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Look: 50,000 Dubai residents gather to offer Qiyam prayers on 27th night of Ramadan

Worshippers call it a 'night of solace', speak about how much comfort and peace they derive from these prayers

As many as 50,000 residents, with ages ranging from 15 to well over 80, gathered on the 27th night of Ramadan to perform Qiyam (Tahajjud) prayers in mosques all over Dubai.

A sea of worshippers prayed to Allah for His blessings, mercy and absolution. “The night was of so much comfort, and we modestly prayed to the Almighty to accept our fasting,” said Mohammed Rashid, an octogenarian who accompanied his son and grandson to Yaqub Masjid, Deira.

Qiyam prayers are offered as a form of obedience, to seek forgiveness of sins and pray for a great reward on the Day of Judgement.

Rashid has been offering these prayers wherever he has lived - be it Saudi Arabia, India, or UAE. “I started my Qiyam in 1982 when I was in Jeddah. We travelled to Makkah specially for these prayers. A few times, I could not offer my prayers in the mosques either because of the pandemic or some health issues. However, I made it a point [to pray] in isolation,” said Rashid.

Dubai Quran Reciters

Jassim Mohammed Al Khazarji, Director of the Islamic Institutions Department, and Leader of Dubai Quran Reciters team, said that eight mosques engaged in the Dubai Quran Reciters event. Dubai Quran Reciters includes 84 participants from UAE and abroad (13 non-UAE reciters, 25 UAE reciters, and 44 students from the Al Maktoum Centers for Memorizing the Holy Quran and its Sciences). This programme represented a selected group of known reciters in the Islamic world, GCC, and the Arab world, who came to Dubai particularly to celebrate the blessed nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

“Major mosques engaged in the programme included Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Mosque (Zabeel), Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum Mosque (Zabeel), Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Mosque (Business Bay), Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Mosque (Al Hudaiba), Al Qasr Mosque (Hatta), and Al Qira’at Al Ashr Mosque (Mohamed Khamis Al Badi) in Mirdif,” said Al Khazarji.

Raef Syed, a 15-year-old, joined his family in this long prayer. “My mother wanted me to join the prayers and experience the night of solace. I was sleepy, but the enthusiasm of my cousins, father, and uncles boosted my energy to complete the prayers with them. It is a great experience. I will continue Qiyam in the future, with Allah’s will. I am happy I attended it, and it was not worth missing it,” said Syed.

Mohamed Mehad Alsuwaidi, Director of the Mosques Religious Service Department, said that many Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Departments (IACAD) imams had undergone the necessary tests, and those with the most pleasant voices qualified for the Quran Reciters programme. Fifty Quran reciters were picked from the IACAD imams and assigned to 20 mosques in Dubai.

This comes as part of Ramadan Dubai 1444 Hijri events, organised by the IACAD in Dubai, under the slogan 'Ramadan Dubai With Whom We Care About', and under the sponsorship of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to spread the values of brotherhood, and promote and disseminate the spirit of peaceful coexistence and unity among nationals and residents from foreign communities.

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