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Reykjavík, Iceland: 16 hours and 50 minutes
Warsaw, Poland: 15 hours
London, England: 15 hours
Paris, France: 16 to 17 hours
Lisbon, Portugal: 15 to 16 hours
Athens, Greece: 15 to 16 hours
Beijing, China: 15 to 16 hours
Washington DC, US: 15 to 16 hours
Ankara, Turkey: 15 to 16 hours
Shortest Fast In The World
Johannesburg, South Africa: 11 to 12 hours
Buenos Aires, Argentina: 11 to 12 hours
Cape Town, South Africa: 11 to 12 hours
Christchurch, New Zealand: 11 to 12 hours
Ciudad del Este, Paraguay: 11 to 12 hours
Montevideo, Uruguay: 11 to 12 hours
Brasilia, Brazil: 12 to 13 hours
Harare, Zimbabwe: 12 to 13 hours
What Determines The Times Of Fasting?
The Blessed Quraan which is sent to govern the laws of Islam mentions :
وَكُلُوۡا وَاشۡرَبُوۡا حَتّٰى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَـكُمُ الۡخَـيۡطُ الۡاَبۡيَضُ مِنَ الۡخَـيۡطِ الۡاَسۡوَدِ مِنَ الۡفَجۡرِؕ ثُمَّ اَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ اِلَى الَّيۡلِ
Translation: ” Eat and drink until the white thread of the dawn becomes distinct from the black thread; then complete the fast up to the night“
Chapter 2 Verse 187
A Few Questions & A Companions Incident
Can we ignore ahaadith and take the exact translation from verses of the Noble Quraan to deduce the meaning of verses, similarly can we take Quraan and Ahaadith and ignore the verdicts of the Jurists of the four schools of thought?
If so how will we determine the meaning of the above verse?
Have we actually learnt the duration of fasting from the above verse?
No! The Noble Quraan in its style did not stipulate each of the countries times but rather stipulates a law which allows the world to determine its respective times of fasting.
A Sahabi رضى الله عنه (Companion) Takes The Literal Meaning Of The Above Verse
عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ {حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ} عَمَدْتُ إِلَى عِقَالٍ أَسْوَدَ وَإِلَى عِقَالٍ أَبْيَضَ، فَجَعَلْتُهُمَا تَحْتَ وِسَادَتِي، فَجَعَلْتُ أَنْظُرُ فِي اللَّيْلِ، فَلاَ يَسْتَبِينُ لِي، فَغَدَوْتُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَكَرْتُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ ” إِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ سَوَادُ اللَّيْلِ وَبَيَاضُ النَّهَارِ (رواه الخارى)
Narrated `Adi bin Hatimرضى الله عنه:
When the above verses were revealed: ‘Until the white thread appears to you, distinct from the black thread,’ I took two (hair) strings, one black and the other white, and kept them under my pillow and went on looking at them throughout the night but could not make anything out of it. So, the next morning I went to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and told him the whole story. He explained to me, “That verse means the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the dawn.” (Bukhaari)
This teaches us that knowing Arabic alone is not sufficient to understand the Quraan, simirlarly one would be lead astray if one deduces rulings or meanings from the Quraan ignoring Ahaadith and the Jurisprudence according to the four schools of thought, namely following any one of the four accepted madhaahib:
- Hanafi School
- Shaafee School
- Maliki School
- Hambili School
