What time is Tahajjud? (the last third of the night)

• Many scholars say Tahajjud can be prayed any time after Isha until true dawn, with or without sleep.
• The last third of the night is widely held to be the best part, based on Sahih al-Bukhari 1145.
• To find it, divide Maghrib to Fajr by three and subtract one third from Fajr.
• Counting to sunrise instead starts the last third 76 to 83 minutes later in London across the year, and more in June.
• In a UK summer, the high-latitude rule in your app can move the start by over an hour.

Short answer. Many scholars say Tahajjud can be prayed any time after Isha until Fajr (true dawn). The last third of the night is widely held to be the best part, based on Sahih al-Bukhari 1145. To find it, divide Maghrib to Fajr by three and subtract one third from Fajr. Counting to sunrise instead starts it an hour or more later.^{1, 23}

Tonight, where you are. Your mosque's timetable gives Maghrib and Fajr, which is all you need for the steps below. Pillars, our app, also shows the last third of the night as a Premium feature (see "How to set this in an app").⁴

[IMAGE: Night divided into thirds]

When can you pray Tahajjud?

Many scholars hold that night prayer can be offered any time after Isha (the night prayer) until true dawn, when Fajr begins. Ibn Baz, the Saudi Permanent Committee, al-Albani and the Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia take this view. The Encyclopedia adds that praying after sleep is better, but sleep is not required.²

A Hanafi answer on AskImam, a fatwa website, also says sleep is not a condition, though praying after sleep is better.⁵

The terms differ too. "Qiyam al-layl" (standing in the night) covers any voluntary prayer at night. Darul Iftaa Jordan (Shafi'i) uses "Tahajjud" specifically for prayer after waking from sleep.⁶

Why is the last third of the night special?

A well-known hadith says our Lord descends to the nearest heaven "when the last third of the night remains" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1145). Sahih Muslim 758a has the same meaning: "when one-third of the latter part of the night is left".^{1, 7}

Another report says the Lord is closest to a worshipper "during the last part of the night" (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3579).⁸

Sahih Muslim 755a allows flexibility: it advises someone who fears not waking to pray Witr early. It adds that prayer at the end of the night "is witnessed… and that is preferable."⁹

Is the last third the only "best" time?

No. Most sources point to the last third, but some scholars name a different segment. Here are the views and who holds them:

The Prayer of Dawud explains the second "best" view. The Prophet Dawud would "sleep for half of the night and then pray for one third", then sleep the last sixth (Sahih al-Bukhari 1131).¹¹

This article does not rule between these views. Ask your mosque or a scholar you trust which one they follow.

How do you work out the last third of the night?

Take the length of the night, divide it by three, and count back from the end. The result depends on which "night" you use. Maghrib to Fajr is the common basis in Tahajjud calculators and prayer apps.^{3, 123}

Step by step.

1. Find tonight's Maghrib (sunset) time.
2. Find tomorrow morning's Fajr time.
3. Work out the gap between them in hours and minutes. That is the night.
4. Divide the night by three.
5. Subtract that third from Fajr. The result is when the last third begins.

Worked example: London, night of 21 December 2026 (calculated)

These times are calculated with the Muslim World League method (Fajr at 18°), not taken from a mosque timetable.³

• Maghrib (sunset), 21 December: 15:53
• Fajr, next morning (22 December): 06:00
• Night: 15:53 to 06:00 = 14 h 07 min (847 minutes)
• One third: 847 ÷ 3 ≈ 282 minutes = 4 h 42 min
• Last third begins: 06:00 − 4 h 42 min = 01:18

If you divide sunset to sunrise instead, the night runs 15:53 to 08:04, or 16 h 11 min. A third is about 5 h 24 min, so the last third begins at about 02:40. From unrounded times it is 02:41, which is 83 minutes later than the sunset → Fajr answer.³

The last third ends at Fajr. On this night, that gives a window of about 4 h 42 min.

What time does the last third start in my city?

It moves with the seasons, and it moves by over an hour depending on the night you divide. The tables below are calculated, not any mosque's official timetable.³

London, start of the last third by season (calculated, MWL 18°, middle-of-the-night rule)

*Depends on the high-latitude rule; see the next section.

Winter, 21 December 2026, by city (calculated, MWL 18°)

All times are local, the morning after the date shown.³

What about the UK in summer?

In June the answer depends on your app's settings more than on the sky. Across much of Britain, the sun does not sink 18° below the horizon in June and July. So "Fajr at 18°" never happens, and apps use a high-latitude rule to place it.¹³³

A high-latitude rule sets Fajr and Isha when twilight never fully ends, or when the angle would put them too deep into a short night. For London on 21 June 2027 (MWL), the rule alone moves the start of the last third:³

Twilight angle uses a fraction of the night set by the Fajr angle; one-seventh puts Fajr at the start of the night's last seventh.¹²

Summer nights are short, so the last third is short too.

Some settings give a result that looks impossible. With ISNA (15°) and the middle-of-the-night rule, London on 21 June 2026 (a year earlier than the table) shows Isha at 00:49. The last third then starts at 23:57, before that Isha. This is a quirk of the app settings, not a religious claim.³

If your app's summer times look strange, check which rule it uses, and compare with your mosque.

[IMAGE: High-latitude rule moves the last third]

Why do Tahajjud calculators disagree?

Mostly because they divide different nights. Many calculators divide "the night" by three without saying whether it ends at Fajr or sunrise. In UK cities that choice moves the answer by 76 to 94 minutes in winter and at the equinoxes, and more in June.³

The calculation method matters too. Methods place Fajr at different sun angles, from 12° to 20° below the horizon, so the night's end shifts.¹²

how prayer times are calculated

Common mistakes

• Using one fixed clock time. "Tahajjud is at 2:30 am" can't be right everywhere. The time changes by city, season and method.
• Getting the arithmetic wrong. With Maghrib at 6 pm and Fajr at 5 am, the night is 11 hours. A third is 3 h 40 min, so the last third starts at 1:20 am, not 2:30 am.
• Calling Tahajjud "the last third". The last third is the time many hold to be best. The window itself, in the views above, runs from Isha (or Maghrib) to dawn.
• Quoting a hadith that isn't one. "The best time for Tahajjud is the last third" is sometimes credited to Abu Hurairah. It is not a hadith wording. The source is Bukhari 1145 and Muslim 758.³
• Unsourced cut-offs. A rule like "stop at least 15 minutes before Fajr" appears online without a source. The views above give true dawn as the end.

How to set this in an app

Two settings move the last third: your calculation method (it moves Fajr) and, in a UK summer, your high-latitude rule. Most prayer apps have both.

In Pillars, as a worked example:⁴

• Choose from 23 calculation methods, or autopilot, which picks one from your country.
• Pick one of 3 high-latitude rules: twilight angle, middle of the night or one-seventh of the night.
• Adjust any prayer by up to 60 minutes, free.
• On iPhone, follow your local mosque's timetable where it is available.
• Premium adds the middle of the night and the last third of the night. Both are computed on night = Maghrib → Fajr.

If your mosque counts the night differently, use the steps above to check.

Pillars prayer times app

Keep reading

• When does Fajr start and end?
• When does Isha end? (and when does Asr start)
• How prayer times are calculated (and why UK timetables differ)
• Pillars prayer times app