Using a timetable to know the times of prayer

Question: 71367

I read on this site about the times of prayer but because I only know the time by using a clock, it is very difficult for me to know the times from the sky. Are there any ways on which I can know the time when the sun passes the zenith, etc, or how long there is for each prayer after the adhaan in the summer and the winter?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

We have
mentioned the times for prayer in detail, and practical ways of knowing when
the sun passes its zenith, by looking at the shadows, and by working out the
hours of the day, and knowing when the middle of the night is and how to
work it out, in the answer to question no.
9940.

These are
simple methods which anyone can make use of, when they need to. Allaah has
made it easy for the Muslims by causing timetables to be available which
show the times of the prayer in detail, day by day, summer and winter, for
different cities in one country. And there are mosques everywhere that give
the call to prayer, which is an announcement of the time. To Allaah be
praise. If each person had to look each day to the horizon in order to work
out the time for Fajr, and think about the shadows and how long or short
they were, to work out the time for Zuhr and ‘Asr, that would involve a
great deal of hardship, which is not a part of this great religion.

Shaykh ‘Abd
al-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allaah preserve him) said: The time between dawn
and sunrise is approximately one and a half hours, as is shown in the
timetables. Timetables have become a means for people to know the times of
prayer by hours and minutes, and attention should be paid to that because
the five daily prayers are the basis of Islam, so the Muslim must observe
them at the proper times, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Those
who remain constant in their Salaah (prayers)”

[al-Ma’aarij 70:23]

“Guard
strictly (five obligatory) As‑Salawaat (the prayers) especially the middle
Salaah (i.e. the best prayer ‑ ‘Asr). And stand before
Allaah with obedience”

[al-Baraqah 2:238]

end quote.

See also the
answer to question no. 8048.

Although
timetables are important and useful, they are a human effort which is
subject to the same mistakes and errors as any other human effort. But
usually they are correct in stating the times, except for the mistake in the
time for Fajr which occurs in some of them, as is explained in the answer to
question no. 26763.

We ask
Allaah to guide us and you.

And Allaah
knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

Was this answer helpful?