(Series of Answers by the Scholar Sheikh Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors to his Facebook Page)
Answer to Question:
To Mu'adh Khalil Mansur Samamrah
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum. I want to know if the Party has an ijtihad regarding fasting and the month of Ramadan in Norway; as Fajr prayer is at two in the morning, Maghrib prayer is at eleven at night, and Isha is at twelve midnight. Of course, there is no sunset; meaning it is daylight all the time. There are ijtihadat, opinions, and fatwas saying that it is possible to fast and break the fast with Saudi Arabia or the nearest Muslim country, and there are those who say that it is not permissible. There is a sunset lasting an hour or half an hour. So we do not know what is correct, and the Islamic League's fatwas are like those of Al-Qaradawi.
Does the Party have an ijtihad on this subject? Perhaps our brother and the Amir of Hizb ut-Tahrir can benefit us in this matter.
May Allah bless you.
Your brother Mu'adh Samamrah – from the Kingdom of Norway.
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
- The question is not clear, as there seems to be a contradiction. You say:
"There is a sunset lasting an hour or half an hour." From this, it is understood that the night is an hour or half an hour...
But before that, you say: "Of course, there is no sunset. Meaning it is daylight," meaning there is no night...
Then you also say: "As Fajr prayer is at two in the morning, Maghrib prayer is at eleven at night, and Isha is at twelve midnight," and this means there is a night from 11 PM to 2 AM, meaning a night with a duration of 3 hours...
It is clear there is a contradiction; in the first statement, "the night is about an hour or half an hour," in the second "there is no night," and in the third "the night's duration is three hours." So please clarify the question so we can answer it, Allah willing.
- Nevertheless, there is a question sent to me by another brother about two years ago, and I answered him. The question was from Finland, which is close to your country, Norway. I will mention below the question that came to me and my answer to it; perhaps it will benefit you in the matter. The question was:
(Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
I am from Finland, and I am asking about the ruling on the timings of Iftar (breaking fast) here, where although the sun sets, there is no "darkness of night" and it remains like the state of twilight after sunset. Note that I live in a remote area in northern Finland, 800 km from the capital, Helsinki, and there is hardly a community of Muslims there.
The question is:
How do we estimate the times of Imsak (beginning of the fast) at Fajr, even though the time of sunset is somewhat known (noting that "sunset" is around 11 PM). As for Fajr, it is difficult to determine its time due to the absence of "night" in the conventional sense. Is it valid for me to make up the fast of Ramadan at another time? And does the absence of a specific time for Imsak (Fajr) affect the validity of the fast (until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of dawn)? Or should I follow the timings of the mosque in the capital, Helsinki? Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh. 29-7-11) End.
Answer:
The timings are the asbab (legal causes) for prayer and fasting. The ruling exists with the existence of the cause, and the ruling is absent with the absence of the cause. Therefore, it is said regarding the cause (sabab) fundamentally: "The cause, technically, is every apparent and disciplined description for which auditory evidence indicates it as a signifier for the existence of the ruling, not for the legislation of the ruling." Meaning, the asbab are signs placed by the Legislator to inform the mukallaf (legally responsible person) of the existence of the ruling from the Legislator. Consequently, the existence of the cause leads to the existence of the ruling, and its absence leads to the absence of the ruling.
Accordingly, it is not permissible to fast or pray using the timings of another region other than your own regarding Fajr, Dhuhr prayers, etc., and regarding the time of Imsak in Ramadan and the time of Iftar. It is not permissible for you to fast according to the timings of the Helsinki Mosque in the capital while you live in northern Finland, 800 km away from the capital. Likewise, it is not permissible to make up the fast of Ramadan on other days as long as you are capable of fasting.
My dear brother, it seems the problem you have is regarding Maghrib and Fajr in terms of Iftar and Imsak. This matter is as follows:
- Since the sunset is known, the fasting person breaks the fast at sunset even if the twilight (shafaq) remains, because the Adhan of Maghrib is at sunset. In Muslim, in the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the man who came asking him about the prayer times, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ثُمَّ أَمَرَهُ فَأَقَامَ بِالْمَغْرِبِ حِينَ وَقَعَتِ الشَّمْسُ
"...then he commanded him and he performed the Maghrib prayer when the sun had set."
And in another narration:
ثُمَّ أَمَرَهُ بِالْمَغْرِبِ حِينَ وَجَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ...
"...then he commanded him with Maghrib when the sun had gone down..."
Meaning it set, and this is the time of Iftar, not at the disappearance of the twilight. The disappearance of the twilight is the time for Isha prayer, as mentioned in the aforementioned Hadith in Muslim:
ثُمَّ أَمَرَهُ فَأَقَامَ الْعِشَاءَ حِينَ غَابَ الشَّفَقُ...
"...then he commanded him and he performed the Isha prayer when the twilight had disappeared..."
And in another narration:
ثُمَّ أَمَرَهُ بِالْعِشَاءِ حِينَ وَقَعَ الشَّفَقُ...
"...then he commanded him with Isha when the twilight had set..."
Meaning it disappeared. Therefore, the presence of twilight after sunset does not affect the Iftar. Twilight, according to some jurists, is the redness after the sun disappears, and according to other jurists, it is the whiteness that follows the redness after the sun disappears. Ibn al-Athir said: (Al-shafaq is one of the opposites; it applies to the redness seen in the west after the sun sets, which is the view taken by Ash-Shafi'i, and to the whiteness remaining on the western horizon after the mentioned redness, which is the view taken by Abu Hanifa).
As for the Fajr (dawn) at which Imsak becomes obligatory, it is the Adhan of Fajr and the prayer. In the mentioned Hadith of Muslim:
فَأَقَامَ الْفَجْرَ حِينَ انْشَقَّ الْفَجْرُ...
"...so he performed the Fajr when the dawn broke..."
And in another narration:
فَأَمَرَ بِلَالًا فَأَذَّنَ بِغَلَسٍ، فَصَلَّى الصُّبْحَ حِينَ طَلَعَ الْفَجْرُ...
"...then he commanded Bilal and he gave the Adhan in the darkness (ghalas), and he prayed Subh when the dawn rose..."
And in the Hadith of At-Tirmidhi when Jibril led the Messenger ﷺ in prayer, it states:
ثُمَّ صَلَّى الفَجْرَ حِينَ بَرَقَ الفَجْرُ، وَحَرُمَ الطَّعَامُ عَلَى الصَّائِمِ...
"...then he prayed Fajr when the dawn gleamed, and food became forbidden for the fasting person..."
Regarding the meaning of "ghalas", Ibn al-Athir said: Ghalas is the darkness of the night when it mixes with the light of the morning.
The dawn here is the true dawn (al-fajr al-sadiq), which is a change in the darkness of the night toward whiteness, even if the darkness of the night is partial as in your case. If this darkness changes to a whiteness that spreads horizontally across the horizon, it is the true dawn; so you begin Imsak and pray. This is different from the false dawn (al-fajr al-kadhib), which is a change in the darkness of the night to whiteness, but it is a whiteness that appears vertically ascending toward the sky and not spreading horizontally. The Fajr prayer is not permissible at that time because it is part of the night, so you may eat and drink... meaning it is not a condition to begin Imsak then.
The whiteness that mixes with the darkness of the night at the true dawn does not mean you see everything; rather, while you are observing the horizon in the east, you find that the "partial" darkness has begun to clear away, meaning the vision begins to spread right and left at the horizon, differing from what was before it.
Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari when explaining the Hadith of Muslim, on the authority of Abdullah bin Mas’ud, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said:
لاَ يَمْنَعَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ - أَوْ أَحَدًا مِنْكُمْ - أَذَانُ بِلاَلٍ مِنْ سَحُورِهِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُؤَذِّنُ - أَوْ يُنَادِي بِلَيْلٍ - لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمَكُمْ، وَلِيُنَبِّهَ نَائِمَكُمْ، وَلَيْسَ أَنْ يَقُولَ الفَجْرُ - أَوِ الصُّبْحُ -
"The Adhan of Bilal should not prevent any of you from his Sahur, for he gives the Adhan—or calls—at night to return those of you who are standing (in prayer) and to wake those of you who are sleeping. It is not for him to say it is Fajr—or Subh—"
And he gestured with his fingers, raising them upwards and lowering them downwards until he said like this. Zuhayr said:
بِسَبَّابَتَيْهِ إِحْدَاهُمَا فَوْقَ الأُخْرَى، ثُمَّ مَدَّهَا عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَشِمَالِهِ
"...with his two index fingers, one above the other, then he extended them to his right and left."
Ibn Hajar said: (...and Subh (morning) usually comes after sleep, so it was appropriate to appoint someone to wake the people before its time enters so they can prepare and attain the merit of the beginning of the time, and Allah knows best... likewise his saying "and he gestured with his fingers and raised them" meaning he indicated... his saying "upwards" and likewise "downwards"... it is as if he joined his two fingers and then separated them to depict the description of the true dawn because it rises horizontally and then encompasses the horizon going right and left, unlike the false dawn, which the Arabs call the "tail of the wolf" (dhanab al-sirhan), for it appears in the upper part of the sky and then descends, and to that he indicated by saying he raised and lowered his head...) and "horizontally" means broad and level.
In summary: Since there is no approved schedule for your region, do the following:
At sunset, you break the fast...
When a horizontal whiteness appears that is greater than the state of "partial" darkness which you say you have at night—meaning when you see a noticeable change in it toward horizontal whiteness right and left in the direction of the east—it is the true dawn; so begin Imsak and pray Fajr...
Strive in that as much as you can, exert your effort, seek help from your brothers there and consult them, and break the fast and begin Imsak based on that. Take precaution for yourself during Imsak and Iftar, and Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ
"And He has not placed upon you in the religion any hardship." (QS. Al-Hajj [22]: 78)
And he ﷺ said, in what Al-Bayhaqi recorded in his Sunan al-Kubra:
إِنَّ هَذَا الدِّينَ مَتِينٌ، فَأَوْغِلْ فِيهِ بِرِفْقٍ
"Indeed, this religion is firm, so go deep into it with moderation."
May Allah accept from us, from you, and from the Muslims the fasting and the standing (in prayer), and Allah is with you. 10/8/2011) End of my answer to the question of the brother from Finland.
In any case, if you send clear information about your region, I will answer you, Allah willing.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
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