Presently in New York City there are several yearly Salaat calendars and timetables which differ in their respective times.

Answer

As long as the Salaat times are not determined by physical observation of the natural phenomena stipulated by the Shariah, the doubt will remain. There is no certitude in the computer programs The fact that different twilight angles, viz., 15 degrees and 18 degrees, are used, is evidence for uncertainty and doubt. What are the respective determinants for adopting 15 degrees and 18 degrees?

If you use 15 degrees which you say gives a 'later Fajr time', which will be fixed to be Subh Saadiq, then it follows that Sehri will end at this 'later time'. However, if in reality Subh Saadiq commences earlier than the 'later Fajr time', it will mean that all those who believe that Sehri ends at the later time, will have their fasts ruined.

On the other hand, if you adopt 18 degrees, you will have an 'earlier' Fajr time (Subh Saadiq). But what happens if this is incorrect? If it is not yet Subh Saadiq, then while the Fasts will be correct, Fajr Salaat performed at this time will be invalid. We are not aware of Dr. Monzur Ahmad's timetable. We cannot vouch for its correctness.

The only correct method to eliminate all doubt is to observe the natural phenomena. The phenomena explained in the kutub for Subh Saadiq should be physically observed for a few days and compared with the computer timetable to ascertain if the timetables are accurate or not. Only thereafter may a perpetual timetable be prepared with confidence.

When sighting the Subh Saadiq phenomenon, the sighting should be on the outskirts when the eastern horizon is cloudless and there is no artificial lighting to create confusion. Determining Isha is relatively simple. On a clear night on the outskirts, after the disappearance of the red glow (Shafaq Ahmar) in the western horizon, will appear a light (whitish) glow. After the disappearance of this glow (called Shafaq Abyadh), the darkness will be intense. This is the beginning of Isha time.

As long as there is no physical observation to form the basis of the time table, the computer programs will remain unreliable. It is not possible that both the 15 degrees and 18 degrees calculations are correct. You will only know whether one of the two is correct or both are incorrect after physical observation of the natural phenomena. If Dr. Monzur Ahmad did not ascertain the correctness of his program by comparing it with the determinations of observation of the natural phenomena, then his program like all other programs cannot be relied on. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had said that we are an 'Ummi Ummah', i.e. and illiterate Ummah who neither calculates nor counts. In other words, the simple formulae of the Shariah divinely ordained for all mankind should never be abandoned for the sake of adopting astronomical and computer calculations.

In Port Elizabeth, we have not been able to physically determine Subh Saadiq due to the eastern horizon being perpetually clouded, and due to our own indolence and reluctance to go some miles to observe the phenomena from a vantage point. We have therefore used the timetable which our elders from India had brought with them more than a century ago. In India, Subh Saadiq commences 95 minutes before sunrise. This has been physically determined. Then we observed that since time immemorial, the Shaafi Muslims in the Cape commence Subh Saadiq 80 minutes before sunrise. This has been their practice for more than 3 centuries from the time the Dutch brought the Muslim slaves from Malaysia.

Among those slaves were some uprighteous Ulama who kept Islam alive among their followers. It is valid to accept that those Ulama more than three centuries ago must have determined the time for Subh Saadiq by physical observation. We have struck a balance between the two sets of Ulama (Shaafi' and Hanafi) by setting the commencement of Fajr time at 1 hr. 20 minutes before sunrise which is the determination of the old Shaafi' Ulama. However, as a precautionary measure, we advise our people to cease Sehri at 1 hr 30 minutes before sunrise. By this balance, we are reasonably certain that we are performing Fajr in its proper time, and ending Sehri at the correct time.

Since in the U.S.A. there is no basis laid down by any early Ulama who had plotted the times by physical observation, it is difficult for us to give you categorical advice regarding any particular time. For us to do so would be to make a preference without a valid determinant (murajjih). Therefore, if you do not fix the times after physical observation and comparing the results with the computer programs, the perpetual timetable will be doubtful.

Meanwhile we suggest that you should not at this stage prepare a perpetual timetable as long as there is no certitude. Try to make physical observations. Since a perpetual timetable will be for all time, it is necessary to have absolute certitude.