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Determining Fajr Near the North Pole — Jurisprudential Answers — Miscellaneous Issues, Vol. 4

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published translation

Contents
  1. Question and answer
  2. More in Prayer
  3. References
  4. Editorial notes

Question and answer [link]

Question 18

I have a question about the legally prescribed times in regions near the North Pole. Previously I sent two questions about prayer and its rulings in areas near the North Pole, and you kindly answered us and the believing brothers living in countries surrounding the North Pole, relieving us of difficulties we had all suffered before entering the blessed call. In summer the dawn disappears here on different dates and at different times depending on how close each city is to the pole, so I will use Stockholm, Sweden, as an example. When dawn disappears in Stockholm, during Ramadan we used to begin abstaining one and a half hours before sunrise, and we also prayed Fajr during this period according to the ruling you gave concerning prayer in regions near the pole. However, dawn appears again when the sun descends only slightly—fractions of a degree—below 19 degrees, and soon afterward it is below 18 degrees and above 19 degrees. The period of darkness is initially very short, perhaps only one minute, and the dark minutes increase on the days following the first reappearance of true dawn. On 24 August each year dawn returns, occurring at 1:26 a.m., while sunrise on that date is at 5:25 a.m. These precise figures come from an online astronomical program that shows the sun's actual position below and above the horizon by time and degrees. The interval between the two appearances is about four hours, which is relatively long compared with the interval between dawn and sunrise in the Middle East, normally about one hour and fifteen minutes to one and a half hours. This interval then becomes shorter day by day, but not quickly. For example, on 9 September 2015, the day I wrote this message, dawn was at 3:09 a.m. and sunrise at 6:01 a.m., leaving an interval of two hours and fifty-two minutes, still long compared with the Middle East. My question, shared by a number of the believers, is this: Is the sun's merely descending below 19 degrees sufficient for dawn to be established even when the interval between dawn and sunrise is relatively long? May we perform Fajr at the beginning of that period and begin abstaining if we intend to fast that day? Is this long interval between dawn and sunrise legally valid even though it is much longer than, for example, the corresponding interval in the Middle East?

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

If the legally recognized dawn is established by the horizontal light spreading across the horizon, its validity is not affected by sunrise occurring three hours later, more or less. Once dawn appears, the time for the Fajr prayer begins, and whoever intends to fast begins abstaining. As for my mentioning an angle of 19 degrees for determining dawn, this is a solution for someone who is completely unable to observe dawn, even during a certain period of the year, so that the angle at which true dawn appears may be determined. But where observation is possible and the angle of dawn can be determined, even during a certain period—and even by reference to another city—the angle obtained through observation is to be relied upon.

published translation. Source [1]

Source: الأجوبة الفقهية (مسائل متفرقة - ج4); Question 18; Page Not available; FIQH-MISC-V4-Q018. View Arabic source · Open the original Arabic source ↗

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References

  1. ↑ السيد أحمد الحسن. الأجوبة الفقهية (مسائل متفرقة - ج4). Question 18; Page Not available. FIQH-MISC-V4-Q018. View Arabic source
Cite this page

الأجوبة الفقهية (مسائل متفرقة - ج4) — السيد أحمد الحسن. Question: 18. Page: Not available. FIQH-MISC-V4-Q018. https://ahmedalhasan.org/ar/Library/BookContent/100

Changing the interface language does not translate or approve a ruling.

Editorial notes

The page title and topic labels are WikiSavior editorial wording, not quotations from the author.

Changing the interface language does not translate or approve a ruling.

View source · Page information
{
  "id": "FIQH-MISC-V4-Q018",
  "book_title_ar": "الأجوبة الفقهية (مسائل متفرقة - ج4)",
  "author": "السيد أحمد الحسن",
  "question_number": 18,
  "page_number": null,
  "source_url": "https://ahmedalhasan.org/ar/Library/BookContent/100",
  "source_language": "ar"
}
Subjects: Prayer · Source library