Fast - timing of

From Bahai9

Timing of the Fast

IV.B."3. Abstinence from food and drink, from sunrise to sunset, is obligatory."

"Abstain from food and drink, from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book.'"

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 17)

"Fast ye for the sake of your Lord, the Mighty, the Most High. Restrain yourselves from sunrise to sunset."

(Bahá'u'lláh, The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting, sec. 1, no. 13)

"The nineteen-day fast is a duty to be observed by all. All should abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. This fast is conducive to the spiritual development of the individual. The Greatest Name should be read every day."

(Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás, p. 57)

"The fasting period...involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, January 10, 1936, in Lights of Guidance, no. 775)

One may rely on clocks in high latitudes instead of the sun (Dublin too far south for this though)

"In regions where the days and nights grow long, let times of prayer be gauged by clocks and other instruments that mark the passage of the hours. He, verily, is the Expounder, the Wise."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, paragraph 10)

"103. QUESTION: Concerning the holy verse: "In regions where the days and nights grow long, let times of prayer be gauged by clocks..."

"ANSWER: The intention is those territories that are remote. In these climes, however, the difference in length is but a few hours, and therefore this ruling doth not apply."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Question and Answer 103)

"64. QUESTION: In determining time, is it permissible to rely on clocks and watches?

"ANSWER: It is permissible to rely on clocks and watches."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Question and Answer 64)

The following from the Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas mentions that prayer may be gauged by timepiece, perhaps indicating that Question and Answer no. 64 refers to prayer

IV.A."11. Determining the times fixed for Prayer:

"a. Reliance on clocks is permissible in determining the times for offering the Obligatory Prayers.

"b. In countries situated in the extreme north or south, where the duration of days and nights varies considerably, clocks and timepieces should be relied upon, without reference to sunrise or sunset."

"This {regarding paragraph 10 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas which allows for prayer times to be gauged by the clock} refers to territories situated in the extreme north or south, where the duration of days and nights varies markedly (Q and A 64 and 103). This provision applies also to fasting."

(Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Note 17)

Note: Lights of Guidance titles the following "Fasting in High Latitudes", but is it possible this quotation is instead referring to prayer (only or also)?

"It is true that Baha'u'llah has ordained in the Kitab-i-Aqdas that in the high latitudes where the duration of days and nights varies considerably clocks should be relied upon rather than the rising and setting of the sun. However, we feel that Dublin is too far south for the application of this law. You should thus judge the end of each day by the actual sunset."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, August 8, 1969, in Lights of Guidance, no. 781)

For sunrise/sunset times, see for example: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html