Invalid Practice of Adjusting Prayer Times

Since there are no true Fajr and Isha times in Germany for a few weeks in the summer, prayer times are not calculated the same way throughout the year. Outside of summer, when all phenomena are present, prayer times must be calculated using the normal method, regardless of how late they get. Only when the prayer time does not occur at all can it be calculated based on Ijtihad. Unfortunately, in practice, this is still not implemented by most organizations, who do so using the argument of "facilitation". They artificially alter the times before and after the transition, as they want to avoid late prayer times at all costs. This means that the true Fajr and Isha still exist, and the prayer time is simply ignored. The reason for the late times is that twilight begins to disappear in spring. This means that Isha and Fajr get closer and closer until they meet and both prayer times no longer occur. The same applies in reverse a few weeks later when the true times occur again.

The Muslim World League, chaired by the Grand Mufti in Saudi Arabia, has confirmed the inadmissibility of such an adjustment in its fatwas, stating: "If the phenomena still occur, the prayer time must be used, no matter how late it occurs."

Regarding people for whom these times represent a hardship, it was generally recommended to combine the Isha prayer with the Maghrib prayer and to make up the fasting days in winter when the days become shorter again. This is because the validity of the fast is highly questionable anyway if one has their Suhoor (pre-dawn meal) at a time when Fajr has already begun.

At this time, all major organizations use this invalid practice.

Below is a table for illustration

      <table class="ui very basic collapsing celled table">
        <tr>
          <td colspan=10>
            The valid prayer times: green is the true Fajr; blue is the time according to Ijtihad
          </td>
        </tr>
        <tr class="mobile hidden">
          <td>
            04/18
          </td>
          <td>
            04/19
          </td>
          <td>
            04/20
          </td>
          <td>
            04/21
          </td>
          <td>
            04/22
          </td>
          <td>
            04/23
          </td>
          <td>
            04/24
          </td>
          <td>
            04/25
          </td>
          <td>
            04/26
          </td>
          <td>
            04/27
          </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td class="green-cell">
            3:43
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            3:33
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            3:21
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            3:10
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            2:55
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            2:33
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            2:09
          </td>
          <td class="green-cell">
            1:44
          </td>
          <td class="blue-cell">
            4:23
          </td>
          <td class="blue-cell">
            4:20
          </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td colspan=10>
            An example with an adjustment between the methods with invalid prayer times in red
          </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td class="green-cell">
            3:43
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            3:48
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            3:53
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            3:59
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            4:04
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            4:09
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            4:14
          </td>
          <td class="red-cell">
            4:18
          </td>
          <td class="blue-cell">
            4:23
          </td>
          <td class="blue-cell">
            4:20
          </td>
        </tr>
      </table>