As places are limited, congregants who are unable to obtain a booking are encouraged to conduct prayers at home and tune in to the live broadcast of the Hari Raya sermon by the Mufti of Singapore, Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir.
Forty-five mosques will offer three sessions of Hari Raya Haji prayer on the morning of 31 July 2020. Another 20 mosques will offer two sessions of Hari Raya Haji prayers. This will mean a total of 8,750 slots available for these prayers.
The Hari Raya Haji sermon by Dr Nazirudin will be broadcast in Malay (with English subtitles) on SalamSG TV as well as on Mediacorp Radio Warna 94.2FM. The Mufti will deliver his sermon after leading prayers at 8.30 am at Masjid Maarof. SalamSG TV and Warna will also broadcast the takbir (تَكْبِير) before the Hari Raya Haji prayer.
For the benefit of the Indian Muslim community, the sermon will also be delivered in Tamil by Masjid Jamae Chulia and Masjid Al Abrar via their Facebook platforms, and on Bisme Radio. Masjid Malabar will broadcast their sermon in Malayalam and for the benefit of Muslim migrant workers, the sermon will also be delivered in Bengali on SalamSG TV at 9.30 am.
This year, Hari Raya Haji falls on a Friday, so there are two congregational prayers for the Muslim community. The Office of the Mufti has advised that those who did not manage to secure a place to perform Hari Raya prayers in mosques can perform it at home with their families. This is similar to the arrangements for Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid Al-Fitr) and families are again encouraged to watch the Hari Raya sermon online.
In relation to Friday prayers, although the majority of scholars from the Shafiee, Hanafi and Maliki schools of thought are of the opinion that Friday prayer is still wajib (وَاجِب, compulsory) for those who have performed Hari Raya prayers on the morning of the day, the Office of the Mufti has advised that this opinion is best applied during normal situations where space and other similar limitations due to the current pandemic are not an issue.
The main priority for the Muslim community is to provide opportunities for as many Muslims as possible to perform Friday prayers, especially those who have not been able to perform them since the resumption of Friday prayers in mosques after the lifting of COVID-19 circuit breaker measures, Muis said. As such, Muslims who are able to secure a slot for the Hari Raya prayer will not need to perform the Friday prayer, and may instead perform the dhuhr prayer (صَلَاة ٱلظُّهْر, midday prayer) and listen to the Friday sermon online.
The 65 mosques currently offering Friday prayers will continue to do so, with the same safety measures in place. As some mosques have started to offer three sessions instead of two, the number of slots available has increased to 9,100.
Individuals who have secured a slot for Friday prayers will not be eligible to obtain a slot for Hari Raya Haji prayers. To provide more opportunities for those who have yet to perform Friday prayers at the mosque, those who have performed Friday prayers prior to 31 July 2020 will also not be eligible to register for a space.
Those who have yet to attain a slot for Friday prayers are still given the flexibility, as advised by the Office of the Mufti, to replace Friday prayers with dhuhr prayers and then tune in to Friday sermons via SalamSG TV.
Muis also asked that congregants who obtained a slot but are unable to come for prayer cancel their bookings, so that others may have an opportunity to register.
All congregants are advised to adhere to the safe management measures in place. This includes not attending if unwell, taking wudhu (ablutions prior to prayers) before coming to the mosque, bringing their own prayer items (prayer mats and a shoe bag), wearing a mask, refraining from talking and physical contact with other congregants while in the mosque, maintaining safe distancing and using the Safe Entry tracing app when entering and exiting the mosques.
Vulnerable individuals - children under 12, those aged above 60, those exhibiting
symptoms of acute respiratory infections as well as those with pre-existing chronic
medical conditions - are strongly
encouraged to refrain from going to the mosque, and to perform their
prayers at home instead.
Details:
Registration for slots for Hari Raya prayers and Friday prayers are open via the MuslimSG app and https://ourmosques.commonspaces.sg. Individuals who have secured a slot for Friday prayers will not be eligible to obtain a slot for Hari Raya Haji prayers.
To provide more opportunities for those who have yet to perform Friday
prayers at the mosque, those who have performed Friday prayers prior to
31 July 2020 not be eligible to register for a Friday prayers space.