Question
I have a tricky question regarding Ramadan and prayers timings in areas of the world where the sun never rises.How is one supposed to keep the fast? How does one know when the time for sala’h is?
Answer
There is an established principle in Deen explained by prophet Muhammad(pbuh) that if something is not discussed in the Quran or Sunnah then the matter will be decided on one’s ‘ijtehad’ which is a process of reasoning under the light of Quran and Sunnah.The same principle will be applied here as this issue did not arise during the time of prophet Muhammad(pbuh).
In our view, if there is a Muslim community residing in such areas, it can collectively decide on such timings either by just following the timings of the nearest country where there is a clear sunrise and sunset or by following a nearest muslim country.They also have the option of deciding the timings on the basis of the majority decision of their scholars, if they have any residing in those areas.If they dont have any scholar then they can discuss the issue with the scholars of their choice and follow their advise.After all, people living in such areas do have a way of managing their hours. They wake up in the “morning”, take breakfast, go to work, take lunch, take their “evening” tea, and retire to their bedrooms, in the “night” time. Just like all these activities are managed even in these areas, and managed quite effectively, in the same way, prayers and fasting can also be managed independent of the movements of the sun.
Hope this helps
UIUK team
Views: 830