Printing a Masjid Timetable: A Guide for Mosque Volunteers

Every masjid has one: the sheet by the door with this month's times, usually produced by a volunteer the night before the month begins. Done well, it is the single most used document the masjid publishes. This is a practical guide to preparing it, printing it, and sharing it so that it also ends up in people's phones.

1. Agree the settings with the imam, once

Before you generate anything, write down four decisions and get the imam to confirm them. These should not change month to month.

Print these on the sheet in small type at the bottom ("Method: MWL, Asr: Hanafi, Isha fixed 22:30 from 25 May"). It stops arguments, and lets people set their apps to match.

2. Add the masjid's own columns

A calculation gives the adhan (start) times. The masjid adds:

• Iqamah for each prayer. Common patterns: a fixed clock time for the month for Fajr, Dhuhr and Isha (people remember "Isha 8:00"), Asr fixed or 15 minutes after the later Asr, Maghrib a fixed 5 minutes after the adhan.
• Jumu'ah: khutbah start and prayer time, and any second Jumu'ah.
• Ramadan extras: imsak (if the masjid uses it), iftar (same as Maghrib), tarawih start, and the masjid's suhoor and iftar arrangements.
• Eid: the expected Eid prayer time and location, marked as subject to moon sighting.

Keep the two kinds of times visually distinct: "Begins" in a lighter column, "Jama'ah" in bold.

3. Check the calendar traps

• Clock changes. In Europe the clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October; in North America the second Sunday of March and first Sunday of November. In Ramadan 1448 (expected 8 February to 8 March 2027) no change falls inside the month in either region, but the March change comes shortly after Eid. A timetable that straddles a change needs a clear note on that row.
• Moon sighting. Ramadan and Eid dates are expected, not certain. Use the Gregorian date as the main column and label Ramadan day numbers "expected".
• Month boundaries. Print the first two days of next month at the bottom so the sheet does not go blank on the 1st.
• Fixed summer times. If Isha is fixed from a date, make the switch obvious on the sheet.

4. Generate and print from Salah Table

1. Open the prayer times tool and search your masjid's city, or enter its coordinates for a more exact table.
2. Set method, Asr rule and high-latitude rule to the agreed values.
3. Choose the month and press Print. The page prints as an A4 table with the settings line and a QR code that opens the same table on a phone.
4. For Ramadan, the Ramadan timetable prints an A4 poster for the whole month with suhoor and iftar columns and the same QR code.
5. Add the iqamah and Jumu'ah columns by hand, or paste the table into a document and add them there. A plain table with large numbers reads better from two metres than a decorated one.

Print on A3 for the notice board if the printer allows; A4 for handouts and the fridge.

5. Share it beyond the notice board

A printed sheet reaches those who come. A shareable version reaches their families.

• PDF or image of the same sheet for the masjid's WhatsApp and Telegram groups and website. Name the file with the month and year.
• The QR code on the poster links to the live city page, so anyone who scans it gets this month and next without a new print.
• A timetable file for apps. Some prayer apps can import a masjid's timetable, including iqamah times, from a QR code or a link, so the congregation's phones show the masjid's exact times rather than a calculated approximation. If your phone is the main distraction at prayer time, a free app such as Jamaah Lock can rest the apps you choose during each prayer window and bring them back after a short dhikr, and it can import a masjid timetable from a shared QR code for free. Whichever app your community uses, publishing one authoritative file avoids five people retyping the sheet.

6. A monthly routine

For Ramadan, start in the first week of January 2027 so the poster is up by the end of the month.

Common mistakes

• Printing only iqamah times and calling them prayer times.
• Changing method without telling anyone, so Fajr suddenly moves 20 minutes.
• Forgetting the clock change row.
• A table calculated for the city centre when the masjid is 40 km away.
• Tiny fonts. The people who rely on the sheet most are often the ones who read small print least.

If you would like a timetable checked before you print it, compare it against the city page on this site and note any difference larger than the precaution minutes; the mosque times vs apps article lists the usual causes. For which method or rule the masjid should adopt, that decision belongs with the imam and the scholars the community trusts.