Mosques to hold 3 sessions of Hari Raya prayers for 100 people each

Bookings for the special Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayer sessions will open at 10am on May 11, 2021. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

SINGAPORE - Mosques here will conduct three sessions of the special Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayers for 100 congregants each, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said on Friday (May 7).

Bookings for the prayer sessions, which will take place on the morning of Hari Raya next Thursday, will open at 10am next Tuesday.

They can be made via this website or the Muslim.sg app, both of which will display the number of available places at each mosque.

Each session will have 100 congregants, split into two zones of 50 people each.

Muis said the customary Hari Raya sermon, which is usually given at the prayers, will be broadcast on SalamSG TV, a YouTube channel managed by Muis that provides religious messaging and guidance, as well as lifestyle and motivational content.

The announcement of the Hari Raya prayer sessions comes amid Singapore's tighter measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 after a recent spate of community cases.

On Wednesday, Muis announced that mosques here would be scaling back on the number of worshippers allowed to attend congregational prayers.

The number of congregants allowed at mosques for each congregational prayer session will be scaled back to 100 people from Saturday - down from 250 now. The 100 people will have to be placed into two zones, with 50 people in each.

It will apply to daily congregational prayers, Friday prayers, the special terawih and qiyamullail prayers that take place during the ongoing fasting month of Ramadan, as well as the Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayer.

Muis said on Friday that SalamSG TV will also be broadcasting the takbir raya, or communal prayer calls, next Wednesday. It will be led by Singapore's highest Islamic authority, Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir.

This is the second year that the festival, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is being celebrated here with safe management restrictions. It fell on May 25 last year during Singapore's circuit breaker period.

Muis said on Friday that while more activities are allowed this year, the Muslim community should not let its guard down and usher in Hari Raya responsibly.

"Our community has shown great resilience and responsibility throughout Ramadan in fulfilling our religious obligations. Understandably, many are sad and disappointed, but the new and more contagious variant is a grim reminder that we are still in a pandemic situation," said Dr Nazirudin.

"Let us make this Hari Raya season a very safe one where we are vigilant, resilient and united. When we follow the safety measures, we are keeping our society and our country safe. As we do so, others will recognise our religion as a religion that protects the well-being of others."

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