A complete reference for how the site works: every prayer-time, moon, crescent, and Qibla calculation, the exact methods and formulas behind them, and every external service and data source used. Everything is computed for the location you choose.
Every figure depends on your latitude and longitude, because the Sun and Moon sit at different angles depending on where you stand. Location is resolved in three ways, in this order of accuracy:
ipapi.co service (shown as “approximate, by IP”).Prayer times come from the nojumi.org API (the Najaf Astronomical Research Center), which uses the Jafari (Najaf) method. The request is made server-side — your browser never sees the API key.
Far from the equator near midsummer, the sky never darkens enough for true dawn, so Fajr does not occur and the source returns no value. The site estimates it with the nearest-latitude rule (Aqrab al-Bilad) — using a reference latitude of 48° on your longitude. Estimated values are labelled “estimated · high latitude”.
Computed entirely on the server with the astronomy-engine library (no external call): phase & illumination, lunar age, previous/next new moon, and next full moon.
The Hijri (Islamic) date uses the Umm al-Qura calendar via the internationalization engine (ICU). The actual start of each month is a matter of crescent sighting, which the Moon Sightings tab predicts separately.
The astronomical new moon (conjunction) is when the Moon is “born” — but at that instant it is invisible. The Islamic month begins when the thin crescent is first seen, from ~15 hours to a couple of days later.
cos(ARCL) = cos(ARCV) × cos(DAZ)W = SD × (1 − cos ARCL)q = (ARCV − (11.8371 − 6.3226·W + 0.7319·W² − 0.1018·W³)) / 10V = ARCV − (7.1651 − 6.3226·W + 0.7319·W² − 0.1018·W³)Binary: visible when S > 1 and Moon altitude is at least 3.4°.
S = M / 12.7 + W / 1.2Shaukat is generally the most optimistic; Yallop the most conservative; Odeh sits in between and tracks the modern observational record most closely. The site shows all three side by side and flags the first naked-eye sighting only.
The drawn crescent shows how it will appear from your location at best time: the illuminated fraction sets the sliver thickness, and the tilt orients the bright limb toward the Sun.
For a chosen evening, the same three criteria are evaluated on a worldwide grid, producing a colour map of where the crescent is easily visible, marginal, or impossible. A printable PDF is generated on demand.
Each predicted evening shows the cloud cover near sunset from the free Open-Meteo service. Forecasts only reach about 16 days ahead.
The Qibla is the direction to the Kaaba in Mecca (21.4225°N, 39.8262°E), computed as the great-circle bearing from your location, clockwise from true north. On a phone, the compass reads the orientation sensor and rotates the dial live.
As morning approaches, the sky brightens in stages defined by how far the Sun’s centre sits below the horizon. Astronomers name three twilight bands; Islamic law distinguishes two dawns. The Today page lists all of them for your location, ordered from full dark to sunrise.
Dawn is simply the morning side of twilight; the same three bands mirror at dusk.
Each astronomical band is the instant the Sun ascends through its depression angle (18°, 12°, 6°), found with the astronomy engine’s altitude search. True dawn uses the Jafari (Najaf) 16° — the same angle used for Fajr and the high-latitude estimate. The false dawn has no single agreed angle; it appears in the dark window between astronomical dawn (18°) and true dawn (16°), so the site shows it as that window rather than one clock time. Near midsummer at high latitudes the Sun may never reach these depressions, so true night — and these dawns — may not occur; such cases show as unavailable.
The astronomical positions, Qibla bearing, and prayer times are computed precisely. The crescent predictions are for ideal conditions. Treat all of this as a guide, not a ruling: for religious decisions, follow your local authority.