Record 70,000 people pray at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on night of 27th day of Ramadan

A record 70,680 Muslims gathered at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on the night of the 27th day of Ramadan to observe Laylat Al Qadr, a significant night in the Islamic faith.

This is the largest number of worshippers hosted by the mosque since its opening, said state news agency Wam.

Sheikh Khalifa Grand Mosque in Al Ain received a total of 28,850 worshippers on the same night. Among them 25,116 attended tahajjud prayers, while the rest prayed isha and taraweeh.

In addition to the mosque's parking spaces, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque centre allocated an additional 1,800 parking spaces, as well as a shuttle bus service between the car parks and the mosque to reduce traffic congestion.

More than 70 electric cars were also provided, as well as 50 wheelchairs for those with special needs.

What is Laylat Al Qadr?

Laylat Al Qadr – or the Night of Power – is one of the odd-numbered nights during the final 10 days of Ramadan on which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.

An entire chapter is devoted to the Night of Power in the final part of the Quran, in which it is described as "better than a thousand months" where the angels and the holy spirit Gabriel engulfed the Earth.

The exact day of Laylat Al Qadr is not known, but the Prophet Mohammed said it falls in the last 10 nights of the holy month, on an odd-numbered night.

Many Muslims are keen to spend the final 10 nights of the holy month in worship, prayer and acts of kindness.

What is special about Laylat Al Qadr?

The reward for any good deed or act of worship conducted on that night counts as more than carrying out the same act for 1,000 months.

As the Prophet Mohammed once said after Ramadan had begun: "This month has come to you, and in it there is a night that is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it is deprived of all goodness, and no one is deprived of its goodness except one who is truly deprived."

What are Qiyam Al Layl prayers?

The main prayer carried out each evening during Ramadan is the taraweeh. It is an extra prayer that Muslims are advised to carry out at a mosque among fellow worshippers.

Many also perform Qiyam Al Layl – or night prayers – during the last 10 nights. These prayers are often organised after midnight at mosques.

Night prayers are regarded as ideal for asking God for blessings because it is said he is more likely to be listening.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”