Is it permissible for one who resides in a country where the night is three hours long to break his fast according to the time of the Makkah Haram?

The questioner : I do not know whether I should take the time of the congregation or not.

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner: The Muslims in Sweden, a European country, have only three hours for breaking their fast in Ramadan. That is, the sun sets at ten and rises at one.

The Shaykh : And where?

The questioner : In Sweden, the Muslims have only three hours to break their fast, and they fast for twenty-one hours. So they found hardship, as one of the brothers conveyed to me that some have issued a fatwa for them to fast and break their fast according to the time of the Makkah Haram. Does this fatwa have any basis?

The Shaykh : We do not see this fatwa as correct; because we reverse the matter and say that a season will come for them in which the situation is reversed, so they will fast for three hours or close to that, and break their fast for the rest of the twenty-four hours. Is that clear?

The questioner : I do not think so...

The Shaykh : Are you studying anything called geography?

The questioner : Yes, meaning a little.

The Shaykh : Okay, do you not know that in the North Pole the sun sets for half a year continuously, and they do not see it, and the other half is the opposite of that? Do you know this or not?

The questioner : My knowledge of geography is weak.

The Shaykh : So you do not know this. This is a known matter. Between this and that, there are seasons in those countries. That is, one who is at the poles experiences night for half a year, and in contrast, day for half a year. This leads to the question of what they do. But those who are below them, and closer to us, toward the equator, the closer they are to us, the more moderate their time becomes. Do you know that at the equator the night and day are exactly equal?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, but as one moves away or approaches, the situation changes. So a time will come in those countries corresponding to the twenty hours, or the twenty-one hours they fast, and corresponding to them three hours of breaking the fast. After half a year, the opposite will occur. Therefore, we tell them that their calculation is saved for what is to come, and we do not issue a fatwa for them to fast according to their proximity. Because for these people, the verses apply: Unlike those we told you about in the North Pole, who do not see the sun at all, no dawn, no night, or anything. So these people estimate it, as explicitly stated in the authentic hadith of the Dajjal, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he informed his companions about , the question came: How will the prayer be? He said: . So for this long year, the Muslims must estimate according to what? According to what was customary for them. Now, with the existence of clocks, it is very easy to estimate. If we suppose that the Muslims are hit by a dark night lasting the whole year, and the night and day become mixed, and this occurs, as we said earlier, at the North and South Poles, this requires estimation. But every country where the sun rises and sets, and the dawn that follows from that, these people must fast, even if the duration of fasting is long for them. Our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says in the Noble Qur'an: . What Allah wills for us is hardship, and praise be to Allah. But if this situation occurs in some countries, they will receive double the relief in return for that extra hardship. This is my answer, and it is the correct one, if Allah wills.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.