Asr Mithl 1 and Mithl 2: the two Asr times explained
Most UK prayer timetables show two times for Asr. Both are correct answers to the same question — when does Asr begin? — under two long-standing scholarly positions. This page explains what each one means and how far apart they are in UK cities through the year.
The short answer
- Asr — Mithl 1 (also called Standard or Shāfiʿī)
- Asr begins when an object's shadow equals its own length, added to the shadow it cast at midday.
- Asr — Mithl 2 (also called Hanafi)
- Asr begins when an object's shadow equals twice its own length, added to the shadow it cast at midday. It is always the later of the two.
Today, Thursday 1 October 2026, in London: Mithl 1 at 15:56, Mithl 2 at 16:43 — 47 minutes apart. Both times for your city.
How a shadow sets the time of Asr
Picture a straight stick standing upright in the sun. At midday, when the sun is at its highest, the stick casts its shortest shadow of the day. In the UK that midday shadow is never zero — the sun is never directly overhead here — so both positions measure from it. Through the afternoon the shadow grows.
- Mithl 1: the shadow has grown by one stick length beyond its midday length. Asr begins.
- Mithl 2: the shadow has grown by two stick lengths beyond its midday length. Asr begins.
Mithl is Arabic for “equal” or “one like it” — one shadow length, or two. The calculation turns these shadow lengths into a sun height for each place and date; it is described on the methodology page.
Who follows which
- Mithl 1 is the position of the Shāfiʿī, Mālikī and Ḥanbalī schools. Within the Ḥanafī school it is also the view of Imam Abū Yūsuf and Imam Muḥammad, the two leading students of Imam Abū Ḥanīfa.
- Mithl 2 is the position of Imam Abū Ḥanīfa, and the one the Ḥanafī school acts upon.
This is why many UK timetables print both. Wifaqul Ulama, for example, publishes both times “in order to provide a service to Muslims of differing schools of thought”, and the London Unified Prayer Timetable labels its two columns Mithl 1 and Mithl 2. Some mosques publish a single Asr time without saying which it is.
AllPrayerTime.uk does not say which time you should follow. That is a question for your mosque or a scholar you trust. We make no claim about how many Muslims in the UK follow either position.
Sources: Wifaqul Ulama, Salah times · SeekersPath, Q-ID0139 · Darul Ifta Deoband, fatwa 281/297/N=1434 · London Unified Prayer Timetable
How far apart they are in the UK
The gap between the two times changes a lot through the year. Around midwinter it is only 25–30 minutes; around midsummer it grows to 75–76 minutes. In winter the sun stays low, shadows are already long, and each extra length is added quickly. In summer the sun is high, shadows are short, and the second length takes much longer to appear.
Minutes between the two published start times on that date. “—” means the date is outside the times published so far.
Both Asr times today — Thursday 1 October 2026
Start times, not congregation (jamāʿah) times. Each city page shows the full day, the monthly timetable and both Asr times.
Why your mosque's Asr may be different
- Start time or jamāʿah time. The times here are when Asr begins. A mosque's congregation usually prays some time later.
- One time or two. A mosque that prints a single Asr time is using one of the two positions, often without saying which.
- Small published margins. Some timetables add a few minutes for caution. The London Unified Prayer Timetable, for example, publishes Asr 2 minutes after its calculated time.
- A different calculation. Timetables can differ slightly in the place they are calculated for and in how they round. A minute or two either way is normal.
From 1 January 2027 the London and Ilford figures on this page are the London Unified Prayer Timetable's own published times, shown as published.
What AllPrayerTime.uk shows
- Both Asr times, on every city page and in every monthly timetable, always labelled Mithl 1 and Mithl 2.
- Neither is presented as the correct one, and neither is hidden behind a setting.
- Where only one value fits — a page summary, for instance — we use Mithl 2. That is a display choice only, not a claim that it is the UK standard.