Confused with the Salah timings in Germany
Assalamu Alaikum,
I’m a new Muslim living in Germany, and I’m currently fasting for the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Looking at my prayer app, the timings are making it pretty difficult to manage university,work, sleep, and fasting.
Right now, Sahur ends around 1:54 AM and Fajr is at 2:14 AM.
I did some research and realized this isn't an app glitch—it's because of the high latitude here in Germany, where the sun never sinks very far below the horizon in the summer, causing persistent twilight.
Even though I understand the geography behind it, a 2:00 AM Fajr is still wild to adjust to! I wanted to ask the community two things:
1 Are these timings strictly followed? Do most Muslims in Germany actually eat Sahur and pray Fajr at 2:00 AM in the summer?
2 Are there alternative calculation methods? I’ve heard that because of the extreme twilight, some local Imams or Islamic councils use estimation methods (like fixed intervals or matching closer regions) to make the times more manageable.
What calculation method do you use for Germany, and how do you manage your sleep schedule during the summer squeeze?
JazakAllah Khair!