Burj Khalifa residents must fast a little longer

Muslims residing on top of the 80th floor in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa must delay their evening Iftar meal during Ramadan by two to three minutes as they see the sunset later, according to the Dubai Islamic Affairs Department.

Those residents should also start their daily fasting two minutes earlier on the grounds dawn descends on them before those living on lower levels, the Department said in a Fatwa (edict) published by Emarat Alyoum daily.

“Residents in Burj Khalifa should observe varied timings for iftar, sunset and dawn prayers depending on the level where live,” the paper said, quoting Ahmed Al Haddad, head of the Fatwa division at the department.

He said Muslims living on the 80-150 floors in the 826-metre tower, the world’s tallest structure, should delay their iftar meal by two minutes while those on the 151-160 floors should break their fasting three minutes late.

“Residents on 80-150 floors should also perform evening and night prayers two minutes late and dawn prayers two minutes earlier while those above the 150th level should delay their evening and night prayers by three minutes and bring forward dawn prayers by three minutes,” he said.

“This difference in timing on the 160-storey building is because sun sets later for residents on top floors while these residents are the first to see the sun at dawn.”

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