To accommodate the new working week, Friday prayers will begin at 1.15 pm across the UAE, the government said on Tuesday. Depending on the season, Friday prayers often begin at dhuhr — between noon and 12.30 pm.
On Tuesday, the government announced that Saturday and Sunday will be the new weekends for public-sector employees and that Friday will be a half-day, with work beginning at 7.30 a.m. and finishing at midday. The ruling will go into effect on January 1, 2022.
To provide government employees enough time to attend Friday prayers at a mosque, the dhuhr prayer time has been pushed ahead by nearly an hour, with the sermon commencing at 1.15 pm. The discourse in the mosque precedes Friday prayers, which are followed by Jumaa prayers. “This decision was based on fixing the timing of the prayer for 1.15 pm throughout the year,” the government said.
