Prayer times in Tehran

How the prayer times for Tehran are computed

The times on this page are computed for Tehran's coordinates (35.7° N, 51.4° E) with the parameters of the University of Tehran's Institute of Geophysics, the body that draws up Iran's official calendar. The computation is astronomical and depends on no outside source, which is why the whole month's table is available in advance.

Fajr

Fajr, the start of the morning prayer and of the fast, is the moment the sun stands 17.7° below the horizon. That angle is the Institute's official parameter and differs by a few minutes from the 18° many foreign apps use; if your phone's app says otherwise, that is where the difference comes from.

Sunrise and sunset

Sunrise is the moment the sun's upper edge clears the horizon and sunset the moment it sinks below it; sunrise ends the time for the morning prayer. Both allow for the refraction of light in the atmosphere.

Dhuhr

Dhuhr is the sun's highest point in the sky. Because Tehran lies east of Iran's standard meridian (52.5°), solar noon in Tehran falls a few minutes before 12:00 and drifts by up to about a quarter of an hour through the seasons.

Maghrib

In Shia jurisprudence Maghrib is set by the fading of the eastern redness, not by the sun's disappearance, so the Maghrib time here follows the Institute's parameter of the sun 4.5° below the horizon, usually about twenty minutes after sunset.

Islamic midnight

Islamic midnight, the end of the time for the night prayer, is the midpoint between sunset and Fajr and falls about an hour before midnight on the clock.

How accurate are these times?

The difference from the official calendar is normally under a minute. Larger gaps come from the official calendar adding a few minutes of caution to Fajr and Maghrib; for fasting and prayer the official calendar and the national broadcaster's announcement are the authority, and this page is a guide.