Ramadan 2027/1448 calendar: imsak, Fajr and iftar times

The calendar above gives, for each day of Ramadan 2027/1448, the times of imsak, Fajr, the breaking of the fast (Maghrib) and Isha in the city of your choice, using the calculation method you select. It is based on the expected dates of the month, estimated from the Umm al-Qura calendar. Here is how to read it, why Ramadan changes date every year, and why the times vary from one city to another.

How to read the Ramadan calendar

Each row corresponds to one day of fasting: its number in the month, its date in the Gregorian calendar, then four times.

• Imsak: a precautionary margin, set here at 10 minutes before Fajr, to finish suhoor without rushing. It is not yet the legal start of the fast.
• Fajr: true dawn, which marks the start of the fast and the time of the dawn prayer. The Quran permits eating and drinking “until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]” (Quran 2:187).
• Iftar (Maghrib): sunset, the time to break the fast and to pray Maghrib. The Sunnah is to break the fast without delay (Sahih al-Bukhari 1957; Sahih Muslim 1098).
• Isha: the time of the night prayer, after which tarawih is prayed.

Imsak draws on the practice of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: between the end of his suhoor and the dawn prayer there was time enough to recite about fifty verses (Sahih al-Bukhari 1921; Sahih Muslim 1097). In Madinah, Bilal made a first call to prayer during the night, and the Prophet ﷺ said: “Eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes the call, for he does not make it until dawn” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1918–1919; Sahih Muslim 1092). In practice, what breaks the fast is eating after Fajr has begun, not between imsak and Fajr; but it is wise not to leave things to the last minute. Depending on the timetable, the imsak margin ranges from a few minutes to about a quarter of an hour.

If Ramadan begins in your country a day later than the expected date, simply read one row further down: the times depend on the calendar date, not on the number of the day of fasting.

A lunar calendar that shifts every year

The Hijri calendar has twelve lunar months: “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred” (Quran 9:36, Surah at-Tawbah). Each month begins with the appearance of the new crescent and has 29 or 30 days; on average a lunar month lasts 29.53 days. The Hijri year therefore has 354 or 355 days, about eleven days fewer than the solar year of 365 or 366 days.

This is why Ramadan begins ten or eleven days earlier in the Gregorian calendar each year. In about 33 years it goes all the way round the seasons: over a lifetime, every Muslim fasts in winter as well as in summer, and those fasting in both hemispheres take turns with short and long days. It was the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab who, around 638, introduced this calendar, taking as its starting point the year of the Hijrah, the Prophet’s ﷺ emigration from Makkah to Madinah in 622.

The Prophet ﷺ himself specified the four sacred months: Dhul Qa‘dah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab (Sahih al-Bukhari 3197; Sahih Muslim 1679). To find out how the first day of fasting is set, read our article on the beginning of Ramadan; for the end of the month, see the one on the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.

Why the times differ from one city to another

The times of the fast follow the course of the sun, which is not the same everywhere. Several factors come into play:

• Longitude. The further east you are, the earlier the sun rises and sets. On the same day, iftar comes 30 to 45 minutes earlier in Strasbourg, in eastern France, than in Nantes, in the west, depending on the season.
• Latitude and season. The further north you go, the longer the days in summer and the shorter they are in winter. In Paris, depending on the season in which Ramadan falls, the fast lasts from about 10 hours in midwinter to nearly 18 hours around the summer solstice. Over the month, the times also shift by a few minutes each day.
• Calculation method. Fajr and Isha depend on the angle of the sun below the horizon used to define dawn and the end of twilight (18°, 15°, 12°…). In Paris, the gap between the 18° and 12° conventions reaches 40 to 50 minutes for Fajr. The calendar lets you choose the method: use the one your mosque follows. We explain these conventions on our prayer times page.
• Clock changes. In countries that observe summer time, all the times move forward by an hour on the day the clocks change, if it falls during Ramadan.

Calculated times may therefore differ by a few minutes from those displayed at your mosque, which sometimes adds a safety margin. If in doubt, follow the timetable of your mosque or of your country’s religious authority.

Organising your days in Ramadan

A well-read calendar helps you find a rhythm. Take suhoor shortly before imsak rather than in the middle of the night; drink regularly between iftar and suhoor; break your fast with a few dates and water, pray Maghrib, then have a reasonable meal before Isha and tarawih. Our advice on eating well during Ramadan and our Ramadan recipes will help you plan your menus. For everything about the meaning and rules of the month, see our guide to Ramadan.