Question 758

Question

Question and answer [link]

I will summarize the problems we face in points: 1. Watching for dawn and sunset is difficult for us because of the weather. 2. Even if dawn and sunset are observed for one day, it is difficult for us to rely upon that for the following day, because each day the time increases or decreases by three minutes depending upon the season. 3. We used to rely upon the times on the Ahl al-Bayt Assembly website, which belongs to some professed Shia, but we found major differences in the times, especially after the change from daylight-saving time to standard time or vice versa. Sometimes they change the time of noon but do not change the time of sunset, or the reverse, and so forth. The differences are large, and I do not trust their times. 4. Since it is difficult for us to determine sunset and dawn, may we rely upon the sunrise and sunset times in general newspapers? The newspapers are foreign, and I do not know how they calculate them. If we rely upon the sunrise in the newspapers, we can calculate ninety minutes, but what about sunset? 5. The difference between winter and summer is very great. In summer, the length of the day is approximately twenty-two and one-quarter hours. The problem is during the blessed month of Ramadan: the period between breaking the fast and beginning abstention does not exceed two hours, which prevents complete darkness from occurring. Sometimes the sky remains light as though it were afternoon.

Source: The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 7; Author: Imam Ahmed Al-Hasan; Question 758; Page Not available; AL-JAWAB-AL-MUNIR-V7-Q758. View Arabic source · Open the original Arabic source ↗

Accepted Answer

I ask Allah to grant you success and direct your steps aright. You must know that Allah does not charge a soul beyond its capacity. Allah will not call you to account for unintentionally delaying or advancing the time of prayer, breaking the fast, or beginning abstention if you exert what is within your capacity to know the correct time according to reality. The Exalted said: ‘Allah does not charge a soul beyond its capacity. It will have what it earned, and against it is what it acquired. Our Lord, do not take us to account if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not place upon us a burden like that which You placed upon those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with what we have no strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy upon us. You are our Guardian, so grant us victory over the disbelieving people.’ To learn the times of sunrise and sunset, you may rely upon the bulletins of scientific astronomical centers. Newspapers in a country ordinarily rely upon a scientific astronomical center in that country. You can ask them about the source of their information, and you can rely upon it to know the times of sunrise and sunset. A bright sky after sunset does not affect regarding it as nighttime, even if there is no darkness. Light does not affect determining night and day where you are; rather, night and day are determined according to sunset and sunrise, which suffice for you to know the times of prayer, breaking the fast, and beginning abstention at some times of the year. I answered this issue previously. After you read that answer carefully, you can ask about anything unclear in it, just as you can ask about anything else you do not find in the answer. Ahmed Alhasan

Question 758 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 7

Question and answer [link]

Question 758

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

References