The Error in Astronomical Timing (The Almanac) and Its Non-Compliance with the Legitimate Times of Prayer

The student: Half an hour.
Another student: Half an hour.

The Shaykh: Yes, because here, they do not call the legitimate adhan for all five prayers; rather, they call the astronomical adhan. Every person of intellect and reason knows the difference between one who lives in the valley and one who lives on the mountain peak, that the time of this one differs from the time of that one, even in the same land. For these almanacs are set based on the horizon and the straight sea level, whereas here is the Himalaya mountain and there is a deep valley; they do not take this into account. Now, we are here on the mountain, and our situation is like that of the one at the Husayn Mosque; they are not equal. For example, was this astronomical timing set for someone on the mountain or for someone in the valley? Neither this nor that. Therefore, there is a great deal of difference, very, very, very great, not only here, but in all the lands of Islam. This is one of the afflictions that surround Muslims in their religion, besides the calamities that have befallen us directly from the disbelievers. We did not study the science of astronomy and left the study of the science of the Shari'ah.
The student : There is no power nor strength except with Allah!

The Shaykh: Yes, indeed. I observe here that they call the adhan half an hour before Fajr. I see the appearance of Fajr here just as I see the rising of the sun. The sun rises here a quarter of an hour after the almanac. So, may Allah forbid, if I am delayed and I want to pray after the almanac, I would be praying while the sun is rising, whereas the sun has not yet risen, because I observe it constantly and always. It is a fixed quarter of an hour, exactly. They call the adhan for Fajr half an hour before the time. I am eating my pre-dawn meal, and it is being called, or even after the adhan, this is the appearance of Fajr and the rising of the sun. As for Dhuhr: they call the adhan for Dhuhr a quarter of an hour before the sun inclines to the east, meaning they call the adhan at the time of the prohibited dislikedness.
The student: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.

The Shaykh: As for 'Asr, the difference is very slight, meaning a difference of one or two minutes. As for Maghrib, they call the adhan after the setting of the sun, just as I see it rise, so I see it set. I break my fast and start eating, and it is still ten minutes before they call the adhan for Maghrib. As for 'Isha: half an hour before this astronomical adhan, the red twilight has set.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: Hello, hello.

The Shaykh: Its setting is the end of the time for Maghrib, and we see it here beginning to fade, fade, fade, until we see the darkness, and then after half an hour, may Allah help us, they call the adhan. I have seen this phenomenon in more than one country, even in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, even in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. A story happened to me: we went out before the adhan for Fajr to the airport road, at a large roundabout there. We stopped by the road to observe the sun, yes, Fajr. A police patrol passed by; our position was actually suspicious, meaning the road was not yet open. They went around the large roundabout behind my car. What are we doing here? My son Muhammad was with me; he got out and said to them: My father is coming to observe the appearance of Fajr here. He said, no problem, but this position here is not suitable. The important thing is that we remained until we saw the true appearance of Fajr, exactly after we heard the adhan from al-Masjid al-Nabawi by a third of an hour.
The student: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.

The Shaykh: And in the last Ramadan, I went for 'Umrah and was invited to break my fast at the home of our brother, Dr. [what is his name?], the one in al-Zarqa, 'Asim, my fellow villager. I do not think you know him; he is now a professor at the Islamic University. The point is, he lives in an apartment with four floors. I said to him, can we go up to the roof? He said yes, we can. We went up to the roof. We see the setting of the sun very close there; the mountain is there. The sun set, we broke our fast, and ten minutes later the adhan was called in al-Masjid al-Nabawi. In al-Ta'if it is like this, in Riyadh it is like this, in Morocco it is like this, in Kuwait it is like this. Shaykh Taqi al-Din al-Hilali, you must have heard of him.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh: But personally, you do not know him.
The student: No, we do not know him.

The Shaykh: He is the author of a thesis.
The student: On this topic.

The Shaykh: Yes, and he says that they call the adhan for Fajr there in Morocco; I forgot now, he says a quarter.
The student: A third of an hour.

The Shaykh: A third of an hour, a third of an hour. Likewise, a Kuwaiti who authored a thesis on this topic also; there is a difference of a third of an hour. This is a general calamity.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh: Yes.