With the month of Ramzan just around the corner, Muhammad bin Salman bans Iftar inside the premises of the mosques. The decision follows concerns over maintaining cleanliness in the mosque.
As per the royal decree, a special place in the courtyard should be designated for iftars. The order also instructs people to clean the mosque as soon as they finish the iftar. Another reason to ban iftar in mosques is to prohibit muezzins and imams from collecting funds for iftars. Ministry of Islamic Affairs issued several instructions related to mosques during the blessed month of Ramadan 1445 AH.
“The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance issued a set of instructions and directives for preparing mosques before the blessed month of Ramadan and emphasizing the regulations and instructions for mosque employees in all regions of the Kingdom to serve worshipers and achieve the Ministry’s mission and general goals, coinciding with the approaching of Ramadan for the year 1445 AH.”
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“The Ministry requires employees of mosques, including imams and muezzins, to be regular in attendance their work and not to be absent during the blessed month of Ramadan. The Ministry also stressed not to use cameras in mosques to photograph the imam and worshipers during the performance of prayers, which affects the worshipers’ reverence, as well as not to broadcast prayers in media.”
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“The directive also included an emphasis on muezzins to adhere to the times of the call to prayer according to the Umm al-Qura calendar, and an emphasis on the time for raising the call to prayer for Isha prayer at the time specified in the Umm al-Qura calendar for the month of Ramadan, and that the period between the call to prayer and iqamah be according to the time approved for each prayer, with the exception of the evening and dawn prayers. The duration during the month of Ramadan is “ten minutes” to facilitate on the worshipers,” the statement read further.
It also prohibited mosque staff including muezzins and imams from collecting funds from worshippers for any reason.
“The Ministry stressed that imams and muezzins in various regions of the Kingdom not to collect financial donations for Iftar projects for fasting people and other projects, and that Iftar projects should not be carried out inside mosques out of concern for their cleanliness, so the appropriate place should be prepared for this in the courtyards of mosques, without creating any temporary rooms or tents or the like for this purpose, and that Iftar should be held under the responsibility imams and the muezzins, with the obligation of the one who prepare iftar to clean the place immediately after finishing the breakfast.”
“After its statement emphasizes the mosque servants, maintenance and cleaning institutions of the necessity of ensuring the cleanliness of the mosque, and women’s prayer rooms and working to prepare them, and for observers to intensify their field trips to follow up on the work of cleaning and maintenance companies and the compliance of mosque employees with instructions,” said a comprehensive set of guidelines at the conclusion.