The Quranic Clock
Developed by our dear sister Zainab A.
This is a simple tool that provides the accurate Quranic times for the 3 Quranic Salat; Fajr, Wusta and Isha. The tool provides the 'Start' and 'End' times for each of the 3 Salat in a simple and uncomplicated way.
As per diagram 1 below, the three twilights are as follows:
1- Civil Twilight: starts when the sun is at 6 degrees below the horizon and ends at sunrise. Also, it starts when the sun has set and ends at 6 degrees below the horizon.
2- Nautical Twilight extends to 12 degrees, before sunrise and after sunset.
3- Astronomical Twilight extends to 18 degrees, before sunrise and after sunset.
When all the relevant Quranic verses are taken into account, it was found that 15 degrees before sunrise and the same after sunset is the appropriate indicator to use. The 15 degrees is halfway between the Nautical and the Astronomical Twilights.
The Astronomical Twilight (18 degrees), cannot be used otherwise as there will be certain days during the calendar year where certain geographical locations will experience twilight throughout the night, see diagram 2. And because the twilight on such dates lasts all night, it would be impossible to obtain an 'end point' for the Isha Salat, nor a 'start point' for the Fajr Salat.
A twilight that lasts all night would also mean that there would be no gap between the Isha Salat and the Fajr Salat. Such a case (no gap) would invalidate a number of Quranic words that speak of a definite gap between the end of Isha and the start of Fajr. One such example is 24:58 which speaks of three times:
1- Before the Fajr Salat
2- At noon
3- After the Isha Salat
A twilight that lasts all night long would cancel out the distinct times 1 and 3 above.
It is also found that the Nautical Twilight (12 degrees) does not cover all the range of faint light in the sky. As a result, a measure of 15 degrees is found to be applicable all through the year and at all locations.
To calculate the correct times, the Quranic Clock provided here also uses the times of Sunrise, Sunset and the Sun's decline from its highest point (high noon).
As is the case with all Salat tools, the times given by this tool are accurate within 1-2 minutes leeway.
Once you click on the link, the tool will automatically recognise your location and provide the times for your location based on IP by default.
The tool may at times give the times for your nearest town. In that case, the user is able to manually key in his location in the search boxes (country and town).
The tool also allows the user to obtain the Salat times for a different date as can be seen in the search box below.
The tool also allows the user to obtain the Salat times for a different date as can be seen in the search box below.
Once you do a manual search, the URL of the site will change with your entry, you can then bookmark the new page and lock it in as your default page. This will save you repeating the manual search when you use the tool again.
Click here
Diagram 1 illustrates the three types of twilights (at normal times).
Diagram 2 illustrates the times when the twilight lasts all night long. During those nights there is no full darkness.
Diagram 1
Diagram 2
