Duration of Friday’s sermons at UAE mosques to be maximum 10 minutes during summer

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat has directed all khatibs (preachers) of mosques nationwide to limit the duration of Friday’s khutbah (sermon) to 10 minutes, including prayer. This is effective from Friday, June 28, until the beginning of October.

The objective of this directive is to ensure the safety of worshippers and to prevent hardship for those who visit mosques, especially during the summer months when temperatures are high.

The sermons usually last for 20 minutes for the main weekly prayers on Fridays but can run even longer, with large crowds gathering outside mosques at midday.

The decision was aimed at ensuring "the safety of worshippers... especially during the summer months," the statement said.

It coincides with UAE authorities' efforts to avoid heat strokes and other complications.

The Authority explained that facilitation is a well-established approach in the tenets of true Islamic religion, which considers the protection of the individual and the preservation of health as one of the five imperatives of religion, the soul, money, offspring and the mind.

This indicates that this measure is in accordance with the approach of the country and its sagacious leadership, which places a particular emphasis on the preservation of the health of individuals through the enactment of legislation and organised laws that promote this aspect.

From June until September, the UAE prohibits work under direct sunlight and in open-air areas between noon and 3:00 pm as part of a longstanding "midday break" policy widely adopted across the country.

Saudi Arabia also has reduced the duration of Friday prayers and sermons to 15 minutes at the Two Holy Mosques during the summer.