For the official prayer time in Dubai today, use the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) live timetable. It publishes Dubai’s daily Fajr, sunrise, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha times. The times move throughout the year, so a dated government result is safer than an undated screenshot or a copied monthly chart.
One 2026 change is especially easy to miss: Friday sermon and prayer are held at 12:45pm across the UAE, a standard time introduced from Friday, 2 January 2026. That is not the same thing as assuming that every mosque’s ordinary Dhuhr congregation begins at 12:45pm.
Last checked: 29 July 2026. This guide explains how to use the official timetable and corrects outdated 2026 calendar information. Mosque notices and official announcements take priority where they differ.
Dubai prayer times: the quick answers
| What you need | Best answer for Dubai |
|---|---|
| Today’s five prayer times | Check IACAD’s live Dubai timetable or the official Dulook DXB app. |
| Friday prayer in 2026 | 12:45pm across the UAE from 2 January 2026. |
| When Fajr ends | At sunrise; IACAD lists sunrise separately from Fajr. |
| When to arrive for a mosque congregation | Check that mosque’s iqama notice. The iqama may be later than the published adhan time. |
| Prayer times outside Dubai | Change the city or enable precise location. Do not reuse Dubai times in another emirate. |
| Ramadan 2026 dates in the UAE | 1 Ramadan fell on Wednesday, 18 February; Eid Al Fitr began on Friday, 20 March. |
Who sets the official prayer times in Dubai?
IACAD is Dubai’s government authority for Islamic affairs. Its prayer-times service is the primary reference for the emirate. The department also produces Dulook DXB, an official prayer-time and Qibla app developed with astronomical supervision from the International Astronomical Center.
This matters because two apps can show slightly different numbers even when both know your location. Differences may come from calculation settings, rounding, device coordinates or a cached timetable. In Dubai, compare the result with IACAD rather than averaging two unofficial apps.
Why this guide does not copy a static “today” table
A table labelled “today” becomes wrong after midnight. A full-year table can also remain in search after its source changes or be copied with a date offset. That is exactly how apparently polished prayer-time pages become unreliable.
For that reason, the live number at the top of this page comes from a link to the issuing authority rather than a manually maintained chart. Use this article for interpretation and practical planning; use IACAD for the current clock time. If you save a screenshot, keep the date visible.
Adhan, iqama and the prayer window are not the same time
The most common practical confusion is not a calculation error. It is mixing up three related moments:
- Prayer time is when the prayer window begins.
- Adhan is the call announcing that the time has begun.
- Iqama signals that a mosque’s congregational prayer is about to start.
If IACAD lists Maghrib at one time and a mosque begins the congregation several minutes later, the two notices are answering different questions. For Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr and Isha, the gap before iqama may be longer and varies by mosque. Maghrib congregations commonly follow the adhan more quickly. Check the board, screen or mosque announcement instead of treating an app’s adhan notification as an iqama schedule.
What Fajr, sunrise, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha mean
| Listing | What the timetable is telling you | Practical point |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | The dawn prayer time begins. | The Fajr window ends at sunrise, which is listed separately. |
| Sunrise / Shuruq | The sun rises and the Fajr window has ended. | Sunrise is not one of the five obligatory prayers. |
| Dhuhr | The midday prayer time begins after the sun passes its highest point. | On Friday, eligible worshippers attend Jumu’ah instead; see the fixed 12:45pm UAE time below. |
| Asr | The afternoon prayer time begins. | Calculation traditions can differ, so use the official local listing and follow your religious guidance. |
| Maghrib | The sunset prayer time begins. | During Ramadan, this also marks the end of the day’s fast. |
| Isha | The night prayer time begins after twilight. | A mosque’s iqama and Ramadan Taraweeh schedule are separate notices. |
Friday prayer in Dubai: the 12:45pm rule
From 2 January 2026, Friday sermon and prayer were standardised at 12:45pm in mosques across the UAE. The change was announced jointly by the federal Islamic authority and Dubai’s IACAD. Contemporary UAE reporting, including Aletihad, records the effective date and nationwide scope.
Plan to be inside before the sermon begins, not arriving at 12:45pm looking for parking. Large neighbourhood mosques fill early, and Friday access arrangements can affect nearby roads. Exceptional official instructions can override the standard time, so follow IACAD and the mosque for one-off changes.
Ramadan 2026 in Dubai: the corrected dates
Ramadan 1447 began in the UAE on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, and Eid Al Fitr began on Friday, 20 March 2026. The dates are confirmed by UAE official records, including the National Media Authority’s 18 February announcement and the official Ramadan calendar cited by UAE authorities.
This corrects an earlier version of this guide that placed the start around 1 March. That date belonged to the previous year’s cycle and should not have been carried into a 2026 article.
During Ramadan, use IACAD’s dedicated timetable for Fajr, Maghrib and Isha rather than estimating each day from the date before it. Imsak, where shown, is a cautionary time before Fajr; it is not a sixth prayer. Maghrib marks iftar. Taraweeh follows Isha, but its start and duration are set by the mosque rather than by the standard six-column prayer table.
Which app should you use in Dubai?
Dulook DXB is the clearest first choice for an official Dubai reference. IACAD describes it as a government-issued app for prayer times and Qibla direction, developed with the International Astronomical Center. It is available through the links on the official IACAD prayer-times page.
If you prefer another app, check four settings before trusting its alerts:
- The city is Dubai, not simply “United Arab Emirates”.
- Location permission is precise and the device time zone is Gulf Standard Time (UTC+4).
- The displayed daily times match IACAD before notifications are enabled.
- Your chosen Asr setting reflects the religious guidance you follow.
Do not “correct” a consistent difference by adding a random number of minutes. Find the setting causing it or use the official timetable directly.
Travelling between Dubai and another emirate
Prayer times are location-dependent. When travelling to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah or Umm Al Quwain, refresh the app’s location or consult the authority for that emirate. A difference of only a few minutes is still a reason not to reuse a saved Dubai screenshot.
For the UAE outside Dubai, the federal General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat prayer-times service is an appropriate official starting point. In Dubai, use IACAD.
Planning prayer around work, travel and appointments
- Check the day, not just the month. Prayer times shift daily.
- Separate adhan from iqama. Use the official listing for the prayer window and the mosque notice for the congregation.
- Allow a buffer on Friday. Arrive before the 12:45pm sermon and account for parking and crowds.
- Refresh after travelling. Reconfirm the city when your phone has been in flight mode or location access was disabled.
- Use the airport prayer rooms when travelling. Dubai’s terminals and many shopping centres provide signed prayer facilities, but access and walking time vary.
Mosque etiquette and non-Muslim visits
Wear clean, modest clothing, silence your phone and leave shoes in the designated area before entering the prayer hall. Avoid walking directly in front of someone praying. Photography rules differ: ask before taking pictures, particularly during worship.
For a structured introduction, the official Jumeirah Mosque public visit welcomes non-Muslim guests at 10am and 2pm from Saturday to Thursday, with registration opening 30 minutes before each session. The mosque is closed to public visits on Friday. The current official page lists AED45 admission and says advance booking is not required; recheck before travelling because visitor details can change.
The most reliable way to check Dubai prayer time
Use a simple two-source rule: IACAD for the daily prayer time, the mosque for the iqama. Use the nationwide 12:45pm time for Friday sermon and prayer unless an exceptional official notice says otherwise. That method is more dependable than copying a search snippet, keeping an old screenshot or assuming that one Dubai timetable applies across the UAE.
How this guide was checked: Daily-time guidance and Dulook information were verified against IACAD. The 2026 Friday-prayer change was cross-checked against the joint authority announcement reported by Aletihad. Ramadan dates were checked against UAE official records. Jumeirah Mosque visitor information comes from the mosque’s own current page. No prayer time in this article is presented as permanently fixed.
