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Religious Calendar

Why does the call to prayer time change every day?

Islamic prayer times follow solar position, not standard time. Fajr (dawn) begins at the first true light before sunrise. Dhuhr (noon) begins when the sun crosses the meridian. Asr (afternoon) is calculated by the length of an object's shadow. Maghrib (sunset) begins at the moment the sun's disc disappears. Isha (night) begins when twilight has fully faded. Because the sun's position shifts day by day, every prayer moves by a minute or two.

Fajr in Marrakech sits around 5:30 am in June and 6:30 am in December. Maghrib swings from 7:45 pm in June to 5:30 pm in December. Shops close briefly five times a day for prayer; in the medina, expect a five-to-fifteen minute pause when the muezzin calls. Friday's Dhuhr is extended for the communal sermon and shops often stay closed for an hour.

Apps like Muslim Pro or the Aladhan API publish the daily schedule for every Moroccan city. The riad's WhatsApp will tell you breakfast is at "after Fajr" rather than at a clock time, and that's deliberate.

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