Muzaffar Habib, a resident of Dubai, hurried from his nearby work site to a mosque in the Zabeel neighbourhood on Friday, June 28, at around 1:20 p.m., to pray the special congregational prayers for Jum’uah. The labourer knew he would only find a spot in the sun, so he wore a small scarf to cover his head.
The new UAE directive capping the Friday sermon at ten minutes made him very happy. “After the prayers, the khutbah (sermon) lasted only seven minutes,” he told Khaleej Times. For those like me who frequently have to rush from our workplaces to get to the mosque, it was a huge relief. Standing in this heat under the sun has become intolerable. The summertime here seems hotter than usual, in my opinion.
Authorities in the UAE requested on Thursday that imams nationwide limit their Friday sermon and prayer to ten minutes, at least, until October. The order was issued after the nation’s temperature surpassed 50 degrees.
Mohammed Ali, an expatriate Jordanian, was taken aback by the brief khutbah during the prayers held in a Jumeirah mosque. “I was taken aback by how swiftly the khutbah concluded as I was not aware of the news,” he remarked. However, I heard the people seated next to me talking about it. I believe the UAE government made a wise choice and that it will provide much-needed relief to people during this hot weather. It demonstrates that the people are the authorities’ top priority.
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