People across the UAE are being called to prayer, but not just any kind of prayer: a prayer for rain.
The request comes at a time when Emirati farmers are struggling to irrigate their crops, leading some to to abandon their plots. Unfavorable weather conditions have affected the farming season, the National reported.
On Tuesday, the country’s devout gathered in mosques and musallahs to perform the prayer –locally referred to as Salaat al-Istiqsaa – at the request of President Sheikh Khalifa.
The president called on all Muslims to pray to Allah to bless the land with rain and mercy, in accordance with the Prophet Mohammed’s Sunnah Course.
A total of 300 mosques performed prayers across the country, according to state news agency Wam.
Salat al-Istiqsaa is a sunnah (a verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), and it is performed every year in various Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Forecasters predict mostly sunny skies for the days ahead, but it is still too early to determine whether droughts will affect the region.