“… and eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread …" QUR’AN 2:187

APPOINTED TIME FOR MUSLIM PRAYERS “When saying any prayer, it is important to observe the appointed time of each prayer before you set out to say it.” Jurisprudence Made Easy

RULE REGARDING PRAYER TIMES “ A person can start offering prayers only when be becomes certain that the time has set in or when two just (Adil) persons inform him that the time has set in. In fact, one can rely upon the Adhaan, or on advice of a person who knows the timings and is reliable. ” Islamic Laws

FAJR TIME There is consensus among all schools of thought, Jaafari, Shafi’i, Hanbali, Hanafi, (with the exception of Maliki), that the time for the morning prayer begins at the second dawn (al Fajr as-Saadiq) and lasts until sunrise.

DEFINITION OF FAJR TIME “ Just before dawn a column of whiteness rises upwards from the east. It is called the first dawn. When this whiteness spreads, it is called the second dawn, and the Prime time for Fajr prayers. The time for Fajr prayers is till sunrise. ” Islamic Laws

FIRST DAWN (AL FAJR AL_KAADHIB)

SECOND DAWN (AL FAJR AS-SAADIQ)

CHALLENGES OF OBSERVATION IN EUROPE  The phenomenon of Al Fajr as-Saadiq is not easily identified. It takes a number of observations to gain confidence.  Al Fajr as-Saadiq is observed at different times by two persons standing next to each other, because of their visual response.  During nearly ten days of the month the moon is towards the eastern horizon, making it almost impossible to observe Al Fajr as-Saadiq with any degree of accuracy.  More than half the time thick clouds on the horizon making it very difficult to discern Al Fajr as-Saadiq.  From end May to mid July it is not possible to observe Al Fajr as-Saadiq as the whiteness in the sky remains throughout the night and merges with the light of dawn.

USING TIMETABLE “ If it is not possible for a Muslim to determine the beginning of true dawn (Al Fajr as-Saadiq) or the midday or sunset for his prayers and fasting, and he has faith in the timings given by the observatories, he can rely on the same, even if the scientists running the observatories are non- Muslims - as long as you have faith in their determining true dawn or noon or sunset times. ” A Code of Practice for Muslims In the West

COMPUTING FAJR TIME The first person to suggest using solar depression angles for computing Fajr times was Abu-Reyhan Biruni ( ), who suggested using between degrees for computing Fajr. Thus far, nobody has been able to come up with a universal angle that works for all locations around the world. The best way to confirm calculated prayer times is to confirm their accuracy by observation.

SOLAR DEPRESSION ANGLE Generally the brightness of the sky before sunrise correlates with the degree of solar depression, that is the angle between the sea level horizon, the centre of Earth, and the centre of the solar disk. Thus various stages of twilight are defined in terms of the solar depression angle, in degrees.

FAJR TIME FROM OBSERVATION According to Dr Khalid Shaukat, “The phenomenon of Subha Sadiq will vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons. People in different locations around the globe have made observations about Subha Sadiq and the results are anywhere between 13.5° to 18°.”

WHEN IS FAJR TIME? According to Dr Bernard Yallop, “There is no precise definition of “dawn”. If it is interpreted as the time of “first light”, dawn corresponds to a depression between 18 and 12 degrees but it is not possible to be more precise”.

FAJR TIME FROM OBSERVATORIES No observatory in the world, including the Royal Greenwich and the US Naval, is able to precisely determine and advise Muslims of the correct times for Fajr. They acknowledge the difficulties in advising Muslims on these times due to the nature of the phenomena of twilight and the limitations of science in this field.

THE EUROPEAN KHOJA PRAYERS TIMETABLE  In the 1950s, the Khojas in Britain, in line with the East African practice, set the Fajr time to 90 minutes before the published sunrise time.  In the early 1960s they accepted the Mohammadi Trust of London published timetable. In the timetable the Fajr time was set to the start of the Nautical Twilight (12°).  When London Stanmore Jamaat was established, a timetable was published based on the Mohammadi Trust one. However the authenticity of the Fajr time was started to be questioned based on observation by some elders of the community.  In the early 1980s London Stanmore Jamaat published a timetable in which the Fajr time was different, based on a formula given by Marhoom Mulla Asghar M M Jaffer. As other Jamaats were established data was provided for them to publish their own timetables.  To verify the validity of the timetables, Marhoom Mullasaheb nominated persons in various parts of England to try and wake up early every morning and when possible to observe and record the time of Al Fajr as-Saadiq.

BASIS OF THE EUROPEAN KHOJA FAJR TIME

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