Today is noon only
The change comes on January 3, following a weekend holiday in the country. Earlier, Fridays and Sundays were holidays in the UAE. The Friday holiday here, as in many other Muslim countries, was part of the preparation for Friday prayers for the faithful. However, the holiday was postponed to Saturday with the aim of coinciding with the international weekend as a major business hub. This is because it is more convenient to do business with international business organizations. Meanwhile, working hours will be until 12 noon on Friday as part of the facility for Friday prayers.
Friday prayers in all churches at 1.15 p.m.
Currently, the new weekend holiday system is for government offices and institutions. According to this, the Friday prayer time has been fixed at 1.15 for the convenience of those working in government institutions. From now on, Friday prayers will start at this time only in all churches. The aim is to allow believers who have finished work at 12 noon to arrive at the church slowly. It is customary to call the Jumuah Bank earlier and start praying at the appointed time. Due to this the time of Friday prayers will also vary according to the time of the bank. However, according to the new system, Friday prayers will start at 1.15 pm whenever the bank calls.
Change in school working hours
Unusually for schools in the country, today is a working day till noon. Although the law only applies to government schools, private schools across the country follow the same pattern. So the working day will be reduced to four and a half days. Schools use a variety of methods to make up for lost time due to Friday afternoon breaks. While some institutions rely on online study on Friday afternoons, some institutions make up for the loss by extending school hours by a few hours on other days.
Friday is a full holiday in Sharjah
In all other emirates of the UAE, Friday is a working day until noon but things are different in Sharjah. Instead of running offices and schools until noon, the Sharjah government has decided to close the entire holiday on Friday. So, here are four working days and three days off. There will be no change in the Friday prayer time in Sharjah as Friday is a full holiday. The time of 1.15 does not apply here. Most of the private companies have switched to the new holiday mode in line with the government holiday in the UAE. However, instead of taking a day off on Friday afternoon, many will return to work after a break from attending Friday prayers. The government had earlier said it would switch to work-from-home mode for those in need by Friday afternoon.
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