How prayer times are calculated

What is a 'method'?

A method is really a pair of angles: how far below the horizon the sun must be for Fajr (when the fast begins), and how far for Isha. Smaller angle means earlier Fajr and Isha. Larger angle means later. Three of the four Sunni schools agree on the other prayers; Asr's timing is a separate question (see below).

On Deen Path the default is Muslim World League (18° / 17°) because that's what Bosnia's Islamic Community (Rijaset), most UK mosques, and the wider European diaspora use. Pick another freely, especially if your mosque follows a different timetable.

Madhab for Asr

The Sunni schools differ only on Asr:

• Standard (Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali)

  Asr starts when an object's shadow equals its own length.

  The majority position in the Sunni world — three of the four Sunni schools (Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali) and most non-Hanafi Muslims globally.

• Hanafi

  Asr starts when an object's shadow equals twice its own length.

  The Hanafi school — followed by most Bosnian, Turkish, Balkan, South Asian, Central Asian, and Ottoman-tradition Muslims. Asr will be noticeably later than Standard (often 30–60 min). If you grew up praying ikindija in a Bosnian mosque, this is your timing.

If you are Bosnian, Turkish, Albanian, or your family follows the Ottoman or South Asian tradition, you are most likely Hanafi, and your Asr will be roughly 30 to 60 minutes later than the Standard timing. This is not a quarrel between schools; both are valid and accepted in Sunni scholarship.

All supported methods

• Muslim World League

  Europe · Bosnia · Balkans

  Fajr 18° · Isha 17°

  Used by the Muslim World League since the 1970s and adopted by Bosnia's Islamic Community (Rijaset), most Balkan mosques, the Albanian and Kosovar communities, and a large share of UK and Western European mosques. If you don't know which to pick and you live in Europe, this is almost always the right answer.

• ISNA

  United States · Canada

  Fajr 15° · Isha 15°

  Adopted by ISNA in the late 1970s for North America. Pick this only if your local masjid in the US or Canada specifies it. The 15° Fajr is on the earlier side, which is why most European mosques didn't adopt it.

• Moonsighting Committee

  UK high-latitude · summer-friendly

  Fajr 18° · Isha 18°

  Designed by the Moonsighting Committee Worldwide for parts of the UK and northern Europe where standard angle calculations break down in midsummer (the sun never dips far enough below the horizon). If you live in Britain and your local mosque uses 'unified UK timetable' or 'angle-based' summer rules, this is often the closest match.

• Diyanet (Turkey)

  Turkey · Turkish diaspora

  Fajr 18° · Isha 17°

  Officially issued by Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, the Turkish state religious authority. Pick this if you attend a Turkish-community mosque or want times that match Turkish state timetables.

• Egyptian Authority

  Egypt · much of Africa · Levant

  Fajr 19.5° · Isha 17.5°

  One of the oldest standardised methods (1950s). Still official in Egypt and used widely across North Africa, the Sahel, Sudan, and parts of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.

• Umm al-Qura

  Saudi Arabia · Hajj · Umrah

  Fajr 18.5° · Isha 90 min after Maghrib

  Issued by Umm al-Qura University on behalf of the Saudi religious authority. Notable for using a fixed time interval after Maghrib for Isha rather than a sun-angle. Use when you're in Makkah or Madinah, or if your local mosque follows the Saudi standard.

• Karachi

  Pakistan · India · Bangladesh

  Fajr 18° · Isha 18°

  Adopted by the University of Islamic Sciences in Karachi and used as the default across Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and most South Asian-majority mosques in the UK and beyond. Symmetric 18°/18° angles.

• Gulf Region

  UAE · Kuwait · Qatar · Bahrain · Oman

  Fajr 19.5° · Isha 90 min after Maghrib

  Common in the Gulf states outside Saudi Arabia. Use this if you're in Dubai, Doha, Kuwait City, etc., and your masjid follows local government timings.