UAE weekend change: New Friday prayer timings from January 2022 announced

Dubai: UAE announced on Tuesday that it will transition to a four-and-a half-day working week, with Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday forming the new weekend. All Federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1, 2022.

The authorities added that with this move, the UAE has become the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week.

How will the new decision affect Friday sermons and prayers?

In a detailed document released by the UAE Government Media Office, the new weekend and how it would affect various aspects of life in the UAE were explained. As per the announcement, Friday sermons and prayers across the UAE will be held from 1.15 pm throughout the year. The working day on Fridays, as stipulated, will begin at 7.30am and end at 12pm. Government staff will have the flexibility to make arrangements to work from home on Fridays, as well as to arrange their working hours on a flexi-time basis.

Update: On December 30, 2021, the Department of Islamic Affairs in Sharjah announced that the Friday sermon and prayer timing in the emirate will not change even after the new weekend of starts in the UAE. This is because the Sharjah government announced that Emirate would be switching to a four-day work system with a three-day weekend, including Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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