Fajr, Isha and fasting times are related to astronomical phenomena which can be observed by naked eye, and the purpose of this campaign is to ask interested and concerned people to participate in observing these phenomena in an unbiased and scientific way, in order to accurately determine the beginning times of Fajr and Isha. The campaign consists of gathering a large number of observations from different countries by dedicated and diligent trustworthy observers who will adhere to a set of outlined criteria for consistency purposes. The campaign will last for one year, and can be extended if required. This campaign is organized by the Islamic Crescents’ Observation Project (ICOP).

The main objective of this campaign is to verify the solar depression angle adopted by most Islamic parties (The angle 18 and the nearby angles: 17 and 19) for Isha and Fajr prayer times, and to explain the reason of finding other angles -if observed- (the angles from 12 to 16). Also, the campaign aims to spread out the correct astronomical knowledge related to prayer times, because most people are not aware of the astronomical phenomenon correlated to each prayer time. In addition, the campaign will study the effect of meteorological and geographical parameters on the prayer times.

1. Fajr: There are two types of Fajr described by the Prophet (Salla Allah Alaihi Wa Sallam); Al-Fajr Al-Kathib (False Fajr) and Al-Fajr As-Sadiq (True Fajr).

   Before the beginning of False Fajr (Zodiacal Light), the sky is completely dark. False Fajr appears in the East as a faint white light that looks like a big triangle whose base is on the horizon and summit is upward. The brightness of the False Fajr gets stronger as we approach the True Fajr.

   As time goes by, the True Fajr (Astronomical Twilight) appears as a white light spread horizontally over the entire Eastern horizon. Note that at this time the False Fajr is still on and starts disappearing because of the brightness of the True Fajr. So there is a short overlap between the two Fajrs.

   The True Fajr is distinguished from the False Fajr by its shape, where the False Fajr is vertical on the horizon, where as the True Fajr appears as a horizontal illumination on the horizon. In general the False Fajr appears 30-45 minutes before the True Fajr.

   The observer should write down the time at which the False Fajr appears and the time at which the True Fajr appears.

2. Isha: After the sun sets, the sky continues to be illuminated in a similar way as it was before sunrise, and as time passes the sky will get darker until the illumination disappears, and this is the time of disappearance of the Ash-Safaq Al-Ahmar (Red Shafaq) or Sky Redness, which we believe is the Astronomical Twilight.

   Isha time starts when the Red Shafaq disappears according to the most juristic methods (Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali). The only illumination that persists in the sky after the Red Shafaq disappearance is the White Shafaq (which we believe is the Zodiacal Twilight).

   When comparing the Isha astronomical phenomenon with that of Fajr. The False Fajr corresponds to the White Shafaq disappearance and the True Fajr corresponds to the Red Shafaq disappearance

   As such we believe that the manifestation of the disappearance of the Red Shafaq (shape and colors) is similar to that of the appearance of the True Fajr. Similarly, the manifestation of the False Fajr is similar to that of the disappearance of the White Shafaq.

   Important Note: It should be highly noted that Red Shafaq does NOT mean the red color all the time because sometimes the sky is not red colored after sunset. Sometimes, the color of the sky after sunset is Yellow or Orange, and sometimes none of these colors appears after sunset. In this case the color of the sky graduates from blue to dark blue to navy blue then to black. As a conclusion, the color of the sky at the end of Red Shafaq is similar to its color at the beginning of the True Fajr. The only difference is that the True Fajr appears in East where as the Red Shafaq disappearance appears in West.

From the previous description we conclude that the observation must be done from a totally dark site, free from any source of light. So the observation cannot be done from cities, villages or any location close to light pollution sources.

We will still accept observations made from light-polluted locations (cities and villages) with the condition that observer reports all types of light-pollution around the site. This type of observation will allow us to study the effect of light pollution on accurate observation of Fajr and Isha times since most people live in cities and villages where light pollution is significant, however, observations from light polluted areas will be accepted just to know the effect of light pollutions on Fajr and Isha but not to determine the actual times of the beginning or the end of Fajr and Isha.

Also, the observation must not be done on nights where the Moon appears in sky at the time of observation. Where the Moon’s light might hide the zodiacal light and hide the first light of Fajr and the last light of Isha. In order to verify that the location and the time are suitable for observation, the observer must measure by his/her naked eye something called “Limiting Magnitude” and if it is found that the conditions are not favorable, then he/she should look for another location or another day.

The brightness of celestial objects is measured by a number called “Magnitude”. This number can be positive, negative or equal to zero.

The smaller the number the brighter is the object. For example, the magnitude of the sun is -26.7, and the magnitude of the full moon is -12.6, whereas the magnitude of the brightest star (Sirius) is -1.5.

Generally speaking, when observing from cities the observer can see stars up to the magnitude +3, and he/she cannot see the fainter stars because of the light pollution. The ordinary observer from a totally dark location can see stars up to magnitude +6.5.

The magnitude of the faintest star that the observer can see by his/her naked eye is called the “Limiting Magnitude” of his/her location. Thus, the limiting magnitude is used as an indicator for the darkness of the sky at the observation site. As mentioned earlier, the limiting magnitude from cities is generally about +3. This means that from cities we can’t see stars fainter than the magnitude +3.

If we were told that a location has a limiting magnitude of +4.5 for example, then this means this location is relatively dark but it is not totally dark! As such for this campaign, we will accept only observations from locations with a limiting magnitude of +6 or more. [Those reporting from light-polluted locations are exempt from this requirement]

There are several ways to measure the limiting magnitude for a given site. Below are two common methods to measure the limiting magnitude:

1. Faintest Star: Look for the faintest star that is visible with naked eye, and then to refer to an astronomical atlas to know the magnitude of that specific star. The limiting magnitude of the site will be the magnitude of this star. The best way to use this method is to look at the area near Polaris, since there is a chart for this area indicating the stars and their magnitude. This chart is found at the Campaign website.
2. Star Triangles: A better method to use is to look at a pre-determined area in the sky, and to count the number of stars in that area including the corner stars, then the observer should refer to the table that indicates the limiting magnitude corresponding to each number of stars. There are 30 areas (most of them are triangles) found on 9 charts. These charts and the table are found at the Campaign website.

Also, the limiting magnitude must be determined when the sky is totally dark, i.e. before the beginning of False Fajr or after the end of White Shafaq.

• If the observer believes in different definitions for the Fajr and Isha than those mentioned previously, then observer is kindly requested to report the times according to the definitions mentioned in this paper, and mention his/her remarks and notes in the related box in the Observation Results Form.

• Some requirements in this campaign might appear to be difficult for the ordinary observer. In this case, the observer might ask for the assistance from the Campaign Representative in his/her area –if available- or from an astronomer or astronomy amateur in his/her area. Your local observatory or Astronomy Club or Association can also be of help. This can also be a good school project. Please note that to encourage wider participation and to study the effect of light pollution on observation, we are accepting observations from light-polluted locations, but it must be carefully reported.

• No light from any kind should be used during the observation. The light of a torch affects the eye pupil of the observer, thus the person will not see the first light of Fajr or the last light of Isha. The eye needs 20 minutes after exposure to the light to be fully dark adapted. If necessary, the observer might use faint red light, since the red light has the least effect on the eye, however, it is recommended not to use any light.

• The observation must be done from a location with clear horizon with no heights at the horizon, because the first light of Fajr appears on the horizon, similarly the last light of Isha appears on the horizon.

• If the observer is not fully aware of the astronomical phenomena that are being observed, then it is highly recommended to perform the first observations with an experienced observer, however, later on the observations should be done independently from others in order not to be influenced by the observations of others.

• It was noticed in the previous similar experiments the psychological effect of knowing the time during the observation, where it may lead the observer to see the Fajr or to notice the disappearance of Shafaq before or after its actual time. Thus, the observer may wear the watch or know the time during his/her first trials, but it is highly recommended not to wear the watch or know the time during the real observations, except for the last actual timing.

• The observer should measure some meteorological parameters, such as temperature, pressure and relative humidity. As such, the observer should use proper instruments and means to record these parameters. The results of this campaign will be used to study the effects of meteorological parameters on Fajr and Isha times.

• Any interested person can participate in this campaign, regardless to his religion and gender. There are two outcomes for this campaign; (1) The determination of the beginning and ending times of pure astronomical phenomena (Beginning and End of Astronomical Twilight and the Zodiacal Light) and (2) the relationships of the times of Prayer (Fajr and Isha) with these phenomena.

• It is recommended to take some still and video captures for Fajr and Isha, however, these captures will not be used to determine the beginning and the end of the twilight.

• The observation site coordinates can be determined by a GPS, Google Earth or by the topographic maps.

• A dedicated mailing list is created for the participants in this campaign, so the participants are kindly requested to join the list in order to share the ideas and thoughts. Joining the mailing list can be done from the Campaign website.

This map shows Polaris and the nearby stars. The magnitude of each star is mentioned in Red.

Below are the charts which contain the star areas that should be used to determine the limiting magnitude. The shape of most areas is a triangle, and some charts contain more than one area.

There are three opinions:-

1. Part of them believe that the Red Shafaq is the whole illumination appears in west after sunset regardless to its color, and it is called Red because in general it starts by the red color, and the White Shafaq is the Zodiacal Light. This team adopted the angle 18 for both; Fajr and Isha. This opinion is adopted in this campaign and kindly adopt these definitions when filling the observation results.
2. Another team believes that the Red Shafaq is really the red light and the White Shafaq is the last illumination appears in west after the Red Shafaq, and the Zodiacal Light is another third different phenomenon. This team adopted the angle 19 for Fajr and the angle 17 for Isha.
3. Another team believes that Isha starts at the disappearance of the White Shafaq not the Red Shafaq, and the White Shafaq is the last illumination appears in west after sunset, after which the Zodiacal light appears. This team adopted the angle 18 for both; Fajr and Isha.

   As for Fajr, all the previous scientists agreed that it is the first white illumination which appears horizontally on the Eastern horizon, and they decided it between the angle 20 and 18.

A dedicated mailing list is created for the participants in this campaign, so the participants are kindly requested to join the list in order to share the ideas and thoughts. To do so, please enter your email address in the below box and then click on the image.

Please note that all fields are mandatory. The form will not be submitted if there is a blank field.

The Islamic Crescents’ Observation Project (ICOP) was established in 1998 with the support of the Jordanian Astronomical Society in order to set up a network of observers, experts, and stakeholders throughout the world interested in issues related to crescents and also in monitoring and studying them, along with determining the beginning of the lunar months. The project’s website on the Internet has been an interactive site ever since it was created, and a front for exhibiting the crescents’ observation and research, and platform for dialogue and discussion on everything pertaining to crescents and related issues.

Early interest by the observers combined of both specialists and stakeholders interested in the project website and in contributing to its activities made of the project an important astronomical site thereby prompting those in charge of the project to diversify its objectives and expand its interests and devices. Thus, the project website has been transformed from an area for exhibiting the crescent observation and analysis results into a yard for showing, discussing and debating all that is related to astronomical applications in Islamic Shari’a, known nowadays as the Shari’a Astronomy (crescent, calendars, times, and Qibla). This website has also been interested in presenting and discussing the scientific researches submitted by the participants in the project who made remarkable contributions to a series of different Islamic astronomical conferences.

With the growing number of participants in the project from several dozens at the beginning to 420 participants in mid 2009, and with the growing number of the countries where to participants belong from several countries to more than fifty countries (55 countries in mid 2009), along with the expanding project interests and devices, and with the success which the first project conference (First UAE Astronomical Conference), we would like to say that all the aforementioned findings motivated the participants in the project to seek further wide methodological improvement of project in terms of objectives, devices, instruments, and management.

There are some representatives in different countries form the Islamic Crescents’ Observation Project (ICOP) who can be contacted to ask for any further information or assistance or to conduct the observation with them if possible. Below are the names of the representatives, and other names will be added gradually.

There are some astronomical societies, organizations, ...etc. which are participating in this campaign. The affiliate group is asked to organize a monthly observation at least, as well as announcing about the campaign and its importance in the local community. The current affiliate groups in IFOC are:

Affiliate Group Name	Representative	Country	Group Logo
Nabeul Astronomical Observatory (Association Jeunes Science de Tunisie)	Eng. Dhaker Ben Hammamia Observatory Director	Tunisia
Palestinian Astronomical Society (PAS)	Eng. Ayman Tirhi PAS President	Palestine
Syrian Amateur Astronomers Association	Eng. Mohammad Aseeri SAAA President	Syria
Arabic Agency for Astronomy and Space News (AAASN)	Mr. Abdel Razzaq Baloushi AAASN Manager	Saudi
Qatif Astronomy Society (QAS)	Mr. Salman Aal-Ramadan QAS President	Saudi