Puasa 18 jam di Sweden & 13 jam 1/2 di Malaysia

Sweden's long summer days are presenting a challenge to Muslims fasting for Ramadan. Religious leaders say the long hours of daylight are not a good excuse to skip the fast.

In northern Sweden, where dawn on Wednesday broke at 2:46 am, Muslims are expected to fast for over 18 hours, compared to only 13 hours in Mecca, for instance.Mikael Sundin, a board member of the Association of Muslims in Umea, said living so far north presented certain challenges:
"It's even more extreme here that it is in Stockholm. But most Muslims up here are following the official times. I'm going to follow the times and see how it goes," he told The Local.

In many Muslim countries, the fast is often broken in the evening with long and elaborate meals. But with some Swedish Muslims experiencing only a few hours of darkness, this becomes harder to do.

Imam Mahmoud Khalfi at Stockholm Mosque told The Local that the principles of fasting at Ramadan were clear:

"There is still day and night, so Muslims should follow the rule that you fast during the hours of daylight."

In those circumstances, says Mahmoud Khalfi, Muslims are allowed to follow the patterns of nearest city in which it gets dark."There are also those who say you should follow the patterns of Mecca," he said, and pointed out that there were different schools of thought within Islam on exactly how the fast should be observed.

(sumber dari IslamiCity.com)

( Aduhai....Musim panas yang melanda Sweden menyebabkan Ramadhan kali ini menghadapi siang hari yang begitu panjang sehingga mencecah 18 jam. Berkata ketua agama di sana ini bukanlah satu alasan untuk berbuka sebelum waktunya. Setengah tempat di Sweden lebih ketara dapat lihat malam hanya beberapa jam sahaja.)

Masjid Zahir Alor Setar

Tetapi di Malaysia kita hanya berpuasa di siang hari lebih kurang 12 jam setengah. Ini adalah kebiasaan pada seluruh tempat di Malaysia. Oleh itu kita perbanyakkan syukur kepada Allah Ta'ala dengan nikmat-nikmat yang di anugerahkan kepada kita.