Relying on the Radio and the Calendar to Determine the Times of Prayer

Question:
A letter sent by the listener Jabir Ahmad Hasan from the Arab Republic of Egypt, stating: What is the ruling regarding people who do not hear the adhan except through the radio, or through the prayer times written in the calendar? Is their prayer accepted or not? They pray according to what they hear on the radio and what they see in the calendar sheet. Is this permissible or not? And what should they do regarding the tarawih prayer in the month of Ramadan? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
They must ascertain the time if they are far from the mosques. They should ascertain the time by using clocks, or by observation if they can see the length of the dawn, the passing of the sun from its zenith, and so on. They should ascertain it by means that enable them to rely on the radio, on accurate calendars, or on visual observation, or by asking trustworthy people about the time, so that they perform the prayer with certainty after the preponderance of probability. They should not hasten until the preponderance of probability indicates that the time has entered. However, if they have mosques where they can hear the adhan, they must pray in the mosques. They must pray with their brothers in the mosques of Allah. But if they are far away, in neighborhoods that have no mosques, or in the open desert, then they should ascertain the time and pray after the preponderance of probability indicates that the time has entered, whether by the calendar, by observing the time, or by the information of trustworthy people. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.