Ramadan and Fasting?

Question

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is done during the daylight hours. Moslems eat before sunrise and after sunset. So, what happens with Moslems living above the Arctic circle where it is 24 hrs night at this time of year. Are they expected to fast? What about those living below the Antarctic circle where it is 24Hrs light. Do they have to fast without eating for the entire month seeing that the sun never sets? It seems that the further south from the equator that a Moslem lives the more they are penalised during Ramadan as the nights get shorter and the days get longer.

Answer 1

A Muslim must understand the purpose of fasting. It's to remind ourselves of others sufferings, to have a period of clarifying our minf, and to have the opportunity to detox our body.
Please never associate fasting as religiously significant. If you can achieve the 3 purposes differently without fasting, it's still acceptable by God.
If you tend to see fasting as religiously critical, you will miss the whole point.
My friend, since when God said that those who don't fast will be sent to hell forever?
You can fulfill the 3 purposes above equally also by meditating, etc.
My Advice: Fast as long as you feel appropriate. Fasting is not to please God nor to appease God. But it's to fulfill the 3 purposes I just stated.

Answer 2

Just in case you were really welling to learn, here is the correct answer from Islamic fiqh (roles and laws):

Places where the day is extremely long and the night is short
Scholars differ about what the Muslims who are in areas where the day is extremely long and the night is short should do. What timings should they follow? Some say they should follow the norms of the areas where the Islamic legislation took place--that is, Makkah or Madinah. Others say they should follow the timings of the area that is closest to them which has normal days and nights.

Answer 3

they would follow the rules for the time zones they are in .most of us are not stupid,we can figure out the time by way of clock,watch,and some like me are very good at estimating.it is a silly question to ask does someone have to fast for the entire month.we are just human.if some are living where the days are longer than their reward for their dedication will not be wasted. my first ramadan was in summer,and i dont think ive fasted in the summer since.so the fasting will change for everyone all the time, as it does not come in the same month every yr.

Answer 4

wrong. that is where people fail to realise the importance of a Lunar Calender.

The Muslim Calendar.
Muslims follow the lunar calendar. This means they have twelve months of 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes each. The Muslim year is eleven days shorter than the solar year. As a result, Muslim months and holidays are not seasonal and rotate throughout the solar calendar year. The Muslim calendar is dated from the time of Muhammad's moving from Mecca to Medina - the "Hegira" -- and is designated by the letters A.H. (After the Hegira). Muslims living in Western countries that follow the solar Gregorian calendar usually keep both set of dates.

Why do Muslims follow the lunar calendar instead of the solar calendar?
Answer:
1. As per the Solar calendar, every year the months fall in the same respective seasons of that location. For example, the months of March, April and May in India will always have summer, while July, August, September will always have monsoons i.e. rains in western India. November, December and January will always have winter.

2. In the lunar calendar in different years the months fall in a different season.

The lunar calendar has about 11 days less than the solar calendar. Thus, every year, the month of the lunar calendar occurs 11 days prior to what it had occurred in the previous solar year. Thus, in a span of about 33 lunar years a human being will experience all the different seasons for one particular month of the lunar calendar. This is very important because the yearly activities of a Muslim are based on the lunar calendar. Certain months like Ramadhan and Hajj are very important to the Muslims. During Ramadhan a Muslim has to fast which includes abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. If the Islamic months were based on the solar calendar where the seasons were fixed, then people living in certain parts of the world would have Ramadhan in summer while in other parts of the world it would be winter. Some Muslims would have to fast for a longer period of time where the days are long while other Muslims would have to fast for shorter period of time where the days are short. If the seasons did not change, then Muslims living in some parts of the world may feel that they are at a disadvantage throughout their lives.

By following the lunar calendar, every Muslim has a taste of fasting in different seasons and for a different time period, in a span of his/her life.

as for me -- for this world i follow the solar calender and for my Afterlife i follow Lunar calender. this is 1427th year of Lunar Calender.

Answer 5

for those living above the Arctic circle they have a special rule..I don't know it but I'm sure they have special rules for fasting.

Answer 6

Consult with Imams or Islamic scholars.

Answer 7

They rely on established timetables. See http://moonsighting.com/ for more information.

BTW - Fasting is from dawn (fajr), not sunrise (shurook) as you wrote.

Answer 8

they fast accoding to the times of the prayers "salah" from fajr to Maghrib .. the time of prayers (in these countries) is calcualted by world islamic organization

Answer 9

its a weird religion