Prayer times
Last third of the night calculator
The night is measured from Maghrib to Fajr and divided into three equal parts. The last third begins two-thirds of the way through, and Islamic midnight is the halfway point. In London on 21 December the night runs from 15:53 to 06:00, so midnight falls at 22:57 and the last third begins at 01:18. Use the calculator for your own location and date.
How the last third of the night is calculated
Four steps, shown with the figures for London on 21 December (Muslim World League method):
- Find Maghrib on the evening the night begins: 15:53.
- Find Fajr the following morning: 06:00.
- Measure the night between them: 14 h 7 min.
- Divide by three. One third is 4 h 42 min. Add two thirds to Maghrib and the last third begins at 01:18; add half the night and you have Islamic midnight, 22:57.
The same night therefore has three parts: 15:53–20:35, 20:35–01:18 and 01:18–06:00. The one step that is easy to get wrong is the third: the night crosses midnight, so the length has to be counted across the change of date rather than by subtracting one clock reading from the other.
Islamic midnight is not 12:00
Islamic midnight is the middle of the actual night, so it moves with sunset and dawn. In London it is 22:57 on 21 December and 23:13 on 21 June. Where clocks change for daylight saving it shifts by a further hour, which is why a fixed "12 am" is the wrong answer almost everywhere and almost every night.
Two ways of measuring the night
Timetables measure the night in one of two ways. Both start at sunset; they differ at the end. Measured from Maghrib to Fajr — the default here — the night in London on 21 December lasts 14 h 7 min and the last third begins at 01:18. Measured from sunset to sunrise it lasts 16 h 11 min, and the last third begins at 02:40. The calculator offers both. This site does not say which one a particular act of worship should follow; that is a question for a scholar.
Midnight and the last third through the year
The longest and shortest nights of the year, Maghrib to Fajr, in local time with each city’s own calculation method. Each city page has the full monthly timetable.
| City | 21 December | 21 June | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midnight | Last third | Midnight | Last third | |
| London | 22:57 | 01:18 | 23:13* | 23:49* |
| Manchester | 23:02 | 01:25 | 23:27* | 00:01* |
| Toronto | 23:33 | 01:49 | 00:25 | 01:32 |
| New York | 23:14 | 01:27 | 00:08 | 01:20 |
| Karachi | 23:50 | 01:50 | 23:49 | 01:17 |
| Delhi | 23:38 | 01:40 | 23:37 | 01:01 |
| Dhaka | 23:16 | 01:16 | 23:16 | 00:45 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 00:30 | 02:16 | 00:33 | 02:16 |
| Jakarta | 23:08 | 00:49 | 23:13 | 01:01 |
| Dubai | 23:33 | 01:33 | 23:32 | 00:59 |
| Lagos | 00:08 | 01:58 | 00:10 | 01:52 |
| Sydney | 00:01 | 01:20 | 23:13 | 01:19 |
* Around midsummer the sun over these cities never sinks far enough for Fajr to have an astronomical time. Timetables then place Fajr at the middle of the night (the midnight rule), so a night measured to that Fajr is unusually short. Switch the calculator to sunset-to-sunrise to see the full night.
Common questions
What is the last third of the night?
It is the final third of the time between Maghrib, at sunset, and Fajr the next morning. The night is measured from one to the other and split into three equal parts; the last third starts two-thirds of the way through and ends at Fajr. Because the length of the night changes with the season, so does the time it starts — in London it begins around 01:18 on 21 December but around 23:49 on 21 June.
How do I calculate the last third of the night?
Take the time of Maghrib and the time of Fajr the following morning, and work out how long the night between them is. Divide that by three, then add two of those thirds to Maghrib. In London on 21 December, Maghrib is 15:53 and Fajr is 06:00: the night lasts 14 h 7 min, one third is 4 h 42 min, and the last third begins at 01:18.
What time is Islamic midnight?
Islamic midnight is the midpoint of the night — halfway between Maghrib and Fajr. It is a different clock time every night and in every place. In London it falls at 22:57 on 21 December and at 23:13 on 21 June. The calculator on this page gives it for any location and date.
Is Islamic midnight the same as 12 am?
No. 12:00 midnight is a convention of the clock; Islamic midnight is the middle of the actual night, which depends on when the sun sets and when dawn begins. It is usually some way from 12:00, and in places with daylight saving it is often well before or after it.
Does the night start at Maghrib or at Isha?
In both reckonings shown on this page the night starts at sunset, which is Maghrib in nearly every calculation method. The two reckonings differ at the other end: one measures the night to Fajr, the other to sunrise. Which applies to a particular act of worship is a question for a scholar; this page computes both and labels which one it is showing.
When is tahajjud time?
Tahajjud is the voluntary night prayer, and this site does not issue rulings on when it may be prayed. What it can give you is the clock times people ask for when planning it: Isha, Islamic midnight, the start of the last third of the night, and Fajr, for your own location and date. For the ruling itself, ask a qualified scholar or your local mosque.
Why is the last third of the night so short in London in summer?
Because the summer night there is short, and around midsummer the sun never sinks far enough for Fajr to have an astronomical time at all. Timetables then place Fajr at the middle of the night instead, so a night measured to that Fajr lasts only 3 h 41 min on 21 June. Measured from sunset to sunrise the same night lasts 7 h 21 min, and the last third begins at 02:16. The calculator lets you switch between the two.