Assalaam Waleikum Waragmatoelah Hibrakatoe,

How are you all doing my dear brothers and sisters?

First of all let me start of by thanking Allah soebhaan wataa'Aalah and you all for this splendid work, providing me advice.

I have crashed on a problem now which is, It is becoming summer now in The Netherlands and the prayer times for Isha are getting very late also Fadjr is getting very early.

(Ramadan is starting 1 August 2011, InshAllah)

This is a big problem, as I am a student and I work, but also have school, at the moment it is summer vacation so Alhamdulilah I am saved for a bit, but this will be over soon.

Please help me to determine or specify a prayer time or a solution for me? May Allah bless you all. InshAllah.I sometimes have to get up for work at 5 am, this can be very hard with isha at 12 pm and fadjr at 3 am. (times rounded up).When I dont have to work morning shifts I do not mind this, and just pray.With morning shifts this gets very dificult, Astagfirullah for my complaining, please Allah forgive me I am only human and imperfect.)

But with Ramadan coming, It means I have to get up at 2 am eat and pray 3 am, then have to hold all this till 10 pm, this is more then 15 hours!!! what is very dificult and dangerous too, as whole day I am busy and excercising how can I possibly create any energy for myself like this ?

I dont mind the hard truth, if it is like it is, I will just pray and Allah will give me the strenght InshAllah, but I was just hoping if there is any kind of comfort or solution to this dilemma many western countries are facing ? It would also be nice to post this up for other people, because many are facing a lot of problems like these. I will also add a link where a sheikh has given a lot of explanation, still I require your help and hope InshAllah you can help me!

http://www.islaam.net/main/display_article_printview.php?id=1393

May Allah bless you all for your troubles taken. InshAllah.

Leyla Said:

Salaam Raja,

I am sorry that the fast will be difficult for you, this is a concern for many people in many countries . My advice to you is to seek the advice of a qualified doctor, who can tell you whether or not fasting this Ramadan in your country will be dangerous for you. If the doctor tells you that it is harmful to your life, or that it will cause sickness, or that it will put you in some danger- then you do not have to fast, although it would be a good idea to  observe the prayer, practice charity and read the Quran as much as you can so that you do not miss out of the spirituality of Ramadan.

The scholars at Islam Q&A offer  the following advice:

Whoever resides in a country where the night can be distinguished from the day by the onset of dawn and the setting of the sun, but the day is extremely long in the summer and extremely short in the winter, is obliged to perform the five daily prayers at the times known in sharee’ah. That is because of the general meaning of the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Perform As‑Salaat (Iqamaat‑as‑Salaat) from mid‑day till the darkness of the night (i.e. the Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Ishaa’ prayers), and recite the Qur’aan in the early dawn (i.e. the — Fajr morning prayer). Verily, the recitation of the Qur’aan in the early dawn (i.e. the morning — Fajr prayer) is ever witnessed (attended by the angels in charge of mankind of the day and the night)”

[al-Isra’ 17:78]

“Verily, As‑Salaah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours”

[al-Nisa’ 4:103]

And because it was proven from Buraydah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about the times of the prayers, and he said to him: “Pray with us for these two” meaning two days. When the sun passed its zenith, he told Bilaal to give the adhaan, then he told him to give the iqaamah for Zuhr. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for ‘Asr when the sun was still high and clear white. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for Maghrib when the sun had set. Then he told him to give the iqaamah for ‘Isha’ when the red afterglow (twilight) had disappeared.  Then he told him to give the iqaamah for Fajr when the dawn had appeared. Then on the second day, he told him to delay Zuhr until the extreme heat had passed and he did so. He prayed ‘Asr when the sun was high, delaying it beyond the time he had previously performed it. He prayed Maghrib before the twilight had vanished; he prayed ‘Isha’ when a third of the night had passed; and he prayed Fajr when there was clear daylight. Then he said: “Where is the man who was asking about the time of prayer?” The man said, “Here I am, O Messenger of Allaah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The time for your prayer is within the limits of what you have seen.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim)

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The time for Zuhr is from when the sun has passed its zenith and a man’s shadow is equal in length to his height, until the time for ‘Asr comes. The time for ‘Asr lasts until the sun turns yellow. The time for Maghrib lasts until the twilight has faded. The time for ‘Isha’ lasts until midnight. The time for Subh (Fajr) prayer lasts from the beginning of the pre-dawn so long as the sun has not yet started to rise. When the sun starts to rise then stop praying, for it rises between the two horns of the Shaytaan.”

Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh.

And there are other ahaadeeth which have been narrated concerning the definition of the times of the five daily prayers through the words and actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It makes no difference whether the night and day are long or short, so long as the times of the prayers can be distinguished by the signs which were identified by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

This is with regard to the timings of the prayers. With regard to the timings of their fast in Ramadaan, those who are accountable should refrain from food, drink and everything else that invalidates the fast each day of Ramadaan, from the time of dawn until sunset in their countries, so long as the night can be distinguished from the day, and when day and night together add up to twenty-four hours. It is permissible for them to eat, drink, have intercourse, etc during the night only, even if it is short. The sharee’ah of Islam is universal and applies to all people in all countries. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall”

[al-Baqarah 2:187]

Whoever is unable to complete the fast because the day is so long, or who knows from experience or from the advice of a competent. trustworthy doctor, or thinks it most likely that fasting will lead to his death or make him severely ill, or will make his sickness worse or impede his recovery, may break his fast and make up the days that he misses in a month when he can make them up. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days”

[al-Baqarah 2:185]

“Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope”

[al-Baqarah 2:286]

“Allaah does not want to place you in difficulty”

[al-Maa'idah 5:6]

Secondly:

Whoever lives in a land in which the sun does not set during the summer and does not rise during the winter, or who lives in a land in which the day lasts for six months and the night lasts for six months, for example, has to perform the five daily prayers in each twenty-four hour period. They should estimate their times based on the nearest country in which the times of the five daily prayers can be distinguished from one another, because it was proven in the hadeeth of the Isra’ and Mi’raaj (Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascent into Heaven) that Allaah enjoined on this ummah fifty prayers each day and night, then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept asking his Lord to reduce it until He said, “O Muhammad, they are five prayers each day and night, and for each prayer will be the reward of ten, that is fifty prayers…”

And it was proven in the hadeeth of Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: A man from Najd with unkempt hair came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, till he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “(You have to offer) five prayers each day and night.” The man asked, “Do I have to do anything else?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “No, unless you want to offer voluntary (naafil) prayers”…

And it was proven in the hadeeth of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he said: We were forbidden to ask the Messenger of Allaah (S) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about anything, so we used to like it when an intelligent man from among the desert people came and asked him a question in our hearing. A man from among the desert people came and said, “O Muhammad, your messenger came to us and said that you claim that Allaah sent you.” He said, “He spoke the truth.” … The man said, “And your messenger claimed that we have to offer five prayers each day and night.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He spoke the truth.” The man said, “By the One Who sent you, has Allaah enjoined that upon you?” He said, “Yes.” …

It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told his companions about the Dajjaal (antichrist). He was asked how long he would stay on earth, and he said, “Forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week and the rest like your days.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the day which is like a year, will the prayers of one day be sufficient for us then?” He said, “No, estimate them.” So the day which will be like a year is not regarded as one day in which only five prayers will be sufficient, rather we are obliged to offer five prayers in each twenty-four hour period. He commanded them to offer the prayers at intervals as on a regular day.

So the Muslims in the country mentioned in the question have to define the times of prayer in that land, basing those times on the closest country in which the night and day can be distinguished from one another and the times of the five daily prayers are known according to the signs described in sharee’ah, within each twenty-four hour period.

Similarly they also have to fast Ramadaan. They can set the time for their fast and determine the beginning and end of Ramadaan and the times of starting and breaking the fast each day by the dawn and sunset each day in the closest country in which night can be distinguished from day. The total period must add up to twenty-four hours, because of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about the Dajjaal mentioned above, in which he told his companions how to determine the times of the five daily prayers. There is no difference in this regard between fasting and prayer.

Peace,

Leyla, Editor, Islamic Answers