Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother and your colleagues, Asalam Alaikum WRWB.

May Allah reward you for what you and your team are doing. I have a question about muslims who live in Norway, Denmark and other places where days are longer and nights are shorter during summer and winter seasons. Given that time itself is one of the necessities for prayers such as Fajir prayer before dawn or Marghrib prayer at dusk? I also want to know about ramadan as to how should a muslim be fasting? Again, Allah bless you and your team.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Prayer times in Arctic Norway

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The prayer or fasts times in nations like Norway and Denmark are manageable…in Denmark ‘fajr’ is expected in the first week of this Ramadan to be around 4.15am and ‘magrib at around 19.45pm; and in Norway ‘fajr’ time is expected to be at around 3.45am and ‘magrib’ at around 20.00pm.

But if one finds oneself in a place (north or south poles) which have perpetual periods of days and nights for a long period of time, the scholars and jurists in Islam have offered two rulings regarding the observance of prayer or fast times in these places:

1.      One may align oneself and follow the prayer times and the start and end times of fasts of Makkah, or

2.      One may align oneself and follow the prayer times, and the start and end times of fasts of the nearest geographical place which has apparent ‘normal’ timings and a routine of day and night alteration in a span of 24 hours.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 286:

286 On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 64 Surah Tagabhun verse 16:

16 So fear Allah as much as ye can.

If one visiting the north or south poles offers their prayers and/or fasts according to any one of the above two options, it is expected that their Lord Most Merciful will accept their striving and their worship.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan