How many times a day do Muslims pray?

Muslims pray five obligatory prayers each day: Fajr before sunrise, Dhuhr after midday, Asr in the afternoon, Maghrib just after sunset, and Isha at night.

Why do prayer times change every day?

Prayer times are tied to the sun, not the clock. Dawn, solar noon, shadow length, sunset and twilight all shift slightly each day and vary by latitude, so the timetable is recalculated daily for your exact location.

What is the difference between Hanafi and Shafi'i Asr time?

In the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali view Asr begins when an object's shadow equals its own length; in the Hanafi view it begins when the shadow reaches twice the object's length, which is typically 40 to 90 minutes later.

How do I get accurate prayer times for my location?

Happy Islam calculates the five daily prayer times from your device location, shows the Qibla direction and can send gentle reminders. It is completely free with no adverts or subscription.

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Islamic prayer times explained — Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha

The five daily salah, how each time is worked out from the sun, and where the schools differ.

Muslims pray five obligatory prayers a day. None of them is set by the clock — every one is set by the sun. That is why a prayer timetable in Accra looks nothing like one in London, and why yours shifts by a minute or two every single day.

The five daily prayers

Prayer	Time window	Fard rak'ah
Fajr الفجر	From true dawn until sunriseBegins at the first spread of white light along the horizon (ṣubḥ ṣādiq) and ends the moment the sun's edge appears.More on Fajr time →	2 fard
Dhuhr الظهر	After the sun passes its zenith until AsrStarts a few minutes after solar noon, once the sun has visibly begun to decline from its highest point.	4 fard
Asr العصر	When an object's shadow equals its length (Shafi'i) or twice its length (Hanafi), until sunsetThis is the prayer with the widest school-to-school difference — the Hanafi time begins noticeably later.More on Asr time →	4 fard
Maghrib المغرب	Immediately after sunset until the red twilight fadesThe shortest window of the five, and the moment the fast is broken in Ramadan.More on Maghrib time →	3 fard
Isha العشاء	After twilight disappears until true dawnBest prayed before the middle of the night; it remains valid until Fajr begins.	4 fard

Why the times move every day

Each prayer is anchored to a solar event: true dawn, the sun crossing its highest point, a shadow reaching a given length, sunset, and the end of twilight. Those events drift through the year as the earth tilts, and they drift faster the further you live from the equator. A timetable calculated for one city is therefore wrong for another — even one an hour's drive away.

Calculation methods

Fajr and Isha depend on how far the sun sits below the horizon, and different authorities use different angles — Muslim World League (18°/17°), Umm al-Qura (18°/90 minutes after Maghrib), Egyptian General Authority (19.5°/17.5°), ISNA (15°/15°) and others. None of them is "wrong"; they are careful readings of the same signs. Choose the method your local mosque follows so your prayer matches the congregation around you.

Hanafi and Shafi'i Asr

The single biggest difference you will see between two apps is Asr. In the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali view Asr enters when an object's shadow equals its own length. In the Hanafi view it enters when the shadow reaches twice the object's length — usually 40 to 90 minutes later. Both are valid positions held by the classical schools.

Get accurate prayer times free

Happy Islam calculates all five times from your device location, points you to the Qibla, and can send a gentle reminder before each prayer. It is completely free — no subscription, no premium tier, no adverts — on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android.

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