Prayer times

[glo]

I was looking at a prayer timetable for Ramadan and realised that I still don't fully understand how the prayer times are actually determined.
To ask the question better, perhaps I should ask how the Muslims 1400 years ago would have known when it was time to pray each prayer (before they had online prayer timetables, I mean. ;D)

If I am not mistaken then Fajr should be prayed BEFORE THE SUN RISES above the horizon.
And Maghrib after the SUN HAS FULLY SET. Is that correct?

What about the other prayers? My husband thinks that Zuhr is prayed when (or just after?) the THE SUN IS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT.

The Internet tells me that Isha is prayed after dusk. I guess than means after it is fully dark and NO DAYLIGHT LEFT ON THE HORIZON.

And when is Asr determined?

If anybody can confirm or clarify/correct my understanding of the prayer times, I would really appreciate it.

 

[AabiruSabeel]

If I am not mistaken then Fajr should be prayed BEFORE THE SUN RISES above the horizon.
And Maghrib after the SUN HAS FULLY SET. Is that correct? Yes

What about the other prayers? My husband thinks that Zuhr is prayed when (or just after?) the THE SUN IS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT. After it crosses its highest point.

The Internet tells me that Isha is prayed after dusk. I guess than means after it is fully dark and NO DAYLIGHT LEFT ON THE HORIZON.

And when is Asr determined?

If anybody can confirm or clarify/correct my understanding of the prayer times, I would really appreciate it.

Yes, you are correct in most parts.

The Fajr time starts at dawn when the whiteness of dawn spreads in the horizon, and ends at sunrise.

Zuhr time starts when the sun crosses its zenith.

Asr time starts when the shadow doubles the object (according to Hanafi school, and when shadow is equal to the object according to Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi'ee schools), and it ends when the sun becomes yellow during sunset (30-15 mins before sunset).

Maghrib starts immediately after sunset.

Isha starts at the disappearance of red twilight after sunset.



Please see this link for details: http://central-mosque.com/index.php/Acts-of-Worship/sunnah-method-description-of-salah-times.html

 

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam / Peace,

I was looking for another hadith regarding salah time but did not find that and got anothe one . I read it for the first time , let me share .




The hadith about Jibril (AS) leading the Prophet (PBUH) in prayer

Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said, "Jibril (AS) led me in (in Salat) twice at the House (the Kaaba). So he prayed Zuhr the first time when the shadow was similar to (the length of) the strap of a sandal.


Then he prayed Asr when everything was similar (to the length of) its shadow. Then he prayed Maghrib when the sun had set and the fasting person breaks fast.




Then he prayed Isha when the twilight had vanished. Then he prayed Fajr when fajr (the dawn) began, and when eating is prohibited for the fasting person.





The second time he prayed Zuhr when the shadow of everything was similar to (the length of) it, at the time of Asr the day before. Then he prayed Asr when the shadow of everything was about twice as long as it. Then he prayed Maghrib at the same time as he did the first time.



Then he prayed Isha, the later one, when a third of the night had gone. Then he prayed Subh (Fajr) when the land glowed. Then Jibril (AS) turned towards me and said: O Muhammad (PBUH)!



These are the times of the Prophets before you, and the time is what is between these two times."



​

(Hadith No. 1393, Book of Salat, Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 1; Hadith No. 149, Chapters on Salat, Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 1).

This beautiful narration tells us many things.

• We learn that there are fixed time periods for each Salat and every Salat has to be offered during these time periods. Jibril (AS) led our beloved Prophet (PBUH) two times to explain these time periods. The first time he offered prayers at the starting times of the time periods of each Salat, while on the next day he offered the prayers towards the end times of these time periods. We shall talk more specifically about the start and end periods of each Salat in discussion ahead, Insha'Allah.
  
  
• We also learn that these appointed hours for Salat were in place for all other Prophets (who came before Muhammad, PBUH) also.
  
  
  
  full article here .
  
  http://download.cnet.com/Quran-Hadith-and-Prayer-Times-Toolbar/3000-2378_4-10774385.html

 

[glo]

I have been looking at the prayer times for our local mosque until now.
But yesterday I googled 'prayer times' for my home town and realised that different websites give quite different prayer times for the same location.

For example, Islamic Finder gives these times for Birmingham for today:
18th Sat: Fajr-3:34; Sunrise-5:55; Sohar-13:12; Asar-17:09; Mahgrib-20:26; Isha-22:39

And salahtimes.com gives these times for Birmingham today:
18th Sat: Fajr-4:34; Sunrise-5:56; Sohar-13:11; Asar-18:10; Mahgrib-20:26; Isha-21:47

My question is, what is the reason for the differences? In particular with regards to Isha and Fajr, where there is almost an hour difference? Are there different calculations?
(BTW, the prayer times for our local mosque seem to be more in line with Islamic Finder.)

 

[MustafaMc]

glo, interesting question. The differences in prayer time for fajr and isha are related to the number of degrees the the sun is below the horizon which coincides with the relative amout of light from the sun that is visible to the human eye. These times are based on scientific calculations and are made applicable by the use of watches and clocks. At the time of the Prophet (saaws) the prayer times were of course not so precisely determined, but were based on human subjective criteria. The adhan (call to prayer) announced the time for salah to start and then after a short time the iqamah announced that the prayer was about to be offered.