The Qur’an, particularly Surah An-Nisa (4:103), Surah Hud (11:114), and Surah Al-Isra (17:78) on prayer times.
• Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim for hadith on the timing of each prayer, especially the Jibreel hadith that establishes the start and end of each window.
• The Aladhan API for the underlying astronomical calculations — used by major prayer-time apps worldwide.
• Multiple madhab traditions on the asr timing question (Hanafi vs Standard).
• Major Islamic authorities for the various calculation methods: Muslim World League, ISNA, Umm al-Qura, Egyptian General Authority, etc.

For your personal situation — especially involving high-latitude prayer, travel, or unusual scheduling — consult a qualified scholar.

Disclaimer: Prayer time calculations are mainstream astronomical estimates. Your local mosque’s published times — which may include small adjustments for community practice — are authoritative for your area.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the five daily prayer times?
A: Fajr (before sunrise), Dhuhr (after midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (just after sunset), and Isha (after twilight). Each has a specific window defined by the sun’s position.

Q: Why does my mosque show different times than the tool?
A: Your mosque likely uses a specific calculation method (MWL, ISNA, Karachi, Umm al-Qura, etc.) and possibly a small manual adjustment. Switch the tool to match your mosque’s method for closer alignment.

Q: Which calculation method should I use?
A: The one your local mosque uses. Karachi is common in South Asia, Umm al-Qura in Saudi Arabia, ISNA in North America, MWL internationally. If unsure, ask at your local mosque.

Q: What’s the difference between Standard and Hanafi asr?
A: Standard asr (Shafi’i/Maliki/Hanbali) begins when an object’s shadow equals its own length. Hanafi asr begins when the shadow is twice the object’s length, which is later — usually 30 to 90 minutes after Standard asr. Use the one your madhab follows.

Q: Can I pray Fajr after sunrise?
A: No — once the sun has risen, Fajr’s window has ended. If you missed it, you should pray it as soon as you realize, as a make-up (qada).

Q: What if I’m traveling and don’t know the right calculation method?
A: Use Muslim World League as a sensible default — it’s widely accepted. Switch to a more local method once you know what your destination community uses.

Q: Why does the tool need my location?
A: Prayer times depend entirely on the sun’s position relative to your specific latitude and longitude. Without location, calculations can’t be done accurately. You can either allow geolocation or enter your city manually.

Q: How accurate are these calculated times?
A: Astronomical calculations are accurate to within a minute or two. The remaining variance comes from the chosen calculation method (the Fajr/Isha angles) and any small adjustments your local community makes. Use community-aligned settings for the best match.