Sharia Rulings on the Traveler in the Sun’s Direction and Opposite in Prayer and Fasting: the Plane as a Case Study

Abstract

Traveling by plane has become one of the necessities in modern life, but there have been newly-emerging provisions that scholars have to address. Among these provisions are the ones related to prayer and fasting on the plane, which are manifold and numerous. This research is mainly focused on the issue of timing. The first part draws on prayer times and the problems the traveler faces in three cases: the first is when the time between his two prayers surpasses the norms, such as an interval of 16 hours; the second is when the times some prayers cannot be identified; and the third is when time indications are completely defective. The researcher then lists the statements of the jurists on each issue, discusses their proofs, and weighs between them. The second part of the study covers the issue of fasting and the problems the traveller faces, which are three. The first is when the day is very long or very short, extended to 20 hours or shortened to two hours, which is a deviation from the norm in both cases. The second is when it is daytime only or night time only.