Muslims in Greenland will fast longest for 17:26 hours, Chileans the shortest at 12:44
In Qatar, fasting hours will be approximately 14 hours
DOHA: As Muslims prepare for the start of the holy month of Ramadan all over the world, believers in various countries will be fasting for a different number of hours or minutes as fasting is done during the daytime, until sunset, Al Sharq reports.
Astronomical calculations indicate that Monday, March 11, 2024 will be the first day of the month of Ramadan in Qatar, though the start of the month will be announced by the Moonsighting Committee at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
The number of fasting hours is related to the length of the day, which in turn depends on latitude. The closer the country is to the North Pole, the longer its fasting hours at this time of the year, and the further south it is from the equator, the shorter the days.
This Ramadan, the city of Puerto Montt in Chile will record the shortest day, as Muslims will fast for 12 hours and 44 minutes, while Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, will witness the longest fasting hours at 17 hours and 26 minutes.
In Qatar, fasting hours will be approximately 14 hours, as the call to dawn prayer will be at 4:31 am while the Maghrib call to prayer will be at 17:44pm, according to the Ramadan calendar for the Hijri year 1445.
All the Gulf countries will have almost the same fasting time.
The first days of Ramadan will record the shortest hours of fasting of the holy month in most Arab and Islamic countries, and the day will gradually lengthen and the last day of Ramadan will be the longest day of the holy month this year.
Among Islamic capitals, Kampala in Uganda records the shortest daylight hours at 13: 17 hours, while the number of fasting hours in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, is 15 hours and 33 minutes.
As for the Arab capitals, Moroni in the Comoros records the shortest fasting hours at 13 hours and 4 minutes, while Rabat in Morocco records the longest day at 14 hours and 23 minutes.
Based on astronomical calculations, the first Wednesday of Shawwal 1445, corresponding to April 10, will be the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
