Ramadan: The longest and shortest fasts in the world

Now that the Islamic month of Ramadan has set in, Muslims in South Africa will be fasting between twelve and thirteen hours a day, which is among the shortest in the world.

Ramadan in South Africa officially started last week, after the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) or Council Muslim Theologians announced that following no sighting of the moon on Wednesday, the blessed month of Ramadan will officially begin on Thursday.

This meant Muslims in South Africa started fasting from Friday.

Fasting

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk usually having a predawn meal before the fast begins.

The predawn meal to start the daily fast is called suhoor, while the breaking of one’s fast after sunset is called iftar.

Currently in the City of Johannesburg, fasting begins at about 4.50am and ends at 6.15pm.

The time for starting and ending the fast decreases by a minute or two a day or per week as the country heads towards the winter season.

Ramadan

Ramadan begins 10 to 12 days earlier each year, because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar “Hijri” calendar with months that are 29 to 30 days long.

The number of hours for fasting in the holy month of Ramadan varies from country to country because the sunrise and sunsets occur at different times across different countries, and therefore, the number of daylight hours also differs.

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Fasting, iftar times around the world

Fasting and iftar times varies across the globe.

According to Al Jazeera, Muslims living in the world’s southernmost countries, such as Chile or New Zealand, will fast for an average of 12 hours while those living in northernmost countries, such as Iceland or Greenland, will have 17-plus hours fasts.

Countries with the longest fasting hours

• Nuuk, Greenland: 17 hours
• Reykjavik, Iceland: 17 hours
• Helsinki, Finland: 17 hours
• Stockholm, Sweden: 17 hours
• Glasgow, Scotland: 17 hours
• Amsterdam, the Netherlands: 16 hours
• Warsaw, Poland: 16 hours
• London, UK: 16 hours
• Astana, Kazakhstan: 16 hours
• Brussels, Belgium: 16 hours
• Paris, France: 15 hours
• Zurich, Switzerland: 15 hours
• Bucharest, Romania: 15 hours
• Ottawa, Canada: 15 hours
• Sofia, Bulgaria: 15 hours
• Rome, Italy: 15 hours
• Madrid, Spain: 15 hours
• Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: 15 hours
• Lisbon, Portugal: 14 hours
• Athens, Greece: 14 hours
• Beijing, China: 14 hours
• Washington, DC, US: 14 hours
• Pyongyang, North Korea: 14 hours
• Ankara, Turkey: 14 hours
• Rabat, Morocco: 14 hours
• Tokyo, Japan: 14 hours
• Islamabad, Pakistan: 14 hours
• Kabul, Afghanistan: 14 hours
• Tehran, Iran: 14 hours
• Baghdad, Iraq: 14 hours
• Beirut, Lebanon: 14 hours
• Damascus, Syria: 14 hours
• Cairo, Egypt: 14 hours
• Jerusalem: 14 hours
• Kuwait City, Kuwait: 14 hours
• Gaza City, Palestine: 14 hours
• New Delhi, India: 14 hours
• Hong Kong: 14 hours
• Dhaka, Bangladesh: 14 hours
• Muscat, Oman: 14 hours
• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 14 hours
• Doha, Qatar: 14 hours
• Dubai, UAE: 14 hours
• Aden, Yemen: 14 hours
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: 13 hours
• Dakar, Senegal: 13 hours
• Abuja, Nigeria: 13 hours
• Colombo, Sri Lanka: 13 hours
• Bangkok, Thailand: 13 hours
• Khartoum, Sudan: 13 hours
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 13 hours

Countries with the shortest fasting hours

• Singapore: 13 hours
• Nairobi, Kenya: 13 hours
• Luanda, Angola: 13 hours
• Jakarta, Indonesia: 13 hours
• Brasilia, Brazil: 13 hours
• Harare, Zimbabwe: 13 hours
• Johannesburg, South Africa: 13 hours
• Buenos Aires, Argentina: 12 hours
• Ciudad del Este, Paraguay: 12 hours
• Cape Town, South Africa: 12 hours
• Montevideo, Uruguay: 12 hours
• Canberra, Australia: 12 hours
• Puerto Montt, Chile: 12 hours
• Christchurch, New Zealand: 12 hours

Ramadan greeting

While Muslim countries also have different greeting for Ramadan in their native languages, “Ramadan Mubarak” and “Ramadan Kareem” are the most common greeting to express well-wishes on Muslims.

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