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Fatwa CenterThe time of the Fajr (morning) prayer
Question
Assalamu alaikum, for Fajr, I was wondering which twilight it starts at. Is it the Astronomical or Nautical twilight?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The time of the Fajr (morning) prayer starts from the appearance of the true dawn, based on the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam: “…And the time of the Fajr (morning) prayer is from the appearance of dawn as long as the sun has not risen”. [Muslim]. He clarified what is meant by the appearance of the true dawn is the light that spreads across the horizon and not the false dawn that extends over the horizon, as in the hadeeth of Samura which was reported by Muslim, that he, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam, said: “The Adhan of Bilal should not mislead you nor the whiteness (of the pillar) of dawn, for it is not the whiteness of the true dawn, but that of the false dawn which is vertical like a pillar and you can eat food till the streaks of whiteness spread like it.”
The closest to the true dawn is what is called the astronomical twilight, which is considered the first solar light at dawn that comes from the east. It occurs when the sun's center is eighteen degrees below the horizon, before sunrise or after sunset. And most of the calendars put the beginning of the timing of the Fajr prayer based on it, such as the calendar of Umm Al-Qura. It is the most famous of them, and the sun's angle below the horizon at dawn is 19 degrees, as well as the calendar of the Muslim World League, and the sun's angle below the horizon at dawn is 18 degrees.
Allah knows best.
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