Fatwa ID: 05972
Answered by: Shaykh Ahmed Bin Mohamed Umarji
Question:
When a country sunsets and then rises again after an hour, is Isha fard in this country? And in Ramadan is Taraweeh also incumbent?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In the case where the sun sets and rises again after an hour, the shafaq does not completely set.
In such a case, the times will be estimated and salah will be performed accordingly. There are three ways of estimation:
- a) The calculation for the last day of the normal days of the year will be applied to all the abnormal days. Salah and other acts of worship will then be carried out accordingly. (However, it is very difficult to do this. For example, there was an eight-minute gap between the setting of the shafaq and the rising of the dawn. It is very difficult to keep waiting for eight minutes and performing the salah within this time).
- b) Follow the timings of the closest country where the shafaq sets normally.
- c) When the shafaq inclines towards the setting, it will be the time for Maghrib and Isha. The first half of this time will be for Maghrib and the second half for ‛Isha. When the shafaq inclines towards the rising of the sun, it will be the time for Fajr.
Whichever of these three is easiest may be practised.1
With regards to Taraweeh which is sunnah, if the time is very short and there is no time to perform the Sunnah and optional salah, one will have to suffice with the compulsory salah. The missed Sunnahs may be performed at other times as optional salah.2
Only Allah knows best
Written by Shaykh Ahmed Bin Mohamed Umarji
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 Fatawa Darul Uloom Zakariyya Volume 2 Page 29
2 Ibid
