Capital: Riyadh · Single time zone (AST, UTC+3) · home to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities.
METHOD: UMM AL-QURA UNIVERSITY, MAKKAHThe Umm al-Qura method, developed at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, is more than just Saudi Arabia's national standard — because Mecca and Medina anchor the Hajj and Umrah calendar for the entire Muslim world, this convention is treated as a default reference point by many prayer-time apps and services globally, not only within the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia keeps a single time zone (AST, UTC+3) across its full width, from the Red Sea coast to the Gulf, so — much like Pakistan — city-to-city differences here come only from latitude and longitude, not from crossing internal time-zone boundaries.
Most methods calculate Isha using a solar angle below the horizon. Umm al-Qura instead sets Isha at a fixed interval after Maghrib — 90 minutes on ordinary days, extended to 120 minutes during Ramadan — a simpler, calendar-based rule rather than an angle-based one.
Umm al-Qura uses a fixed interval rather than measuring the sun's angle below the horizon, which keeps Isha times predictable and consistent even at latitudes or times of year where twilight-angle methods become less reliable.
Yes — the interval extends from 90 to 120 minutes after Maghrib during Ramadan, allowing more time between Iftar and Isha/Tarawih prayers.
They use the same Umm al-Qura method, but their exact times still differ slightly because the two cities sit at different coordinates roughly 340 km apart.