President Sheikh Mohamed has called for Salat al-Istisqa, rain prayers, to be held in all mosques across the UAE on Friday, October 17, half an hour before the Friday prayer. The prayers, following the Prophet Mohammed’s sunnah, are performed to ask for rain and divine mercy, particularly during periods of dry weather.
The UAE, with its arid desert climate, typically receives around 150mm of rainfall annually, and additional rain supports agriculture and groundwater reserves. The country has also been using cloud-seeding programs since the 1990s to enhance rainfall, collaborating with international agencies such as NASA and the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.
This year’s dry conditions and relatively low rainfall have prompted the call for prayers, continuing a tradition previously observed in December 2024.