Daily Prayer Time Calculator
Introduction
This daily prayer time calculator estimates the five daily Islamic prayers from two simple inputs: your local sunrise time and your local sunset time. It is designed for planning and educational use, not as an official religious timetable. That distinction matters. In many real-world prayer schedules, the exact start of Fajr and Isha depends on twilight angles below the horizon, Dhuhr depends on true solar noon rather than a simple midpoint, and Asr depends on shadow-length rules that vary by legal school. A calculator that only knows sunrise and sunset cannot reproduce all of those details. What it can do is give you a practical outline of the day so you can organize travel, reminders, study, or personal routines.
If you are on the road, away from your usual mosque, or simply trying to understand how prayer times relate to the movement of the sun, this tool offers a quick estimate. It can also be useful when you have sunrise and sunset from a weather app or local forecast but do not yet have a full prayer timetable. The result should be treated as a rough schedule: pre-dawn for Fajr, midday for Dhuhr, later afternoon for Asr, sunset for Maghrib, and evening for Isha. Before relying on any time for actual observance, especially in Ramadan or for congregational prayer, confirm with a trusted local source.
How to Use
Using the calculator is straightforward. Enter the local sunrise time in the first field and the local sunset time in the second field. Both inputs use 24-hour time, so 5:30 in the morning should be entered as 05:30, and 6:45 in the evening should be entered as 18:45. After that, press Calculate Times. The tool will display estimated times for Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha in a simple list. If your browser supports the clipboard feature, you can also use the copy button to save the result in a notes app, message, or calendar reminder.
It is important to enter the times exactly as they appear on your local clock. If daylight saving time is in effect, use the daylight saving version of the time. The calculator does not determine your time zone automatically, and it does not adjust for location, longitude, or date behind the scenes. In other words, it assumes the sunrise and sunset values you provide are already correct for your place and date.
One more practical note: the form expects sunset to occur after sunrise on the same local day. In ordinary locations and seasons, that is the normal case. In extreme latitudes, however, very long days, very short nights, or unusual twilight conditions can make simplified models less meaningful. If you are in such a region, use this page only as a conceptual guide and rely on recognized local guidance for actual prayer scheduling.
Formula
The calculator converts sunrise and sunset into minutes after midnight, then uses a small set of fixed relationships to estimate the prayer times. Let sunrise be represented by SR and sunset by SS. The daylight duration is the difference between those two values:
Once the daylight length is known, the calculator places each prayer using a simplified rule. Fajr is set 90 minutes before sunrise. Dhuhr is placed at the midpoint of the daylight period. Asr is set 90 minutes after Dhuhr. Maghrib is placed at sunset. Isha is set 90 minutes after Maghrib. These are not official jurisprudential definitions; they are practical approximations that create a usable daily structure.
The page already includes the core MathML expressions used to describe this method, and they are preserved below:
Fajr is estimated as , where is sunrise in minutes after midnight.
Dhuhr is estimated as , where is the daylight length.
Asr is estimated as . Maghrib is the sunset time itself, and Isha is estimated as .
Because the method is intentionally simple, it should be understood as a model rather than a formal calculation standard. Official prayer timetables often use solar depression angles such as 18°, 15°, or 12° for Fajr and Isha, and they may include local adjustments, safety margins, or school-specific rules for Asr. This calculator does none of that. Its strength is speed and clarity, not legal or astronomical precision.
What the Inputs Mean
The sunrise field should contain the local civil time when the sun rises at your location. The sunset field should contain the local civil time when the sun sets. These values are often easy to find in weather apps, almanacs, or phone widgets. The calculator does not ask for latitude, longitude, elevation, or date because it assumes you have already obtained sunrise and sunset for the day you care about.
That design keeps the tool simple, but it also explains its limitations. Since it does not know your coordinates, it cannot compute true solar noon. Since it does not know the date directly, it cannot model seasonal twilight behavior. Since it does not ask for a calculation method, it cannot match the standards used by a particular mosque, country, or prayer app. The result is best viewed as a planning estimate built from two anchor points in the day.
Worked Example
Suppose sunrise is 06:10 and sunset is 19:55. First convert both times into minutes after midnight. Sunrise becomes 370 minutes, and sunset becomes 1195 minutes. The daylight duration is therefore 1195 − 370 = 825 minutes, which is 13 hours and 45 minutes. Dhuhr is placed halfway through that daylight span, so it falls 412.5 minutes after sunrise, or around 13:03. Asr is then placed 90 minutes later, around 14:33. Maghrib is at sunset, 19:55. Isha is 90 minutes after that, around 21:25. Fajr is 90 minutes before sunrise, around 04:40.
This example shows the logic of the tool clearly. The exact values are easy to follow because every estimate comes from either a midpoint or a fixed offset. That simplicity is useful when you want a quick schedule, but it also explains why the result may differ from a mosque timetable by several minutes or even much more, especially for Fajr and Isha.
Interpreting the Results
When the calculator displays a result, think of it as a structured outline of the day. Fajr marks the pre-dawn period before sunrise. Dhuhr marks the middle of the daylight period. Asr marks a later-afternoon point after Dhuhr. Maghrib aligns with sunset. Isha marks the evening period after sunset. If the page notes that Fajr falls before midnight or that Isha extends past midnight, that is simply the calculator wrapping the time into a 24-hour clock format. The message is there to help you understand how the estimate relates to the calendar day.
Differences from official schedules are normal. A mosque timetable may use true solar noon for Dhuhr, a shadow-based rule for Asr, and angle-based twilight definitions for Fajr and Isha. It may also include local conventions or precautionary adjustments. This calculator intentionally avoids those complexities so that the method remains transparent and easy to use.
Why Estimates Can Differ from Official Timetables
| Factor | What official timetables may do | What this calculator does |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr and Isha definition | Uses twilight angles such as 18°, 15°, or 12°, sometimes with local adjustments | Uses fixed offsets from sunrise and sunset |
| Dhuhr | Computes true solar noon using longitude and the equation of time | Uses the midpoint of daylight |
| Asr | Uses shadow-length criteria that may vary by madhhab | Places Asr 90 minutes after Dhuhr |
| High latitudes | May apply special rules for persistent twilight or unusual day length | No high-latitude method is built in |
| Time zone and DST | Often determined automatically by location and date | Assumes your entered times already match local clock time |
Limitations and Assumptions
This calculator is intentionally modest in scope. It does not replace a recognized prayer timetable, and it should not be treated as a legal ruling or official schedule. It assumes that sunrise and sunset are known accurately, that the local day behaves normally, and that a fixed 90-minute offset is acceptable for rough planning. It does not model atmospheric refraction, elevation, latitude, longitude, date-specific solar behavior, or school-specific Asr definitions. Those omissions are not bugs; they are part of the simplified design.
For many users, that is still useful. A traveler may only need a reasonable estimate until reaching a destination. A student may want a quick way to understand how the prayers spread across the day. Someone learning about Islamic practice may appreciate seeing how sunrise and sunset anchor the schedule. In all of those cases, the calculator serves as a teaching and planning aid. For actual observance, especially when precision matters, verify with a trusted local mosque, scholar, or established prayer app.
Background and Practical Context
The five daily prayers structure the day around recurring moments of remembrance and worship. Fajr belongs to the quiet pre-dawn hours. Dhuhr arrives after the sun has risen high and the day is underway. Asr comes later in the afternoon, often when work or study is still in progress. Maghrib begins at sunset, marking a clear transition from day to evening. Isha follows after night has settled in. Even a simplified calculator can help make that rhythm visible, especially for people who are building habits, planning reminders, or trying to understand the relationship between prayer and the sun’s daily motion.
Historically, Muslims observed prayer times through direct awareness of the sky, shadows, and twilight. Modern software can now compute those times with great precision using astronomical formulas and geolocation. This page takes a different approach: it strips the process down to a few understandable steps. That makes it less precise, but often more transparent. You can see exactly how the estimate is formed, which is valuable for learning and for quick everyday planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this calculator accurate?
It is accurate only in the limited sense that it consistently applies the simplified rules shown on the page. It is not an authoritative source for prayer observance. For accurate local times, use a recognized timetable or app.
Which prayers are estimated?
The calculator estimates Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha, the five obligatory daily prayers in Islam.
Why might my mosque timetable be different?
Your mosque may use angle-based twilight calculations, true solar noon, local adjustments, and a specific madhhab or regional standard. Those methods are more detailed than the sunrise-and-sunset model used here.
Does the calculator handle daylight saving time automatically?
No. Enter sunrise and sunset exactly as shown on your local clock for the date you are using.
Can I use this while traveling?
Yes. Travel planning is one of the most practical uses for this tool. Just remember that the output is approximate and should be confirmed with a trusted local source when possible.
For further planning, you may also be interested in the Rosary Prayer Cycle Planner and the Intermittent Fasting Planner.