UAE To Change Friday Prayer Timings From January 2026

The timing of the Friday prayer across all mosques in the UAE will change from January 2026, the General Authority for Islamic Affairs, Awqaf, and Zakat announced on Tuesday.

Starting Friday, January 2, 2026, Friday prayers will be held at 12.45pm, about 30 minutes earlier than the usual time of 1.15pm in the UAE. The authority urged worshippers to adhere to the new schedule and to arrive early to perform the prayer on time.

The announcement appeared as an alert today on the General Authority of Islamic Affairs on Endowments and Zakat's Friday sermon archive page, stating:

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"O worshippers: The General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, and Zakat announces that starting from Friday, January 2, 2026, not the upcoming Friday, the Friday sermon and prayer will be held at 12.45 PM. Therefore, O worshippers, make sure to perform it at its specified time to ensure reward and blessings."

In 2022, Friday prayers were standardised to 1.15pm to accommodate the government's change to the work-week schedule. The UAE changed its workweek, shifting the public and private sector weekend to Saturday-Sunday from Friday-Saturday. Employees in the public sector also worked half a day on Fridays, allowing them to attend the congregational prayers.

Some companies also allowed employees to work from home on Fridays. In addition, those who want to attend Friday prayers were permitted to take Friday afternoons off, provided they make up the hours between Monday and Friday morning.

Last summer, authorities in the UAE asked imams across the country to cap their Friday sermons and prayer at 10 minutes. The move was meant to protect worshippers from the scorching summer temperatures.

Muslims consider Friday the holiest day of the week, with mosques hosting special congregational prayers called Jumuah.

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