O Son !

altitude. Namâz is not performed at mathematical or true times.
These times help to determine the mer’î times. Altitudes relating
to sunrise and sunset horizons are zero. Altitudinal degrees with
respect to apparent horizon begin as the Sun rises, before noon;
and after true horizon, after noon. Shar’î horizon is before true
horizon, before noon; and it follows true horizon, after noon. The
Sun’s altitude at the time of fajr-i-sâdiq is –19° according to all four
Madhhabs [1] . Its altitude to initiate the time of night prayer is –19°
according to Imâm-i-a’zam (Abû Hanîfa, the leader of Hanafî
Madhhab), and –17° according to the two Imâms (called
‘Imâmeyn’, namely, Imâm Muhammad and Imâm Abû Yûsuf, two
of Imâm-i-a’zam’s most eminent disciples), and also according to
the other three Madhhabs. The altitude to indicate the beginning
of early afternoon is the meridian altitude (ghâya irtifâ’), which, in
its turn, is the algebraic addition of the (Sun’s) declination and
complement of latitudinal degrees. Mer’î-haqîqî noon time (zawâl)
is when the center of the Sun is observed to have culminated, (i.e.,
to have reached the elevation called ghâya irtifâ’,) with respect to
true horizon. The altitudes for the times of early afternoon and
late afternoon (’asr) change daily. These two altitudes are
determined daily. Since it is not always possible to determine (by
observation) the time when the limb of the Sun reaches the
altitude from the apparent horizon for a certain prayer, books of
fiqh explain the signs and indications of this mer’î time, which
means to say that the apparent times of namâz are the mer’î times,
not the mathematical times. Muslims who are unable to see these
indications in the sky, and calendar-makers as well, calculate the
mathematical times when the limb of the Sun reaches the altitudes
with respect to the lines of surface horizon after noon; since
timepieces will show the mer’î times when they reach the
mathematical figures thereby calculated, these people will have
performed their prayers of namâz at the so-called mer’î times.
An important note: By calculation, the mathematical times
when the Sun reaches the prescribed altitudes from the true
horizon are determined. That the Sun has reached a certain mer’î
time (or altitude) is observed eight minutes and twenty seconds
after the time thereby calculated; this time (of observation) is
called mer’î time. In other words, the mer’î time is eight (8)
minutes and twenty (20) seconds after the mathematical time.
[1] These four Madhhabs are Hanafî; Mâlikî; Shâfi’î; and Hanbalî.
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