Thousands of worshippers of all ages and nationalities lined up at mosques across the UAE on Saturday to perform Eid Al Adha prayers, while observing measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Eid Al Adha is one of the most significant dates in the Islamic calendar and one of the holiest celebrations.
For Muslims, it represents joy and happiness and gathering with loved ones.
On Saturday, traffic police guided drivers as worshippers rushed to find a parking space.
Around Al Farooq Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque, in Dubai’s Al Safa area, worshipers tried to secure a spot in the mosque.
The entry and exit of worshippers at mosques were supervised by volunteers and imams, to prevent overcrowding and maintain order.
Driven by the imam, worshippers unfolded their hands from their chests and quickly raised them to their heads before kneeling and posturing up again.
Masks remained mandatory indoors.
After finishing the prayer, worshippers kept sitting and listening to the imam who gave a small speech.
“Eid Al Adha represents joy and happiness,” said the imam at Al Farooq mosque.
“People can’t enjoy Eid if their hearts are full of hate for others.”
When the prayers were over, family and friends gathered to greet each other properly.
Mohammed Shafee, a 35-year-old Indian man, was holding the hands of his five-year-old son Mohammed Shams and greeting his friends.
“I make sure every year to bring my family to perform Eid Al Adha prayer. It is a joyful day. It is a must to start the celebration with Eid prayers,” said Mr Shafee.
“I encourage my child to continue the habit of praying.”
For Mohammed Riad, a 47-year-old trading company chief executive from Sri Lanka, performing Eid prayers with his brother became a tradition during his 20-year stay in the UAE.
“This year, my brother brought me to this mosque to perform Eid prayers. Eid is a celebration and gathering with family members. We will go later for sacrifice,” said Mr Riad.
Eid Al Adha's name translates to ‘festival of the sacrifice,’ and it marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
While worshippers were greeting each other, a man distributed Kleicha — traditional cookies in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
“It is our tradition to distribute Kleicha during Eid Al Adha. This day is a source of happiness and joy as we meet with our loved ones to pray and later to sacrifice and gather on meals,” said Salah Al Deen, a 19-year-old student from Iraq who lives near the mosque.
Nabeel Al Khouri, an Emirati resident who has been living in the neighbourhood for nearly 18 years, says he felt the spirit of Eid after hearing the familiar call to prayer and seeing worshippers head to the mosque.
“Eid is a chance to meet with other family members and friends. It is a beautiful atmosphere,” said the 60-year-old.
“We make sure to go in the morning to greet our parents and elderly relatives. It is our tradition.”
Their children, he says, are particularly excited to receive Eid money — or Eiddiyah — from the elders of the family, as is customary during the holiday.
A group of worshippers dressed in white gathered outside the mosque taking pictures and greeting each other.
Mohammed Omran, a 35-year-old Indian employee, said this year Eid Al Adha is different as his two brothers arrived from India on Friday to meet other family members in Dubai after a long break due to the pandemic.
“This is our first Eid gathering since Covid-19. My brothers came from Mangalore city in India to celebrate Eid with me and other family members,” said Mr Omran.
They were planning to make a sacrifice and later will gather around the table for lunch.
“Our mother will make a traditional Mangalore biryani for launch. We will gather around one table to have food. It is a tradition for us,” he said.
As worshippers left the mosque, a group of friends gather talking outside the mosque to decide what they will do next.
Mohammed Shouhil, a 31-year-old Indian salesman, said they are a group of single men and decided to come for Eid prayer before going for breakfast.
“I’m a resident in the UAE for eight years, and every Eid we make sure to have our prayer together and then go to have breakfast. Eid is a peaceful day and we chill and relax during the holiday,” Mr Shouhil said.
Public sector workers will enjoy a long weekend to mark Eid Al Adha.
The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources said the holiday would run from Friday, July 8, until Monday, July 11.
Work will resume on Tuesday, July 12.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
more from Janine di Giovanni
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
Chatham House Rule
A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding, was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”.
The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.
The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
authoritative commentary on world events.
Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
founder, Lionel Curtis, wanted a more scientific examination of international affairs
with a transparent exchange of information and ideas.
That arena of debate and analysis was enhanced by the “Chatham
House Rule” states that the contents of any meeting can be discussed outside Chatham
House but no mention can be made identifying individuals who commented.
This has enabled some candid exchanges on difficult subjects
allowing a greater degree of free speech from high-ranking figures.
These meetings are highly valued, so much so that
ambassadors reported them in secret diplomatic cables that – when they were
revealed in the Wikileaks reporting – were thus found to have broken the rule. However,
most speeches are held on the record.
Its research and debate has offered fresh ideas to
policymakers enabling them to more coherently address troubling issues from climate
change to health and food security.
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%3Cp%3E%22Whatever%20the%20initial%20intent%2C%20what%20took%20place%20at%20many%20of%20these%20gatherings%20and%20the%3Cbr%3Eway%20in%20which%20they%20developed%20was%20not%20in%20line%20with%20Covid%20guidance%20at%20the%20time.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22Many%20of%20these%20events%20should%20not%20have%20been%20allowed%20to%20happen.%20It%20is%20also%20the%20case%20that%20some%20of%20the%3Cbr%3Emore%20junior%20civil%20servants%20believed%20that%20their%20involvement%20in%20some%20of%20these%20events%20was%20permitted%20given%20the%20attendance%20of%20senior%20leaders.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22The%20senior%20leadership%20at%20the%20centre%2C%20both%20political%20and%20official%2C%20must%20bear%20responsibility%20for%20this%20culture.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20found%20that%20some%20staff%20had%20witnessed%20or%20been%20subjected%20to%20behaviours%20at%20work%20which%20they%20had%20felt%20concerned%20about%20but%20at%20times%20felt%20unable%20to%20raise%20properly.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20was%20made%20aware%20of%20multiple%20examples%20of%20a%20lack%20of%20respect%20and%20poor%20treatment%20of%20security%20and%20cleaning%20staff.%20This%20was%20unacceptable.%22%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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%3Cp%3EEtihad%20Airways%20operates%20seasonal%20flights%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20Nice%20C%C3%B4te%20d'Azur%20Airport.%20Services%20depart%20the%20UAE%20on%20Wednesdays%20and%20Sundays%20with%20outbound%20flights%20stopping%20briefly%20in%20Rome%2C%20return%20flights%20are%20non-stop.%20Fares%20start%20from%20Dh3%2C315%2C%20flights%20operate%20until%20September%2018%2C%202022.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Radisson%20Blu%20Hotel%20Nice%20offers%20a%20western%20location%20right%20on%20Promenade%20des%20Anglais%20with%20rooms%20overlooking%20the%20Bay%20of%20Angels.%20Stays%20are%20priced%20from%20%E2%82%AC101%20(%24114)%2C%20including%20taxes.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final
