Inārat al-āfāq – The Enlightening of Horizons

Title: Inārat al-āfāq wa-l-afhām fī ʿilm al-mīqāt - The Enlightening of Horizons and Minds in the Science of Timekeeping

Author: Harun Reşid Acaroğlu

Description: Providing a holistic analysis of Islamic prayer times according to the four sunnī schools, this book examines the times of ritual prayer from theological, astronomical, and historical perspectives. The theology section explores the literature of the four schools, defining all relevant solar phenomena and addressing rulings on persistent twilight and missing prayer times, with an in-depth codicological analysis clarifying ambiguities related to the genesis of early Ḥanafī rulings.

The astronomy section introduces a novel, semi-automated algorithm for the calculation of prayer times, emphasizing the so-called tamkīn framework required to obtain apparent instead of geometric altitudes. It moreover contains a detailed identification of the complete set of solar altitudes relevant for prayer times. Concerning the latter, another in-depth codicological study in more than 1350 manuscripts collects the views of over 400 Islamic astronomers on the solar altitudes associated with the morning and night prayers and compares them with modern scientific findings. Finally, the algorithm’s application is illustrated through a comparison with major German prayer time calendars.

Properties:

• Cover: Hardcover (leather)
• Dimensions: 17 × 24 × 3 cm
• Weight: 1044 g
• Pages: 512
• Genre: Theology
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-3-911898-00-3