Proposed fajr timetable
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Although there is consensus on the textual definition of fajr across Muslim denominations, there is wide variation in the implementation of the time of fajr across different communities. Our project aims to enable the harmonisation and unification of the time at which the fajr prayer is conducted (and the commencement of the fast), by providing accurate data, using specialist technology.
Some communities approximate the time of fajr using different calculation methods; however, there is no consensus on a specific formula. Some communities base their timetables on local observations; however, these may be subject to observer bias and may not be reproducible. This results in a wide variation amongst different fajr timetables. We suggest that formulating a fajr timetable by either individual's observations alone, or calculations alone, will not achieve a unified prayer timetable.
A specialist "all-night camera", designed for astrophysics research (with a 180° fish-eye lens with CCD detector capable of discerning low ambient light variance at the horizon), was mounted at a site within Birmingham. The camera was programmed to take photographs every minute of the sky, and all photographs spanning a calendar year have been published on the project website.
A consensus panel was assembled, comprising of religious scholars, academics and researchers in this field, experienced observers, community leaders, and umbrella organisations. Members of the consensus panel individually assessed the images, and voted for the image they perceived to correspond most closely with the time of fajr. The results were analysed to produce an annual timetable.
The OpenFajr research project has produced the largest body of published observational data in our latitude. The proposed annual fajr timetable is presented in this paper, and we propose the dissemination of this research paper to organisations and individuals for their critique, for them to consider the adoption of the proposed timetable.
Download the full research paperChapter Al-'Isra (17) • Verse 78
Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed.
Chapter Al-Baqarah (2) • Verse 187
… and eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn
Al-Jaami' • No. 4278
Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) narrated: The Messenger (SAW) said there are two fajrs. The fajr which looks like the tail of a wolf: at such a time fajr prayer is not allowed, but the food intake is not forbidden either. The [next] fajr that spreads horizontally in the sky marks the time when fajr prayer is permitted and food is forbidden.
Al-Bukhari • Volume 1, Book 11, Number 595
'Abdullah bin Mas'ud narrated: The Prophet said, "The Adhan pronounced by Bilal should not stop you from taking Suhur, for he pronounces the Adhan at night, so that the one offering the late night prayer (Tahajjud) from among you might hurry up and the sleeping from among you might wake up. It does not mean that dawn or morning has started." Then He (the Prophet) pointed with his fingers and raised them up (towards the sky) and then lowered them (towards the earth) like this (Ibn Mas'ud imitated the gesture of the Prophet). Az-Zuhri gestured with his two index fingers which he put on each other and then stretched them to the right and left. These gestures illustrate the way real dawn appears. It spreads left and right horizontally. The dawn that appears in the high sky and lowers down is not the real dawn.
Wasaa'il • Hadith Number 4944
In a letter from Imam Al-Jawad (Abu Ja'far Al-Thaani):
Fajr is the horizontal 'white thread' and it isn't the vertical whiteness, so don't pray in travel or otherwise
until you verify it, for Allah hasn't left his creation in uncertainty in this affair and He has said: "Eat and drink until
the white thread becomes clear from the black thread of morning". The white thread is the horizontal [one] and it is the
one in which salaat becomes wajib.
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' • Fatwa No. 7373: Part No. 6; Page No. 144
Astronomical calculations are not consequential in determining the times of Salah (prayer), but what is crucial when determining the time for the Fajr Prayer is to take into account the appearance of a clear and distinct line of light along the eastern horizon. The time ends when the sun rises.
Ayatullah Sayyid Abulqasim al-Khui • Laws of Prayers, Rule No. 749
Near about the call for dawn prayers a whiteness rises from the east, it is called the first dawn (Fajr). When this whiteness spreads, it is called the second dawn, this the time for dawn prayers commences. This time ends with sunrise.
Reviewing the primary sources and Jurists' views, false dawn is defined at the point when a vertical column of light is visible on the eastern horizon (note that this [zodiacal light] is only visible in the latitude of Birmingham prior to sunrise in the autumn); true dawn is when there is the first horizontal spread of light on the eastern horizon (which supersedes the vertical column of light [if present]). This is the time of fajr.
Other than by observation, neither the Qur'an nor hadith stipulate a method for calculating the time of fajr. In many locations, certain formulae match the observation of fajr closely: some communities adopt a fixed-time before sunrise; others a fixed angle of depression of the sun; others by a apportioning the night (typically into seven, with fajr one-seventh the night prior to sunrise); others by apportioning the length of day (similarly to above); and some a hybrid of these, which is typically adopted in areas of higher latitude (in northern or southern countries), where the sun often does not decline beneath the typical angles. There is no consensus on any of these methods.
It cannot be assumed that a universal calculation can determine the point of fajr, in all locations and at all latitudes, in all seasons. Therefore, this project aims to determine the point of fajr primarily using observation, with the aid of a specialist camera.
All images can be viewed by clicking on the button. Each day is labelled either 'Clear View', 'Partial View', or 'Obstructed View', depending on the weather conditions.
Each photograph is seen as a circle: the centre of the circle is the sky directly vertical above the camera; the outside of the circle is view of the horizon in all directions. The first arc of light across the edge of the circle demonstrates the first horizontal light on the eastern horizon.
on the calendar above
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