The same question, almost in the same form, not mentioning the Pulu region, but in a sense the same question was asked of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wa sallam himself. He mentioned once that times may come when you will find a day lasting for about six months. So Sahaba were surprised, how could it happen that the ordinary human day could extend as long as about six months? So one of them, like you, asked this question, what about the prayers? He said, shall we say five prayers in six months time?
So you have asked it in a different way, which is impossible anyway, because you could not keep fast for six months anyway. His question was more logical, because obviously a man cannot keep fast for six months and still survive, but in six months time one can say five prayers, all right, that was possible. So Huzoor-e-Akram sallallahu alaihi wa sallam replied, no, you will judge your prayers or you will say your prayers, judging the time according to your normal days, that is what he said.
So in 24 hours you should say your five times prayers, because in your physical needs you do not change the pattern, because the day has enlarged. In physical needs if you eat five times you will continue to eat five times per 24 hours. So why should you say only prayers five times in six months? They are also your spiritual needs, like your physical needs. My question was following on from that, because I was going to say that in the polar regions they obviously have to fix a time for the fast, but my question was really that in regions near to the polar regions, where the days are consistently six months long, but it is very very long and there is only one or two hours in a night. That also has been made very clear in the Holy Quran itself.
Now if you read the conditions which govern the time of fasting, when you begin the fasting and end the fasting, you will come to realize that there are certain conditions mentioned in the Holy Quran which do not apply to such regions where the days are extended beyond normal time. For example it says when the white thread is distinguishable from the dark thread. Now the regions you are talking about, there the darkness of night never occurs. The twilight joins with the another twilight and there is never a separating dark thread. So because the conditions mentioned in the Holy Quran are not applicable, so that day is not normal. And there you are making a judgment or finding out the proper time according to the normal days, is your choice then. You have got the answer all right or no? Or a third question arises from this. Yes please. Maybe we are saying for example 18 or 19 hours not. No, no, no question of counting them in hours, no, no.
The simple question is if the conditions mentioned in the Holy Quran are applicable to a certain measure of time which you call day, then you cannot change them however long the trial be. Because on the other side you will also get very short rosaz as well you know. Fasting time of 2-3 hours or so. So you should not gain in every respect, sometimes you lose, sometimes you gain. And anyway even for 24 hours or 23 hours man can live without food. It’s not extending beyond his limits.
So the fundamental point is that if the Holy Quran mentions clearly certain conditions and those conditions are in existence, then you have no right to forget those conditions and begin to deviate from the clear path laid down by Allah. If the conditions are not there then you are permitted. So in the 6 months day the conditions disappear. This is why it says that you are permitted to make your own estimates and judgements.
