Prayer times in Amsterdam

How the times are calculated

Prayer times follow the sun, not the clock. Given a latitude, a longitude, and a date, the position of the sun determines each one: Fajr and Isha from how far below the horizon the sun sits at dawn and dusk, Sunrise and Maghrib from the horizon itself, Dhuhr from the moment the sun crosses the meridian, and Asr from the length of an object’s shadow.

This tool uses the same calculation library as the Munara apps for Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch, with the same inputs — calculation method, Asr madhab, high-latitude rule, and any per-prayer adjustments — so a timetable generated here matches what the app shows for the same settings. Times are rounded to the nearest minute and rendered in the location’s own timezone, so they stay correct across daylight-saving changes.

Standard and Hanafi Asr

Asr begins when an object’s shadow reaches a set multiple of its own length, measured from the shadow it cast at noon. The Standard opinion — followed in the Shafi’i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools — uses one times the object’s length. The Hanafi opinion uses twice, which places Asr later, typically by thirty to ninety minutes depending on the season and how far you are from the equator. Both are shown by the same tool; switching between them changes Asr and nothing else.

Prayer times at high latitudes

Far from the equator the sun may never dip far enough below the horizon for the twilight angles to be reached, so Fajr and Isha have no astronomical moment to calculate from. A high-latitude rule fills the gap by dividing the night into portions. This tool offers the same options as the apps: an automatic setting, Middle of the Night, One Seventh of the Night, and Twilight Angle. When a rule actually affects the times shown, the timetable says so beneath the table and names the rule.

Above the Arctic and Antarctic circles the sun may not rise or set at all for weeks, and then no rule applies: there is no solar event to work from. Those days are shown as dashes rather than as invented times. Communities in those latitudes generally follow the times of the nearest city where the sun does rise and set, or those of Makkah.

Matching your local mosque

Mosques frequently pray a few minutes after the calculated time. Under Advanced options each prayer can be shifted by up to an hour in either direction, which moves the printed time without altering any of the others. Adjustments are saved in the page address, so a timetable configured to match a particular mosque can be shared as a link and everyone sees the same sheet.

Printing and sharing

Print and PDF both produce the same composed one-page sheet rather than a screenshot of the browser window, so margins and scaling do not vary between machines. The file is generated on your own device; nothing is uploaded. The Share button copies the current address, which carries the location, calculation method, Asr madhab, adjustments, time format, and month.

Accuracy and limitations

The location shown on arrival is a guess based on your device’s timezone, which identifies a region rather than a place — it can be a city away, or occasionally a country away. When it is uncertain the page says so. For a timetable you intend to rely on, search for your city or use the exact location button, since a difference of a few degrees of latitude moves Fajr and Isha by several minutes.

Calculated times are astronomical, not authoritative. Where a mosque or national body publishes its own timetable, that is the one to follow; differences of a few minutes are normal and reflect the method and adjustments in use rather than an error in either.