The Shaykh spoke about the ruling on the times written in the "almanac."

The questioner : ... .

Another questioner : The calendar, what does it mean?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : If it is a timing that conforms to the Shari'ah timing, or like books of hadith and fiqh and others.

The questioner : But now, they rely on these timings and no longer look at the sun to see if it has set or not.

The Shaykh : You did not answer me. Did you hear what I said?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : What did I say?

The questioner : Is it conforming, I mean, to its timing?

The Shaykh : No, I said: If, I said: If this timing or these times listed in the "almanac" or in a book are like writing hadiths and fiqh in books, if they conform to the Shari'ah timing, then on this basis, no.

The questioner : But - O Shaykh - now they mean the Fajr adhan; they advance the adhan by ten minutes or five minutes.

The Shaykh: May Allah guide you.

The questioner : This is present in all the timings.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. I am telling you: If it conforms, you say: It does not conform. Fine; what is the problem? I am informing you of this better than you inform me. In most Islamic countries, they pray Fajr before the time; so beware that you are like this!

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : I live in Amman, as you know, and I live on a mountain, and I see the dawn when it appears. They call the adhan about twenty-five minutes to half an hour before the dawn, and the prayer is established in the mosque near me with the appearance of the dawn; that is: after half an hour. The establishment of the prayer, they enter the prayer with the appearance of the dawn; that is: they pray the Sunnah of Fajr long before the time. And so I used to—and this is from the favor of Allah upon me and many of us—before I was afflicted with knee pain, I would go down with the Fajr adhan that they call; that is: about half an hour before the Shari'ah adhan. I would drive my car and pass by some of our brothers, so I would fill the car with as many passengers as it could hold, our brothers, and we would go to a mosque. I am in East Amman and the mosque is in West Amman, in order to pray behind an imam whose creed is Salafi and whose prayer is according to the Sunnah, and so on. And after the dawn has become clear. And we have news in Kuwait that they pray Fajr before the time, and news from Morocco, the Shaykh "Taqi al-Din al-Hilali" (may Allah have mercy on him), who was a professor at the Islamic University, wrote a treatise on this issue, and it is printed. And about two years ago—also—it reached me that a man in Ta'if says—also—that they call the Fajr adhan before the time.
And in Amman in Ramadan, problems arose because they call the adhan after Maghrib in Ramadan like other days, but we specify Ramadan because of the iftar, after the setting of the sun. And I see it as I see the appearance of the dawn and the rising of the sun—also—I see the setting of the sun with my own eyes. The sun sets and I break my fast as is the Sunnah with dates. Ten minutes pass until they call the adhan. Knowing that the mu'adhdhin who calls is in a very high place in Amman, they call it al-Ashtareyah, and "al-Masjid al-Kabir" (the Great Mosque) in Amman is in the middle of the town, meaning in the valley. So it is known to everyone who considers the difference in horizons that if the sun sets for me ten minutes before their adhan; do you think that Amman was in the valley? Before twenty-five, fifteen, and twenty minutes at least. All this is because of what? The astronomical timing found in these "almanacs" and "calendars." But if it is, why did I tell you and draw your attention, time after time, if it conforms to the Shari'ah, then there is nothing wrong with it, like any book that contains what conforms to the Shari'ah. So recording it facilitates things for people to know the times. But the reality is that these times are astronomical times; and so now you hear on your radio that now is the time for the adhan of Isha, where? Or Maghrib? In Riyadh, considering the difference in what? The times in other countries. Who considers this?
No one considers it now.

The questioner : The jurist.

The Shaykh : Because the mu'adhdhins.
Yes?

The questioner : The jurist considers it.

The Shaykh : Fine; the jurist. The mu'adhdhins do not know the Shari'ah times, and this is truly what the Muslims have suffered today in the modern era. So do not take the recording of the Shari'ah times, but take from them that this timing is an error and not Shari'ah.