[skamed]

When do you commence fasting?
I heard you commence when you hear the Azan for Fajr.
What I typically do is check the Iqamah time for Fajr at my local masjid and stop eating and drinking 10 minutes prior to that time.
Is this okay? Or am I totally off and doing it wrong?

Thanks,

sk

[ChotooMotoo]

yeah, don't do that becuase not all masjids say iqama exactly 10 minutes after the azhan. You should print out the actual prayer times, and go by those. You can find prayer times for most any city on www.islamicfinder.org

[skamed]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

yeah, don't do that becuase not all masjids say iqama exactly 10 minutes after the azhan. You should print out the actual prayer times, and go by those. You can find prayer times for most any city on IslamicFinder: Info about Islam and Muslim Mosques (Masjids), Calendar, & Prayer times.

Huh? So are you implying that one should commence fasting when the time-window for praying Fajr opens?
And how can you be sure those prayer times are correct anyway? What method do they use to calculate. I trust this guy moonsighting.com
See this: Muslim Prayer Times

Avoid Islamicfinder.org Prayer Times: Let us explain why!

1.

Moonsighting.com has sent several emails to Islamicfinder.org in the last two years, about errors in their calculations, but they have not done anything. After several exchange of emails with them, Moonsighting.com feels obliged to Muslims that we should put this notice here.
2. Islamicfinder.org has serious errors. Sometimes, sunrise and sunset time jump by several hours in one day. to see one example from IslamicFinder.org where the times jump by 3 to 4 hours in one day. Look on January 8 & 9 Sunrise time. On Jan 8, it is 7:28. On Jan 9, it is 11:14. Look on July 20 & 21 Sunset time. On July 20, it is 8:31. On July 21, it is 12:22. You can get to the same page, if you go to Islamicfinder.org, click on Norway, Click on "N" in search of a city, "Narvik". Click on "Na" in search of the same city, "Narvik". Scroll down and click on "To see more Click Next". Scroll down and click on "Narvik". Scroll down and look in the right column for Gregorian Annual Schedule. Click on "Annual Schedule".

3. Here is another e-mail, received by moonsighting.com about Islamicfinder.org:

"Hi. I was using islamicfinder software for my prayer times, but as you indicated, I saw many errors in it. For example, I was seeing the sun at the sky above the horizon and the software was saying: it is Maghrib! I am living at Victoria, BC, Canada (Latitude:49° 13' North, and Longitude:123° 06' West) and needed exact times for holy Ramadhan.
Sincerely,
Roy Hasan"

4. Islamicfinder.org has used ISNA's name without verifying from ISNA. Islamicfinder.org is wrong and at fault to use ISNA's name saying that ISNA uses 15 degrees for Fajr and Isha. I have checked with ISNA (Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi and Dr. Sayyid Syeed); ISNA never had any official position for prayer times. Use of 15 or 18 degrees for Fajr and Isha is not correct. Moonsighting.com provides correct schedule upon request through e-mail, and that does not use any fixed degrees. It uses a complex formula as a function of Latitudes and Seasons derived from actual observation of Subh-Sadiq and disappearance of Shafaq as observed by teams of Muslims/Ulamaa in different parts of the world at different latitudes. Sufficient observations were made to cover the entire year capturing the difference in all seasons and at different latitudes.

[ChotooMotoo]

You comence when prayer time enters, when the azhan is called.

I just gave you my suggestion, what you do with it is your business.

[shsh]

yeah...chotoo is right. Usually the prayer times given are a little off...give or take 2 minutes. thats why we stop eating/drinking about five minutes before the given time and break our fast about five minutes after...