Fast - timing of

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 [From March 2d to March 20th, inclusive. The fast is kept by refraining from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.] is a duty to be observed by all. All should abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, 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, par. 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)

To categorize

In High Latitudes the National Spiritual Assembly May Fix Hours of Prayer and Fasting by the Clock.

"Concerning the times for prayer and fasting, it is correct that, in the high latitudes, where the lengths of day and night vary considerably from season to season of the year, it is permissible to observe the laws of prayer and fasting in accordance with the clock rather than with the rising and setting of the sun. As Iceland lies in such latitudes, it is for your Assembly to decide this matter for the believers in your country. All should then abide by whatever your Assembly lays down."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, July 27, 1976: Notes on Obligatory Prayers and Ablutions, A Compilation of the Universal House of Justice, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1531)

Based on Texts in the "Kitab-i-Aqdas" and "Questions and Answers"--The Universal House of Justice Permits Use of Clock

"There are two texts, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and its annexe, which refer to the use of clocks. In the Book itself it is written that in lands where the days and nights are long the hours of prayer shall be determined by reference to clocks and other timepieces. In the 'Questions and Answers', in answer to the more general question whether, in determining time, it is permissible to make use of timepieces, Bahá'u'lláh states that it is permissible.

"Although in the first instance the Sacred Text specifically mentions the use of clocks for determining the times of prayer it does not limit their use to that purpose, and the Universal House of Justice, on the basis of the more general statement in the 'Questions and Answers', has permitted their use also in determining the hours of fasting, leaving the application of the law to the National Spiritual Assembly in each country that lies in the high latitudes.

"In the case of fasting, as Mr. ... correctly comments, there is little difference between sunrise and sunset as observed astronomically and hours of fasting as fixed by the clock, because the fast falls just before the Equinox. However, by this ruling it is possible for the believers in the high latitudes to use the same standard for both prayer and fasting, as well as for fixing the ending of each day in the Bahá'í calendar in determining the time for the starting of each Holy Day and the holding of the Nineteen Day Feasts."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, June 13, 1978: Notes on Obligatory Prayers and Ablutions, A Compilation of the Universal House of Justice, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1532)