HARROW, UNITED KINGDOM

Prayer Explanation

Fajr:

Fajr is defined to be when the light in the sky first appears and spreads horizontally. The Quran tells us:

…and eat and drink until the white streak becomes manifest to you from the dark streak at the crack of dawn (2:187 (Ali Quli Qarai))

In our current living conditions, due to the large amount of light pollution in the cities, it is not possible to notice this effect. For this reason much work has gone into arriving at formulas to calculate the time when this light first appears in the sky. Until recently the best work on the prayer times were carried out by a Malaysian Astro Physicist, Dr Mohammad Ilyas, who made the suggestion, based on large amounts of research, that the time of Fajr should be when the sun is 16° below the horizon. As a cautionary measure, he also suggested taking Imsaak, the time when one should stop eating in order to begin the fast, when the sun is 18° below the horizon. This calculation coincided with numerous observations for Fajr time in locations close to the equator. Dr Ilyas also suggested that there was no reason not to use this calculation for locations further north or south as the reason for Fajr coinciding with the sun being 16° below the horizon should extend to all locations.

As further research has been carried out in countries further from the equator, evidence has been found showing this phenomenon of Fajr being at 16° does not hold. Some of the best research to date has just been completed by the OpenFajr Research group in Birmingham, where a specialised camera was set up to observe the time of Fajr on a daily basis for a period of a year. The research findings have shown that the angle of the sun below the horizon is not a fixed value for the duration of the year, the angle varies depending on the date. Using the data obtained from these images, the OpenFajr group have put together a timetable for the city of Birmingham.

SICM has decided to take the timetable that has been produced for Birmingham and convert that data to make it as close to the actual Fajr times for London as possible. As Birmingham is relatively close to London, it is unlikely for there to be a significant variation between the times. However to calculate the small variation that is present, the difference has been taken between the time for sunrise in Birmingham and London and this value has been subtracted from the OpenFajr group’s Fajr time. A further cautionary value of 8 minutes has been subtracted from the time to produce a time for Imsaak and 8 minutes added to the time to produce a time for Fajr. This cautionary period should account for the small error margin present in transposing data from a different location as well as the small cautionary margins put in by the OpenFajr group themselves.

We give thanks to the great work done by the OpenFajr group and the other organisations working on this problem, praying that Allah is pleased with all of our work and forgives us all for our shortcomings.

Dhuhr:

Mid day, beginning time for noon prayers. This denotes the time when the sun’s centre crosses the meridian and reaches the minimum Zenith angle. A small correction of about 1 – 2 minutes needs to be made if the time for the meridian crossing of the backward limb of the sun is required.

Asr:

Times when the length of the shadow cast by a vertical stick is equal to its length plus length of its shadow at transit.

Maghrib:

The time given in the timetable is for 10 minutes after sunset. The opinions of some Marj’a is described below. 

Ayatullah Seestani: “The obligatory precaution is that as long as the redness in the eastern sky appearing after sunset has not passed overhead, Maghrib prayers should not be performed”  (http://www.sistani.org/index.php?p=251364&id=48&pid=2202 – rule 743)

Ayatullah Fadlallah: “The time for maghrib prayer starts with sunset, i.e. the disappearance of the sun disc beyond the horizon. However, the disappearance of the sun to the naked eye shall not be complete unless the bronze glow in the East disappears. When the latter vanishes, the actual time for maghrib starts. That said, there is no harm, from an ihtiyat perspective, to wait for the disappearance of that glow from the East, but it is not essential.” (http://english.bayynat.org/Fatawa/s2ch1.htm – rule 31)

Ayatullah Khui: “The obligatory precaution is that so long as the redness in the east, which appears after sunset, does not pass away from over our head we should not offer dusk (Maghrib) prayers”  (http://www.al-islam.org/laws/al-khui/: Chapter 15, rule 743)

Isha:

In this case, we have used Astronomical Twilight. This is when the sun is between 12 and 18 degrees below the horizon, and this is the spell when there is still a little light in the sky, but before true dark. After astronomical dusk at 18 degrees below, all stars will be visible.
Each twilight phase is defined by the solar elevation angle, which is the position of the Sun in relation to the horizon. During astronomical twilight, the geometric center of the Sun’s disk is between 12 and 18 degrees below the horizon.

To the naked eye, and especially in areas with light pollution, it may be difficult to distinguish astronomical twilight from night time. Most stars and other celestial objects can be seen during this phase.

(//://) in this entry indicates that Astronomical Twilight does not take place, and one should consult a religious authority for the correct time for the Isha prayers in this circumstances.