Fasting should be longer for mountain dwellers

Muslim dwellers on mountains and other high areas in the UAE should not break their fasting in the evening as long as they see the sun even if they hear the Azan (prayers call), according to a new fatwa (Islamic edict). The ruling by Dr. Ahmed Al-Haddad, director of the Fatwa Division in Dubai’s Islamic Affairs Department was in response to queries by Emirati mountain inhabitants and workers on high areas in Fujeirah and Ras Al Khaimah on whether they should have Iftar (evening meal) during Ramadan when they hear Azan, according to the Arabic language daily Emirat Al-Youm. “Those people should not break their fasting as long as they see the sun by their naked eyes…those who have eaten before sunset must fast again after Ramadan to compensate for these days,” Al Haddad said. He said all inhabitants of mountains and other high places in the UAE must wait until the sun sets and break their fasting in Ramadan because eating while the sun has not set means “they have eaten in the middle of the day.” “Any person living in those areas and those who are in high towers and in aircraft must not eat just because they hear Azan…they must wait till the sun disappears before breaking their fasting in Ramadan.”