Rabat – Morocco and other Gulf countries including Qatar will see the longest day of the year on Wednesday, June 21, the third year in a row that the summer solstice has fallen during Ramadan.
President of the Rabat Association of Astrology Abdelhafiz Bani, told Alyaoum24 that the fast on Wednesday marks the 27th night of Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr, and the fast will last for 16 hours and 22 minutes.
Baninoted that the phenomenon of the longest day of the year falling during Ramadan is repeated every two or three years in thirty years. It will not happen again in Morocco until 2048 (or 1740 in the Islamic calendar).
After the summer solstice, the sun will begin to move south again and the daylight hours will slowly decrease until the autumn equinox on September 23.
Translated as the Night of Power or Night of Destiny, Laylat al-Qadr is the night Muslims believe that the first verses of the Quran were revealed to prophet Muhammad. Since Muslims believe that God decides people’s fate for the following year on this night, many pray throughout the night for mercy, forgiveness and salvation.
