In June, there are only a few hours between Maghrib and Fajr in London, and depending on the timetable Isha can be close to midnight. Many people wonder why the times differ so much. The reason is in the sky: in a British summer, it never gets fully dark.
The problem: the sun doesn’t sink far enough
Fajr and Isha are defined by the angle of the sun below the horizon, usually 15° to 18° (see calculation methods explained). Around the longest day (21 June), the sun only reaches a certain depth at night:
- North of about 48.6° latitude, it no longer sinks 18° below the horizon. That is the whole of the UK.
- North of about 50.6°, it doesn’t even reach 16°. That is almost all of Britain apart from the far south-west.
By the angle alone, there would be no start of dawn and no end of dusk. Twilight runs right through the night.
The solution: fallback rules
Scholars developed rules based on the length of the night:
- One-seventh of the night: Isha after the first seventh of the night (Maghrib to sunrise), Fajr at the start of the last seventh. Used by many timetables at high latitudes.
- Middle of the night: Isha no later than the middle of the night, Fajr no earlier than it.
- One-third of the night: Isha at the latest after the first third, Fajr at the earliest with the last third. The Europe 2023 timetable works this way.
- Angle-based: the night is split in proportion to the angle (for 18°, about 18/60 of the night).
How big the difference is: London on 21 June 2027
Calculated with the same library as the Nur app:
| Method | Fajr | Sunrise | Maghrib | Isha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe 2023 (one-third of the night) | 02:15 | 04:43 | 21:22 | 23:49 |
| Muslim World League (one-seventh) | 03:40 | 04:43 | 21:22 | 22:25 |
That is well over an hour between timetables for both Fajr and Isha. Further north the gap grows: in Glasgow, Isha by the one-third rule is just after midnight. In winter the difference shrinks to a few minutes.
What does this mean for you?
- Follow your mosque. Especially in summer, this is the simplest answer: the community prays together on one timetable.
- Plan your sleep. With an early Fajr and a late Isha the night is short. Many pray Isha, sleep, pray Fajr and lie down again. Tips in how to wake up for Fajr.
- In Ramadan, the rule directly affects the length of the fast, because suhoor ends at Fajr.
In the Nur app
In Nur, you choose the method under Settings → Calculation and adjust every time to the minute so it matches your mosque. Monthly timetables are on the city pages, for example London, Manchester or Bradford.
