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Q&A · Fasting

How do Muslims fast in countries where the days are extremely long or the sun barely sets?

Wherever dawn and sunset are still distinguishable, you fast by your own local times even if the day is eighteen or twenty hours, because the Quran ties the fast to the actual dawn and nightfall of your place; if that genuinely causes harm or is beyond a person's capacity, he may break and make the day up later, since Allah intends ease and does not burden a soul beyond its capacity. In the far north or south, where the sun does not set for weeks or no true dawn appears, the fast is estimated — the major fiqh councils and scholars such as Ibn Bāz and Ibn ʿUthaymīn directed such people to follow the timings of the nearest land that has a normal night and day, or the timings of Makkah. The principle comes from the hadith of the Dajjāl, when the Companions asked about the day that is like a year and the Prophet ﷺ answered, "Estimate for it its due measure."

Evidence — the daleel
Quran 2:187Quran 2:185Sahih Muslim 2937 Ṣaḥīḥ
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Informational, not a personal fatwa. Consult a qualified scholar for rulings on your situation.

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