Prayer times
Prayer times and Azan time in Sri Lanka today
Azan time for twelve Sri Lankan cities: Subah (Fajr), Luhar (Dhuhr), Asr, Maghrib and Isha, calculated for each city's own coordinates and checked against the AlAdhan API. The countdown updates while you read.
Today
Colombo
Next prayer
- Subah (Fajr)
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- SunriseSubah ends
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- Luhar (Dhuhr)
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- Asr
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- Maghrib
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- Isha
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In Ramadan, Sehri ends at Subah (Fajr) time and Iftar is at Maghrib time. They are the same instants, so there is no separate timetable for them.
Subah is Fajr and Luhar is Dhuhr. Asr is also spelt Asar. Sunrise is not a prayer; it closes the Subah window. Calculated times (Muslim World League, Shafi'i Asr). Follow your mosque or the ACJU timetable for congregational prayers. Calculated locally.
Twelve cities
Azan times for your city
Each city has its own page with today's Azan time, a printable timetable for the whole month, and the Qibla bearing from there.
- ColomboColombo DistrictSri Lanka's most populous city and its financial centre, on the west coast.
- KandyKandy DistrictThe administrative capital of the Central Province, set in the hills of the Kandy plateau.
- GalleGalle DistrictA fortified port city on the south-western tip of the island, 119 km south of Colombo.
- JaffnaJaffna DistrictThe capital of the Northern Province, on the Jaffna peninsula.
- BatticaloaBatticaloa DistrictThe administrative capital of the Batticaloa District, built on an island on the east coast.
- KalmunaiAmpara DistrictA municipal council city in the Ampara District on the east coast, and one of the few municipalities in Sri Lanka with a Muslim majority.
- BeruwalaKalutara DistrictA coastal town 60 km south of Colombo, and the site of the island's first Muslim settlement.
- PuttalamPuttalam DistrictThe largest town in the Puttalam District and its administrative capital, on the north-west coast.
- AkuranaKandy DistrictA predominantly Muslim town on the Kandy–Matale road, 10 km north of Kandy.
- KattankudyBatticaloa DistrictA densely built township just south of Batticaloa whose population is predominantly Muslim.
- NegomboGampaha DistrictA west-coast city at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, and the nearest city to Bandaranaike International Airport.
- TrincomaleeTrincomalee DistrictA port city on the east coast, built on a peninsula that divides its inner and outer harbours.
Method
How these times are worked out
Calculated from the sun, for your city
A prayer time is a position of the sun, so it can be worked out for any coordinate. We use the Muslim World League method: Fajr when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon, Isha at 17 degrees, and the Shafi'i rule for Asr, since most Sri Lankan Muslims follow the Shafi'i school. Every time is in Sri Lanka Standard Time, UTC+05:30, with no daylight saving.
The page shows the result of two independent calculations. Your browser fetches the times from the free AlAdhan API and, while that is in flight or if you are offline, it falls back to the same calculation running locally. Both use the same parameters and agree to the minute.
Your mosque is the authority for Jamaat
These are the times each prayer window opens, not the times the congregation stands up. Mosques set Jamaat a few minutes later so people can arrive, and the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama publishes a monthly timetable for each district. Where the two differ, follow the mosque.
Jummah is the Friday midday prayer and replaces Luhar. Its time is announced by each mosque and is not calculated, so it is not on this page. Ask at your mosque or check acju.lk.
Why your app shows a different Isha
Different methods put the sun at different depths below the horizon. Muslim World League uses 17 degrees for Isha; the Umm al-Qura method used in Saudi Arabia instead counts 90 minutes after Maghrib, which in Colombo puts Isha about 20 to 25 minutes later. Neither is an error; they are different conventions.
Asr moves for a different reason: the Shafi'i and Hanafi schools measure the shadow differently, which puts the Hanafi Asr about an hour later in Colombo. Most Sri Lankan Muslims follow the Shafi'i school, so that is what these pages show.
A few minutes across the island
Sri Lanka sits in one timezone but spans nearly two degrees of longitude, so the east coast reaches Maghrib six to nine minutes before Colombo, depending on the season. That is why each city has its own page rather than one national table.
If your town is not one of the twelve, pick the nearest: within about 25 kilometres the difference is under a minute. See also the Qibla direction for your city.
These times are calculated, not copied. We use the Muslim World League method (Fajr at 18 degrees below the horizon, Isha at 17 degrees), the Shafi'i rule for Asr, and Sri Lanka Standard Time (UTC+05:30, no daylight saving). They are a guide for the start of each prayer window. For congregational times, follow your local mosque and the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (acju.lk), which are the authority.
Questions
Prayer time questions
No. These times are calculated from the sun's position for each city's own coordinates, using the Muslim World League method. The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama and your local mosque publish the congregational timetable, which sets Jamaat a few minutes after each window opens. Where the two differ, follow the mosque.
Because apps disagree about where the sun should be. We use the Muslim World League method, which puts Isha at 17 degrees below the horizon. The Umm al-Qura method used in Saudi Arabia counts 90 minutes after Maghrib instead, which in Colombo lands about 20 to 25 minutes later. Both are established conventions, so a difference of that size is normal.
They are the names many Sri Lankan Muslims use for Fajr and Dhuhr. Subah is the dawn prayer and Luhar is the midday one, whose window opens just after the sun passes its highest point. Asr is also spelt Asar. The names differ; the prayers and the times do not. On Fridays, Jummah replaces Luhar and is prayed at the mosque at the time the mosque announces.
Each of the twelve pages is calculated for that city's own coordinates. If your town is within about 25 kilometres of one of them, the difference is under a minute. Distance east or west matters more than distance north or south: the east coast reaches Maghrib Azan time six to nine minutes before Colombo.
Yes. Open your city's page and use the Print this timetable button. It prints every day of the current month with Subah, Sunrise, Luhar, Asr, Maghrib and Isha, and leaves out the site header, footer and chat button. In Ramadan the same table gives you Sehri and Iftar: Sehri ends at Subah and Iftar is at Maghrib.
Looking for the direction to pray in? Qibla direction from Sri Lanka. For Ramadan and Eid dates, see the Islamic calendar, and for Sehri and Iftar times for all thirty days, the Ramadan 2027 timetable. Friday Luhar times for every city are on the Jummah page.
Praying for the day you stand there
We arrange Umrah from Colombo with the prices and inclusions written down before you pay anything. Tell us roughly when, and we will come back with the tier that fits.