Prayer Times in Dhaka

About Prayer Times in Dhaka

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the most densely populated cities on earth, with a metropolitan population approaching 22 million. Bangladesh is the fourth-largest Muslim-majority country in the world by population, and Dhaka is the country's Islamic cultural and institutional heart. The city's Muslim identity permeates daily life — mosques occupy nearly every neighbourhood block, the call to prayer rings out five times daily, and Islamic festivals such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are national public holidays observed with widespread fervour.

Prayer times in Dhaka are published by the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, a government body under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, using an astronomical method that sets Fajr at 19° below the horizon. At Dhaka's latitude of 23.8°N, near the Tropic of Cancer, seasonal variation is limited — Fajr falls between approximately 4:10 AM and 5:25 AM across the year, and Maghrib between 5:25 PM and 6:40 PM. These timetables are widely reprinted in Bangladeshi newspapers and announced on national television each morning.

The Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, designed to evoke the Kaaba in its geometric form and completed in 1968, is Bangladesh's largest mosque and holds up to 40,000 worshippers. Its Friday Jumu'ah prayers routinely spill into the surrounding streets. Dhaka is also known for the historic Star Mosque (Tara Masjid) in Armanitola, built in the 18th century and decorated with Chinese porcelain stars. During Ramadan, the old parts of Dhaka — particularly Chawkbazar — come alive after Iftar with one of the largest traditional food markets in Asia.