Imam overslept, missed Friday prayers

Manama: A Saudi religious department is looking into how the congregation at a mosque in the northern region of Hael found themselves in a situation where they had to offer regular prayers on Friday noon instead of the weekly Friday prayers.

The Friday prayers include a sermon featuring two speeches and a shorter prayer. However, when the lead imam of the mosque in Al Borj failed to show up, the worshippers, after waiting for him, decided on the afternoon prayers that are meant for the other six days.

Omar Al Haddad, the head of the department under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in the region, said that the imam had overslept and that it was too late to find a substitute by the time he woke up, Saudi daily Al Sharq reported.

The muezzin at the mosque led the worshippers during the noon prayers but there were no sermons given on the day.

However, worshippers voiced their displeasure about missing the Friday prayers and the department said it would take necessary action.

The imam came in for stinging criticism for missing the Friday prayers and some people were also critical of the group of worshippers for failing to find someone to deliver a short sermon.