UAE rains no hurdle as faithful flock to mosques for Friday prayers

As roads and parking lots are submerged under water, many walk to the mosques while a few others resort to pray at home

Thousands of faithful made it to mosques to offer Friday prayers, even as the country was hit by heavy showers right from early in the day.

Many beat traffic, while some walked in pouring rain and submerged roads to make it to mosques as taking their cars out was not an option due to submerged roads.

“The Friday prayers are not advisable to be offered at home —except for extreme cases. However, Friday’s rain was not that extreme, and we could walk to the nearby mosque, albeit with some difficulty due to waterlogged streets,” said Shahbaz Ahmed, a resident of Al Majaz 1, Sharjah.

“The road and footpath near our house were under water, and we had to reach the mosque by walking through the stranded water. We had to wash our feet upon arrival,” said Ahmed.

Aziz Akram, a Deira resident who was on his way back from the office, said: “I wanted to offer my prayers on my way home in Deira. It was about 1.05 pm and I had to reach the mosque in the next 10 minutes. However, I took a detour towards Nad Al Hamar and reached a mosque without missing out on prayers,” said Akram.

Many prayed at their homes

Since many roads and parking slots in Dubai were submerged in water, a few residents preferred to say their Friday prayers at home. “We couldn’t walk to the mosque nor get into our vehicles as the parking area was flooded. So all of us prayed Zohr prayer at home,” said Rameez Kola, a resident of Al Maktoum Road in Deira.

[email protected]