How Prayer Times Work in the UK (and Why They Change So Much)
By the Quran and Deeniyat UK team. Published 2026-10-07.
The five prayers follow the sun
- Fajr begins at true dawn, when the first light appears, and ends at sunrise.
- Dhuhr begins just after the sun passes its highest point.
- Asr begins in the afternoon, when an object's shadow reaches a set length.
- Maghrib begins at sunset.
- Isha begins when the evening twilight has ended.
Why times change through the year
The UK is far enough north that day length changes a lot. In June the days are long and in December they are short, so prayer times move by several hours across the year. The further north you are, such as Glasgow or Aberdeen, the bigger the change.
Calculation methods and Asr
Fajr and Isha are calculated using the angle of the sun below the horizon, and different organisations use different angles. For example, the Muslim World League uses 18 degrees for Fajr and 17 for Isha, while ISNA uses 15 for both. For Asr, most schools use the time when an object's shadow equals its height, while the Hanafi school uses twice its height. That is why two correct timetables can differ by a few minutes.
The summer problem: Fajr and Isha in June
Near midsummer in the UK, the sun does not go far enough below the horizon for twilight to end. In London it sinks only about 15 degrees at its lowest, and in Aberdeen even less. Because of this, the usual angle rules cannot give a clear Isha or Fajr. Mosques and calculators use agreed workarounds, such as dividing the night into portions, so Fajr and Isha are set proportionately. Our tool uses the one-seventh-of-the-night rule by default, and lets you change the setting.
Clock changes
The UK clocks go forward in late March and back in late October. Prayer times follow the sun, so when the clocks change, the time on the clock jumps by an hour even though the sun has not moved. This surprises many people in the first week.
Which timetable should you follow?
A calculated time is a guide. For congregation, follow the timetable of your local mosque, and use a calculator for travel or when you are away from home. If your mosque publishes its method, set the same options in our tool and the times should match closely.
Try the tool
Our free prayer-times tool works for your postcode or your location, and it has pages for 40 UK cities.
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