Birka

A new prayer time calculator for high latitudes

Latest update: March 1, 2010



Birka (www.birka.st) presents a new program which computes Islamic prayer times
  •   anywhere in the world,
  •   at any given time,
  •   according to the fiqh of the four schools,
  •   using a refined method for refraction,
  •   birka gives correct timings for Fajr and Isha at high latitudes.
Quick Guide - click here


Why a new calculator?

Ramadan this year falls into a period where true Fajr time can still be observed at high latitudes. However, many of the current prayer time tables, instead of giving this correct time, give manipulated times for Fajr during the entire period from March to September. In Scandinavia or northern Canada, the difference between the true and the manipulated time can be up to an hour or more.

If you want to make sure to begin your fast before the true dawn, you must use a prayer time table that gives the true times. These are provided in the Birka prayer time table.

Birka comes with ample documentation in English and Swedish, to support its method. Please take a tour and you will soon realize the advantages of using this new program.


Which prayer time tables are correct and which are not?

Most commonly used tables do not give the correct times for Fajr and Isha at northern latitudes during summer. This applies to:
  •   IslamicFinder
  •   Rabita (Islamiska Förbundet i Sverige) and all its sub-organisations
  •   Islamguiden
Unfortunately, prayer time tables in many mosques come from one of these sources.

Reliable prayer time tables are:
If the prayer time table in your local mosque does not agree with any of the reliable time tables mentioned above, it would be in the interest of Muslims to have it changed.


Birka on your website

The Birka calculator gives tables for 1 day as well as for an entire month. It can be customized to suit any webpage, with the preferred location, defaults settings, colors and layout. If you drop a mail stating your requirements before the beginning of Ramadan 2009, you will inshaAllah receive a link to your own personalized calculator.


Shortcuts

Prayertimes:
prayertimes.tk
birka-hanafi.tk
birka-shafii.tk

Full documentation:
prayertimes-doc.tk
Birka - Quick instruction

Birka computes the Islamic prayer times at your exact location, with an accuracy of +/-1 minute. The program is especially desgined for high latitudes.

Quick Guide:
  1. Location:
    To change location manually, type into the address field.
    Doubleclick, and the new location will be shown on a small map
    To reset to automatic, empty the address field
  2. Time zone:
    To change time zone manually: doubleclick "Timezone"
    To reset to automatic, click once.
  3. Select Fiqh method from the menu.
  4. Press the "Go".

These calculations are based on fiqh definitions of the four juristic schools, combined with data from observations. Times are only estimated when the real times to not exist, and estimated times are placed between brackets.