Prayer times are standard for Muslims in the world, especially the fard prayer times. They depend on the condition of the Sun and geography. There are varying opinions regarding the exact salah times, the schools of Islamic thought differing in minor details. All schools of thought agree that any given prayer cannot be performed before its stipulated time. Sundial indicating prayer times, situated in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia. Author: Keith Roper

Fajr begins at subh saadiq—true dawn or the beginning of twilight, when the morning light appears across the full width of the sky—and ends at sunrise. a b According to Shia Muslims, Asr prayer and Isha prayer have no set times but are said any time starting from midday. Zuhr and Asr prayers must be offered before sunset, and the time for Asr starts after Zuhr has been prayed. Maghrib and Isha prayers must be offered before midnight, and the time for Isha prayer can start after Maghrib has been prayed, as long as no more light remains in the western sky signifying the arrival of the true night.The Isha'a or isha prayer starts at civil dusk when the darkness starts to spread across the sky, and lasts until nautical dusk when the western horizon gets completely dark and cannot be observed through naked eye. displaystyle \lambda } and ϕ {\displaystyle \phi } are the longitude and the latitude of the considered point, respectively. According to Imam Abu Hanifa, "Asr starts when the shadow of an object becomes twice its height (plus the length of its shadow at the start time of Zuhr)." For the rest of Imams, "Asr starts when the shadow of an object becomes equal to its length (plus the length of its shadow at the start time of Zuhr)." Asr ends as the sun begins to set. The Asr prayer starts when the shadow of an object is the same length as the object itself (or, according to Hanafi school, twice its length) [ citation needed] plus the shadow length at zuhr, and lasts till sunset. Asr can be split into two sections; the preferred time is before the sun starts to turn orange, while the time of necessity is from when the sun turns orange until sunset.

T ( α ) = 1 15 arccos ⁡ ( − sin ⁡ ( α ) − sin ⁡ ( ϕ ) sin ⁡ ( δ ) cos ⁡ ( ϕ ) cos ⁡ ( δ ) ) {\displaystyle T(\alpha )={\frac {1}{15}}\arccos \left({\frac {-\sin(\alpha )-\sin(\phi )\sin(\delta )}{\cos(\phi )\cos(\delta )}}\right)}The five intervals were defined by Muslim authorities in the decades after the death of Muhammad in 632, based on the hadith (the reported sayings and actions) of the Islamic prophet. The time interval for offering the Zuhr or Dhuhr salah timing starts after the sun passes its zenith and lasts until call for the Asr prayer is given. [ according to whom?] [ clarification needed] This prayer needs to be given in the middle of the work-day, and people normally make their prayers during their lunch break. T D h u h r = 12 + Δ t + ( Z − λ / 15 ) {\displaystyle T_{\mathsf {Dhuhr}}=12+\Delta t+(Z-\lambda /15)} The five daily prayers are considered obligatory ( fard) by many and they are performed at times determined essentially by the position of the Sun in the sky. Hence, salat times vary at different locations on the Earth. Wudu is needed for all of the prayers. From when the shadow cast by an object is once or twice its length, may be performed up to the time of Maghrib. [a] [b]

Salat times are prayer times when Muslims perform salat. The term is primarily used for the five daily prayers including the Friday prayer, which takes the place of the Dhuhr prayer and must be performed in a group of worshippers. Muslims believe the salah times were taught by Allah to Muhammad.In addition to the above measures, to calculate prayer times for a specific location we need its spherical coordinates. [12] Shia differs regarding the end of zuhr time. Per all major Jafari jurists, the end of dhuhr time is about 10 minutes before sunset, the time that belongs exclusively to asr prayer. Dhuhr and asr time overlap, apart from the first 5 minutes of dhuhr, which is exclusively delegated for it. Asr prayer cannot be offered before zuhr in the zuhr time. Most Muslims pray five times a day, with their prayers being known as Fajr (before dawn), Dhuhr (afternoon), Asr (late afternoon), Maghrib (after sunset), and Isha (nighttime), always facing towards the Kaaba. [1] Some Muslims pray three times a day. [2] [3] The direction of prayer is called the qibla; the early Muslims initially prayed in the direction of Jerusalem before this was changed to Mecca in 624 CE, about a year after Muhammad's migration to Medina. [4] [5]