President Sheikh Mohamed calls for rain prayers on Friday

Salaat Al Istisqaa prayers to be performed across the Emirates

Rain prayers are to be held in all mosques in the UAE on Friday. Photo: Presidential Court

Rain prayers are to be held in all mosques in the UAE on Friday, November 11, President Sheikh Mohamed has said.

Known as Salaat Al Istisqaa, they are performed across the country to pray to Allah to bless the nation with rain and mercy, the Prophet Mohammed’s sunnah says.

They will take place 10 minutes before Friday prayers and will be attended by the president or one of his officials.

The tradition is performed across the Gulf when rainfall is delayed. An order is issued for the prayers to be performed, says the sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed, by a nation’s leader or head of state.

Rain is forecast in parts of the UAE in the next week, particularly in northern and coastal regions, the National Centre of Meteorology said.

Monday is likely to see rain in the east, and it will be cloudy early on Tuesday with light winds from the south-east, freshening from the north to around 25km per hour.

Farming in the UAE's green emirate: in pictures

Ragisudhish Guruvaywoor, 42, a microbiologist, in the vegetable gateway she and her husband created at Green Heaven Farm and Camping, Sharjah. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The couple created the site to evoke the nostalgia of rural Kerala for the UAE's Indian diaspora.

Sudheesh Guruvaywoor and his wife Ragisudhish want their visitors to experience something of their homeland, Kerala, which is known for its lush greenery, paddy fields, bodies of water and age-old traditions.

A woman enjoys a nostalgic Kerala experience at Green Heaven Farm and Camping in Sharjah.

Because many people could not travel back to India because of Covid, Sudheesh created this unique space, where visitors can enjoy the nostalgia and educate their children about South Indian culture and heritage, including farming techniques.

Planting seeds at Green Heaven Farm and Camping, Sharjah.

A visitor treads a large water wheel over a small stream used for irrigating the paddy fields at the site, an ancient practice from India.

Rice grown at Green Heaven Farm.

A little girl feeds a cow at the farm.

The tea and traditional snack stall at Green Heaven Farm.

A family taking photographs at the swing at the main entrance to the farm.

Another photo opportunity on a traditional wooden boat in a pond at Green Heaven Farm and Camping.

Visitors can experience a little bit of Kerala at Green Heaven.

Grinding spices with a large traditional mortar and pestle, still used in many parts of India.

Watering is essential for the vegetable section of the farm.

Views like this make it hard to believe one is in Sharjah, and not Kerala.

Doves at Green Heaven.

Sudheesh Guruvaywoor has always had a keen interest in farming and opened the site in January 2022. He still works on the farm most mornings.

Young visitors draw water from a well using a rope and bucket from a well, similar to the experience of their peers in Kerala.

The garden gateway feature at the farm.