Pray.Global Guide

Everything Pray.Global can do by text — commands, settings, and how prayer times are calculated.

Getting started

Pray.Global works entirely over SMS — there's no app to install and no account password to remember.

  1. Text PRAY to your Pray.Global number, or sign up on the web.
  2. Answer a few quick questions: your name, ZIP code, calculation method, Asr method, and which prayers you want alerts for.
  3. Confirm and start your free trial. Alerts begin automatically once your trial/subscription is active.

You can change any of these later by texting CHANGE — see Managing Alerts below.

SMS Commands

Every command Pray.Global understands today. Commands aren't case-sensitive.

PRAY

Start setting up prayer alerts: name, ZIP code, calculation method, Asr method, then which prayers you'd like.

Example: Text PRAY

If you already have an active subscription, PRAY won't start a second one — reply CHANGE or STATUS instead.

STATUS

See your current settings: active/paused, saved location, which prayers you get alerts for, and your calculation method.

Example: Text STATUS

Read-only — nothing changes.

CHANGE

Update your location, calculation method, Asr method, how many alerts per day, or pause/resume/stop alerts.

Example: Text CHANGE

Also works: SETTINGS

Requires an active Pray.Global account.

Opens a numbered menu — reply with a number to pick what to update.

NEXT

See the next upcoming prayer time for your saved location.

Example: Text NEXT

Requires an active Pray.Global account.

TODAY

See today's full prayer schedule for your saved location.

Example: Text TODAY

Also works: TIMES

Requires an active Pray.Global account.

TOMORROW

See tomorrow's full prayer schedule for your saved location.

Example: Text TOMORROW

Requires an active Pray.Global account.

HELP

See the list of available SMS commands.

Example: Text HELP

STOP

Stop all prayer alert messages.

Example: Text STOP

Also works: STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT

Works at any time, including mid-signup. You can restart anytime by texting PRAY or START.

START

Resume alerts after STOP.

Example: Text START

Also works: UNSTOP, RESUME

Forgot a command? Text HELP anytime.

Changing your location

Your prayer alerts always include the saved location they were calculated for, so you can see at a glance which ZIP/location was used — helpful if you've traveled since your last alert.

To update your location, text CHANGE, then reply 1 for Location, then reply with your new 5-digit ZIP code.

CHANGE
What would you like to change?
1) Location
2) Calculation method
...
1
Reply with your new 5-digit ZIP code.

Pray.Global currently updates location by ZIP code over SMS. There's no separate standalone "ZIP" command and no automatic GPS/browser location tracking today.

Calculation methods

Prayer calculation methods can differ by region, organization, and scholarly convention. Pray.Global lets you choose the method you follow — it's used automatically for every alert once selected.

Jafari (Ithna Ashari)

Shia Ithna Ashari (Jafari) convention

Fajr 16°, Maghrib 4° after sunset, Isha 14°

Karachi (UIS)

University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi

Fajr 18°, Isha 18°

ISNA (North America)

Islamic Society of North America

Fajr 15°, Isha 15°

MWL (Muslim World League)

Muslim World League

Fajr 18°, Isha 17°

Makkah (Umm al-Qura)

Umm al-Qura University, Makkah

Fajr 18.5°, Isha 90 minutes after Maghrib

Egypt (Egyptian Gen. Authority)

Egyptian General Authority of Survey

Fajr 19.5°, Isha 17.5°

Tehran (IGU)

Institute of Geophysics, University of Tehran

Fajr 17.7°, Maghrib 4.5° after sunset, Isha 14°

Your local mosque may use a different method or a local adjustment. No method here is presented as more correct — Pray.Global calculates times, it doesn't rule on which convention to follow.

Change your method anytime: text CHANGE, then reply 2.

Asr method

Asr's start time depends on how long a shadow needs to grow before Asr begins — different schools of thought use different shadow-length rules, which is why Asr can shift by 30–60+ minutes between the two options below.

Standard (Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali)

Asr begins when an object's shadow equals its own length (plus the shadow length at noon).

Hanafi

Asr begins later — when an object's shadow reaches twice its own length (plus the noon shadow).

Change your Asr method anytime: text CHANGE, then reply 3.

Understanding Islamic Midnight

Islamic Midnight is not necessarily 12:00 AM on the clock. It represents the midpoint of the religious night, and which two points mark that night depends on your calculation method.

Karachi, ISNA, MWL, Makkah, Egypt

Sunset Midnight Sunrise

Jafari, Tehran

Maghrib Midnight Fajr

Pray.Global automatically uses the appropriate convention based on your selected calculation method — there's no separate Midnight setting to choose.

Midnight appears in your daily prayer-schedule text alongside the five daily prayers.

Why prayer times may differ

Two prayer-time sources can legitimately disagree. Common reasons:

If your local mosque publishes different times, we recommend following your local mosque or trusted religious authority. Pray.Global is a calculation and notification service, not a religious authority.

Traveling

Prayer times depend on location, so when you travel, your alerts should reflect where you actually are.

Traveling? Text CHANGE and update your ZIP when you arrive.

Every alert includes the saved location it was calculated for, so you can always confirm which location is currently in use before you update it.

Managing, pausing, and stopping alerts

The full CHANGE menu:

  1. Location
  2. Calculation method
  3. Asr method
  4. Alerts per day
  5. Pause alerts
  6. Resume alerts
  7. Stop messages

Reply STOP at any time to stop all messages. Reply START to resume.

Troubleshooting & help