Shall a Traveler Refer to That Locality’s Prayer Timings or the Prayer Timings of His Locality about Iftar?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

When visiting another locality, should I refer to that locality’s prayer timings or the prayer timings of my locality about iftar?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The entering and exiting of the prayer are calculated by the sun. The prayer time charts are merely a means to facilitate knowledge of the prayer times for the general public. Therefore they can be used. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

If the prayer time calendars are reliable according to your judgment, you can follow them.

For instance, if the masjid you visit has a prayer time chart posted, you can trust it. Or, if you are at someone’s home, you can follow their prayer chart.

However, you should be weary of the adhan of maghrib in some localities as the adhan may be given before the entering of the prayer time.  [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.