Our Methodology

Qibla bearings are calculated using the great-circle (spherical trigonometry) method between a given location and the Kaaba's coordinates (21.4225°N, 39.8262°E). Prayer times use standard solar-angle-based astronomical formulas, with a selectable calculation method to match regional conventions (Muslim World League, ISNA, Umm al-Qura, and others).

Qibla direction

Your bearing to the Kaaba is the initial heading of the shortest great-circle path from your coordinates, not a straight line on a flat map projection — this is why the direction can look counterintuitive on a rectangular world map but is the true shortest path over the curved surface of the Earth. Your device's compass heading is read live and combined with this bearing to point the on-screen needle.

Prayer time calculation

The five daily prayer times, plus sunrise and the Islamic midnight and last-third-of-night markers, are derived from the sun's position for your date and coordinates. Fajr and Isha are defined as the sun reaching a set number of degrees below the horizon (the "twilight angle"); Dhuhr is solar noon; Asr is when an object's shadow reaches a multiple of its own height; Maghrib is sunset.

Twilight angles vary by regional convention, which is why we offer a selectable calculation method:

  • Muslim World League (MWL) — Fajr 18°, Isha 17°. The most widely used international default.
  • Egyptian General Authority — Fajr 19.5°, Isha 17.5°.
  • University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi — Fajr 18°, Isha 18°.
  • Umm al-Qura, Makkah — Fajr 18.5°, Isha a fixed 90 minutes after Maghrib rather than an angle.
  • Dubai — Fajr 18.2°, Isha 18.2°.
  • Moonsighting Committee Worldwide — Fajr 18°, Isha 18°.
  • Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) — Fajr 15°, Isha 15°.
  • Kuwait — Fajr 18°, Isha 17.5°.
  • Qatar — Fajr 18°, Isha a fixed 90 minutes after Maghrib.
  • Singapore — Fajr 20°, Isha 18°.
  • Tehran, Institute of Geophysics — Fajr 17.7°, Isha 14°.
  • Turkey, Diyanet — Fajr 18°, Isha 17°.

Asr convention

Two schools of thought define when Asr begins, based on shadow length: the Standard convention (Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali) sets it when an object's shadow equals its own height plus its shadow at noon; the Hanafi convention waits until the shadow is twice that length, giving a later Asr time. Both are selectable on the Prayer Times page.

High-latitude locations

Above roughly 48° latitude (much of northern Europe, Canada, and similar regions), the sun may not dip far enough below the horizon for a standard twilight-angle Fajr or Isha to occur at all during parts of the year — the "White Nights" problem. In these cases we fall back to a proportional-night calculation instead of an angle, so Fajr and Isha still resolve to a sensible time rather than disappearing from the schedule.

Hijri calendar

Hijri (Islamic) dates on this site are computed with the standard tabular ("civil") calendar algorithm — a fixed arithmetic rule, not a moon-sighting observation. It's a reliable, widely used approximation, but your local moon-sighting announcement (and therefore the real start of a month like Ramadan) may fall a day earlier or later. We flag this on every page that shows a Hijri date.

Sources and limitations

City locations and time zones come from our own curated dataset; geocoding for search is powered by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. All calculations run using standard, published astronomical formulas — we don't use a third-party prayer-times API. As with any calculated schedule, always defer to your local mosque or community's published times if they differ.