Photo: ecopetit.cat
During this holy month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast for a full lunar month, and some of them will have an easier time than others. This is because the fasting duration is not limited to just one timespan for every Muslim worldwide.
So how exactly do we determine the duration of our fast?
Basically, the fasting begins at the Fajr prayer just before dawn and is broken with the call to Maghrib prayer. This year in Malaysia, we are required to fast for around 13.5 hours, which may sound like a long time, but it by no means is the longest period for a country!
Fasting times may differ in each country or city across the globe as prayer times play a major role in determining the duration of the fast in a certain location.
Some cities experience more hours of daylight than others, which also acts as a contributing factor.
With that in mind, the list below shows some of the longest estimated fasting hours in cities around the world for the year 2020.
- Nuuk, Greenland: 20 hours
- Oslo, Norway: 20 hours
- Helsinki, Finland: 20 hours
- Stockholm, Sweden: 19 hours
- Berlin, Germany: 19 hours
- Ottawa, Canada: 17 hours
- Copenhagen, Denmark: 18.5 hours
- Warsaw, Poland: 18.5 hours
- London, UK: 18.5 hours
- Zurich, Switzerland: 18 hours
As for the cities with the shortest estimated fasting hours, Wellington, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Canberra, and Santiago all share a fasting duration of around 11.5 hours.
The fasting hours mentioned may vary and will change over time, but what doesn’t change is the holiness of Ramadhan itself and the joys of fasting, regardless if you fast for 20 hours or 11 hours.
Ramadan Kareem and happy fasting!
By: Amy Shariffudin
