Summary

This document outlines the guidelines the MCC Religious Committee uses to determine prayer times for services held at MCC. The guidelines are a best-effort attempt at establishing prayer times suitable for most in our community, with the understanding that it’s impossible to develop prayer times ideal for all.  The guidelines below are based on years of on-the-ground experience, discussions, and suggestions from community members.

Premise

1. Rulings from the Hanafi madhab take precedence.
2. Islamic Finder is the primary tool used to calculate prayer timings.
3. MCC’s geographical location (37°41’07.9″N 121°53’28.1″W) is the source point.
4. Iqama timings typically follow a bi-weekly schedule, starting on the first Sunday of the calendar year.
5. Prayer times are calculated on an annual basis.
6. The official MCC prayer calendar is published at mcceastbay.org/prayer
7. For each prayer, there are four timing-related aspects:
   1. Calculated Start – the start time for the prayer, without offset, as reported by the calculation tool.
   2. Actual Start is the published prayer start time, plus or minus a given offset.
   3. Athan Time – the time the athan is called at MCC.
   4. Iqama Time – the time the prayer takes place at MCC.
8. The athan time is typically ten minutes (permitting) after the actual start time.
9. A leeway of plus or minus three minutes is granted for all iqama guidelines listed below.

Daily Prayers

Fajr

1. The calculated start of Fajr prayer is based on an angle of fifteen degrees.
2. The actual start time is equivalent to the calculated start time (i.e., no offset is used).
3. Iqama times are at least thirty-five minutes before sunrise.
4. Iqama times are at least ten minutes following the actual start.
5. The latest iqama time for Fajr is 6:40 am.

Zuhr

1. A five-minute offset is added when calculating the actual start time to ensure that Zuhr does not start during the prohibited time.
2. Iqama times are at least ten minutes following the actual start.

Asr

1. The actual start time is equivalent to the calculated start time (i.e. no offset is used).
2. Iqama times are at least five minutes following the actual start.

Maghrib

1. A four-minute offset is added when calculating the start time to ensure that Maghrib does not start during the prohibited time.
2. Athan is given at the actual start time.
3. Iqama times are three minutes after the start time.

Isha

1. The calculated start of the Isha prayer is based on an angle of fifteen degrees.
2. The actual start time is equivalent to the calculated start time (i.e. no offset is used).
3. Iqama times are at least ten minutes following the actual start.
4. The earliest iqama time for Isha is 8:00 pm.
5. The latest iqama time for Isha is 10:15 pm.
6. There is a minimum of ninety minutes between Isha and Maghrib iqama times.

Exceptions

During Ramadan, other guidelines may supersede the guidelines above to ensure convenient times for Fajr & Taraweeh prayers.

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