How are imsak and iftar times set? Safety minutes explained
In the calendar of Türkiye’s Presidency of Religious Affairs, Diyanet, imsak is true dawn: the sun 18° below the horizon. Iftar, which ends the fast, is Maghrib: astronomical sunset plus a 7-minute safety margin. When Ramadan timetables disagree, the cause is usually the angle, the margin or the chosen district.
Diyanet’s list of religious days for 2027 puts the start of Ramadan 2027 on Monday 8 February. The first day of Eid al-Fitr is Tuesday 9 March. This note gathers what is worth knowing before you rely on a Ramadan timetable (imsakiye in Turkish).
We compared calculation methods in general, with a worked example for İstanbul, in why prayer times differ between apps. Here we look only at the two times that matter for fasting. We give no religious ruling; for questions of fiqh we link to fatwas of Diyanet’s High Council of Religious Affairs.
What is imsak, and how do true and false dawn differ?
Imsak is the moment the fast begins and the time for the dawn prayer starts. Diyanet’s page on imsak ties it to the appearance of true dawn (fajr al-sadiq). Its calendars use the earliest sign of that dawn, which jurists regard as the more cautious choice.
The word itself means “to hold back”. The High Council’s fatwa on imsak defines it as refraining from whatever breaks the fast, from true dawn until iftar. In everyday Turkish, it simply names the time the fast begins.
Before morning, two different lights appear on the eastern horizon. The entry on fajr in the TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam tells them apart:
| False dawn (fajr al-kadhib) | True dawn (fajr al-sadiq) | |
|---|---|---|
| Also called | The first dawn | The second dawn |
| What you see | A pale, dull whiteness rising vertically from the horizon | A whiteness spreading horizontally along the horizon |
| Its status | Counted as part of the night, with no ruling of its own | The dawn on which religious rulings rest |
A calendar finds true dawn by calculation rather than by eye. It asks how many degrees the sun sits below the horizon. In the Diyanet calendar, that angle is now 18°.
Why did the imsak angle move from 19° to 18°?
Diyanet’s calendars have used 18° for imsak since 1982; before that they used 19°. Diyanet’s press statement of 17 July 2013 tells the story.
In 1949 the then President of Religious Affairs, Ahmet Hamdi Akseki, set up a commission chaired by Professor Fatin Gökmen. It adopted 19° for imsak. In 1982, when the Presidency removed the safety margin from imsak, it moved to 18° at the same time.
The statement notes that most classical scholars also worked with 18°. Instrument-based observations found an average gap of −0.8 ± 3.5 minutes between the calendar’s imsak and the observed whitening of the sky. That corresponds to the sun standing about 17.8° below the horizon.
Why does the dawn adhan differ from imsak outside Ramadan?
In Türkiye the dawn adhan is read at imsak during Ramadan, and about an hour before sunrise the rest of the year. Diyanet’s note on the dawn adhan calls the second an administrative practice. Its purpose is for the dawn prayer to be offered at the preferred time, once the sky has grown a little lighter.
| Period | When the dawn adhan is read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ramadan | At imsak | To mark the start of the fast |
| Rest of the year | About an hour before sunrise | So the prayer is offered at its preferred time |
So someone used to the adhan’s timing all year will hear it much earlier on the first morning of Ramadan. The calendar’s imsak, meanwhile, is calculated the same way all year. The same note says that people fasting outside Ramadan should also go by the calendar’s imsak, not the adhan.
Why is iftar seven minutes after sunset?
In the Diyanet calendar, Maghrib begins 7 minutes after astronomical sunset. That is the time you see as iftar in a Turkish timetable. The 7 minutes are a safety margin, called temkin.
Diyanet’s temkin page explains that a calendar sets a single time for each settlement. Yet the eastern and western edges of a district, and its high and low ground, differ slightly. The margin keeps that one time safe across the whole area.
The High Council’s fatwa on an early Maghrib adhan gives the same reason: differences in altitude and distance. It states that, for prayer, imsak and iftar times, following the calendar is the rule. The same fatwa addresses separately what happens if the fast is broken early.
Today’s margins were set by a 1982 decision of the High Council and have applied since 1983. There is no margin at imsak. An app that adds none at Maghrib will show iftar about 7 minutes earlier than the Diyanet calendar.
Why do Ramadan timetables differ between publishers?
Timetables usually part ways for four reasons: the angle, a margin at imsak, no margin at Maghrib, and location. Diyanet’s 2013 statement notes that some calendars published in Türkiye still apply a margin at imsak. Those calendars start imsak about 20 minutes earlier than Diyanet’s.
The same statement notes that others start imsak more than an hour later than Diyanet. Methods common outside Türkiye use different angles again; we tabulated them in our first note. You can usually tell the cause from the pattern:
| Cause | Effect on imsak | Effect on iftar | How to spot it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A different dawn angle | Larger angle earlier, smaller angle later | None | Only imsak differs |
| A margin at imsak | About 20 minutes earlier | None | Imsak is early by the same amount daily |
| No margin at Maghrib | None | About 7 minutes earlier | Sunrise and Maghrib both 7 minutes out |
| City centre or district | A few minutes | A few minutes | Every time shifts the same way |
Which timetable should you follow when travelling?
When travelling, follow the calendar for where you are. Imsak and iftar depend on the sun’s position at that place, and they shift from city to city. Diyanet’s comparison page notes that noon in Tekirdağ and Adana differs by about 31 minutes all year.
Before you set off:
- Choose your destination on Diyanet’s prayer times page or in your app. Cities abroad are listed too.
- If your app uses location, check that it has updated when you arrive.
- Make sure the phone’s time zone is right.
- Abroad, ask which calendar the local mosque follows. We cover choosing a method in prayer times abroad.
- Take questions about fasting on a journey to a mufti’s office or Diyanet’s ALO 190 advice line. Abroad, ask a qualified local scholar.
How do you check the timetable in your app?
Checking an app’s timetable against the official calendar takes a few minutes, and is worth doing before Ramadan. This is the order we suggest:
- Note the app’s imsak and Maghrib for the first day of Ramadan, 8 February 2027.
- Compare them with the Diyanet calendar for the same district.
- If only imsak differs, look at the angle or method setting.
- If Maghrib is about 7 minutes early, the app adds no safety margin.
- Check that the first day of Ramadan and the Eid date match Diyanet’s list.
Other things to look for in an app are in how to choose a prayer times app.
How does Mümin 360 show imsak and iftar?
Here is how Mümin 360 works against the points in this note, gaps included:
- In Türkiye: times come from the data Diyanet publishes. The app doesn’t calculate imsak and Maghrib itself; it shows the official calendar.
- If that data can’t be fetched: times are calculated on the phone with the Diyanet method. A source badge then appears on screen.
- Abroad: the Diyanet method is the default. MWL, ISNA or Umm al-Qura can be chosen instead.
- Ramadan: the Ramadan & Friday section has suhoor and iftar times and the timetable.
- Hijri calendar: holy nights, Eids and Ramadan follow Diyanet’s calendar. Your country’s official calendar may differ by a day.
- Alerts: scheduled on the phone, at the start of each prayer time and fifteen minutes before. Focus modes or Low Power Mode can delay them.
- The gap: for now the app is iPhone-only. There is no Android version.
Our terms of use say it plainly: when exact times matter, such as imsak and iftar, rely on your local mufti’s calendar. Leave a safety margin too. We explain what we deliberately leave out of the app in what we leave out of a prayer app.
Frequently asked questions
When does Ramadan 2027 begin?
According to Diyanet’s list of religious days for 2027, 1 Ramadan 1448 is Monday 8 February 2027. The first day of Eid al-Fitr is listed as Tuesday 9 March 2027. If you live outside Türkiye, your country’s calendar may differ by a day.
Is imsak the same as the end of suhoor?
In the Diyanet calendar, imsak is the time the fast begins. According to the TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, true dawn is also what marks the end of suhoor. The High Council’s fatwa on imsak covers the detail of the adhan and suhoor.
Why does my app show iftar earlier than Diyanet?
Most likely the app adds no safety margin at Maghrib. The gap is then about 7 minutes, and it shows at sunrise too. Questions of fiqh are best put to the High Council of Religious Affairs or your local imam.
Outside Ramadan, should I fast by the adhan or by imsak?
According to Diyanet’s note on the dawn adhan, outside Ramadan it is read about an hour before sunrise. The same note says that people fasting outside Ramadan should also go by the calendar’s imsak.
Mümin 360 - Namaz Kıble Zikir is free on the App Store: see Mümin 360 on the App Store. Planning an app in a sensitive field, one that puts its users’ trust first? See our custom software and mobile apps page.
