Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said they shortened the traditional Friday prayers until the end of the summer due to intense heat.
In many countries, Muslims perform the Friday noon prayers, which include a religious sermon, in open-air arenas inside and outside the mosques.
The UAE has directed all the preachers across the country to limit the Friday prayers to 10 minutes until early October to ensure the safety of worshippers.
In Saudi Arabia, the presidency of Religious Affairs said that Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina are limited to 15 minutes to accommodate worshippers praying in outer, un-shaded areas.
Meanwhile, in Iraq, influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has urged preachers to “adhere to simple prayers” to keep the Friday sermon short so that worshippers avoid intense heat.
Intense heatwaves have affected people across the Middle East in recent weeks.
More than 1,300 Muslim pilgrims died in the annual Hajj pilgrimage that ended earlier in June amid the extreme heat.
