Worshippers across the UAE will be urged to conserve water and to teach their children not to waste the precious resource during Friday prayers.
The sermon will emphasise that water should never be taken for granted and will point to the hardships of previous generations forced to embark on arduous journeys in search of it. The message will be delivered at mosques nationwide as the UAE steps up efforts to address water security challenges both at home and abroad.
The 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal, will be held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) from December 8 to 10.
“Every drop of water wasted without need is the misuse of a magnificent blessing and a failure to honour a trust that Allah has placed in our hands,” the sermon says. It asks worshippers to imagine those travelling through the desert in search of a single drop of water or digging among rocks in the hope of finding even a small quantity.
The sermon will also highlight the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, launched under the directives of President Sheikh Mohamed, and its Water Pioneers Programme, which seeks to involve young Emiratis in developing solutions to water challenges.
“Water is a blessing for which we must give thanks, a trust that we must preserve, and a future resource that we must protect for our children and the generations to come,” worshippers will be told.
The sermon, titled We Made from Water Every Living Thing, draws on verses from the Quran to describe water as the foundation of life. It tells of the role water plays in everything from drinking and agriculture to the growth of trees and crops and the greening of the land.
“And We made from water every living thing,” it quotes from the Quran. The sermon says gratitude for water should extend beyond words and be demonstrated through the way people use it.
“We must use it wisely and refrain from wasting it,” worshippers will be told, alongside the Quranic instruction: “Do not be wasteful, for He does not love the wasteful.”
It also points to the Prophet Mohammed's own careful use of water, saying he would perform ablution with approximately the amount held by two average cupped hands, or roughly half a litre.
“If this was the Prophet's moderation when purifying himself for worship, how much more mindful should we be in other uses of water?” it says.
People will be encouraged to make responsible water use a central focus of family life. “Be an example in this regard to your children,” the sermon says.
The second part of the sermon connects the religious principle of avoiding waste with the UAE's wider efforts to address water scarcity.
It highlights the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, stating that it was established to increase awareness of water scarcity, accelerate innovation in finding solutions and encourage sustainable management of water.
