Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the Hijri calendar, Islamic dates, and how prayer times are calculated. For questions about this website itself, see the About page.
What is the Hijri calendar?
The Hijri calendar is the Islamic lunar calendar. It has 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days each, giving a year of about 354 days — roughly 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year. Year 1 begins from the Hijra, the migration of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Because the year is shorter, Islamic occasions such as Ramadan move earlier through the Gregorian seasons every year.
Why is the Hijri date different in my country?
There are several accepted ways to determine when a new Islamic month begins: physical moon sighting in your own region, sighting anywhere in the world, official announcements by a national religious authority, or a pre-calculated calendar such as Umm al-Qura. These methods can differ by one day, so the same Hijri date can fall on different Gregorian days in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. This site uses the calculated Umm al-Qura calendar; treat it as a reference, not an official ruling.
When does the Islamic day start?
The Islamic day begins at sunset (Maghrib), not at midnight. This means an Islamic occasion actually starts on the evening before its Gregorian calendar date. For example, the night of a Hijri date comes before its daytime.
How are prayer times calculated?
Prayer times follow the position of the sun for a specific latitude and longitude. Fajr begins at dawn twilight, Dhuhr just after the sun passes its highest point, Asr when an object's shadow reaches a defined length, Maghrib at sunset, and Isha when evening twilight disappears. Calculation conventions (such as Muslim World League, Egyptian, Umm al-Qura, or ISNA) use slightly different twilight angles, which is why published times vary.
Why do prayer times on this site differ from my mosque?
Your mosque may use a different calculation method, a different juristic setting for Asr (standard or Hanafi), manual precaution adjustments of a few minutes, or a fixed local timetable issued by a religious authority. The times on this site are astronomical estimates — always follow your mosque or official local authority for congregational prayer.
Does this site work for high-latitude locations?
In regions far from the equator, twilight can persist all night in summer, which makes standard Fajr and Isha formulas unreliable. Calculation services apply special high-latitude adjustments in these cases, but local mosque guidance is especially important there.
Is my location stored anywhere?
Your chosen city or coordinates are saved only in your own browser's local storage so the site remembers them on your next visit. There are no user accounts and no private user database. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Is Hijri Guide free?
Yes. All features — the Hijri calendar, date conversion, important dates, and prayer times — are free to use. The site may display advertising to cover its running costs.