Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
The late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was laid to rest on Wednesday afternoon at the Umm Hurair cemetery in Dubai after funeral prayers were offered at Zabeel Mosque.
The funeral was led by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai along with Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation.
Also present at the funeral were Sheikh Saeed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council; and sons of the decseased Sheikh Rashid, Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Maktoum; Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Co-existence; along with a number of Sheikhs.
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry of the UAE, passed away on Wednesday.
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid was the brother of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
He passed away at the age of 75, after several months of illness.
Sheikh Mohammed shared the sad news on Twitter, “We belong to God and to Him we shall return ... May God have mercy on you, my brother, my support and my companion.”
Mohammed Bin Rashid, Sheikh Hamdan and Maktoum Bin Mohammed performed funeral prayers for the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the Zabeel Mosque.
This photo shows Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. File/WAM
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said, “Today we lost one of the loyal men of the Emirates after a life full of giving and sincere patriotic action... May God have mercy on my brother Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid, and may He reward him with the best reward for what he offered to his country and its people.. I console myself and my brother Mohammed Bin Rashid and the honourable Maktoum family... may God grant them patience and solace.”
Dubai announced 10 days of mourning and flags will be flown at half-mast from Wednesday. The emirate also suspended work in departments and institutions for a period of three days, starting from Thursday.
Prayers for the deceased will be restricted to family members due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The absentee prayer will be performed for Sheikh Hamdan in the country's mosques today after the Maghrib prayer.
Mohammed Bin Rashid, Sheikh Hamdan perform funeral prayers at Zabeel mosque.
Sheikh Hamdan was born on Dec.25, 1945. He was the second son of late Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
In 1971, Sheikh Hamdan was appointed as the first Finance Minister of the UAE, a post he held until his death in 2021.
His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, expressed heartfelt condolences to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and to Al Maktoum's family, on the death of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, praying to Allah the Almighty to rest his soul in Paradise and to grant patience and solace to his family.
His Highness Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman. expressed heartfelt condolences to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and to Al Maktoum's family, on the death of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, praying to Allah, the Almighty, to rest his soul in Paradise and to grant patience and solace to his family.
Sheikh Hamdan's body being carried to final resting place.
His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, has expressed his great sorrow on the death of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the brother of Sheikh Mohammed.
In a statement, the Ras Al Khaimah Ruler asked Allah Almighty to rest the deceased in peace and grant the Al Maktoum family patience and solace.
The Court of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, mourned the death of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The Fujairah Ruler expressed heartfelt condolences to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and to Al Maktoum's family, on the death of Sheikh Hamdan, praying to Allah, the Almighty, to rest his soul in Paradise and to grant patience and solace to his family.
His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Rashid Al Mu'alla, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, expressed heartfelt condolences to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and to Al Maktoum's family.
A ten-day mourning has been declared in the emirate and flags will be flown at half-mast during this period. Work will be suspended in the local departments in the emirate for three days, starting from tomorrow, Thursday.