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al-falak

Madhab

Madhab

Section titled “Madhab”

The madhab (Islamic school of jurisprudence) determines how Asr prayer time is calculated. Al-Falak supports both major madhabs.

Madhab options

Section titled “Madhab options”
Madhab Shadow Length Default
Madhab.SHAFI Single (1.0) Yes
Madhab.HANAFI Double (2.0) No

Using a madhab

Section titled “Using a madhab”
from alfalak import PrayerTimes, CalculationParameters, Madhab


params = CalculationParameters()
params.madhab = Madhab.HANAFI
prayer_times = PrayerTimes(
    coordinates,
    datetime.now(),
    calculation_parameters=params,
)

What is the difference?

Section titled “What is the difference?”

Asr time is calculated based on the length of an object’s shadow relative to the object’s height:

  • Shafi: Shadow length = object height × 1 (shadow equals object height)
  • Hanafi: Shadow length = object height × 2 (shadow is twice object height)

This results in a later Asr time for Hanafi, typically 30–50 minutes later depending on location and date.

Comparison example

Section titled “Comparison example”
from datetime import datetime
from alfalak import PrayerTimes, CalculationParameters, Madhab, CalculationMethod


coordinates = (35.7750, -78.6336)
today = datetime.now()


for madhab in [Madhab.SHAFI, Madhab.HANAFI]:
    params = CalculationParameters(method=CalculationMethod.MUSLIM_WORLD_LEAGUE)
    params.madhab = madhab
    pt = PrayerTimes(coordinates, today, calculation_parameters=params)
    print(f"{madhab.name}: Asr at {pt.asr.strftime('%H:%M')}")

See also

Section titled “See also”