Youth in Qatar missing prayers for World Cup
The World Cup soccer matches coinciding with Ramadan this year have left religious and community elders worried as young Muslim men are said to be skipping the late evening and nightly prayers.
Matches are held late in the evening and continue until 1am when it is time for Muslims to focus on prayers and worship during the holy month.
A prominent Muslim cleric, while stressing the importance of nightly prayers (Tharaweeh) during the fasting month, has warned Muslim youth against ignoring these prayers.
Mohamed Al Mahmoud said Ramadan being the month of worship and the fact that it comes once a year, Muslim must spend their time worshipping and reading the Holy Quran rather than watching football, TV serials and other entertainment programmes.
The cleric told Al Sharq in comments published yesterday that World Cup matches were making many Muslims sit at home glued to their TVs and not visit mosques to join prayer congregations.
When it is time for late evening (Isha) and Ramadan-specific nightly prayers (Tharaweeh), people must go to the mosque for prayers. There is absolutely no excuse for a Muslim to skip these prayers.
Sheikh Ahmed Al Buainain, famous Islamic scholar and cleric, in his last Friday sermon, spoke on the issue and urged Muslim youth to not watch World Cup matches live since they are played at the time of ‘Isha’ and ‘Tharaweeh’ prayers.
There are TV channels that record matches and telecast them later, so people should watch these channels, he said.
Sheikh Al Buainain said World Cup matches go on until 1am which is crucial time for prayers during the holy month.
The World Cup will continue until the 18th of Ramadan. In Qatar and other GCC states, Ramadan began on June 29.
The last time World Cup coincided with Ramadan was in 1982.
The Peninsula | Photo by Jemina Legaspi
yup itx very sad .. should watch but prayer time everything is stop close everything and go to prayer time.
what u will say about the companies that they let us work in the same time you mentioned hmmm is it haram ??
its FIFA comes every 4 years its ok for young guys to enjoy it , besides there are many ways to compensate on lost prayers in later times in Islam
Everybody has to set their priorities right. ..................... Wed , 02.07.2014 , 09.30 hrs
@kiwiinqatar1234....hahahaha.. nice one. wonder how they would look like when they are at their old age. By the way, things have changed so much compared to previous years. people don't follow most of the traditions.
Is the photo supposed to depict the notion of what muslim "youth" is? If so, is this what the youth of today look like?
We have a few arabs at work, and one of them said, he does not fast, it is our choice. Actually, it is true, no one should be forced to do anything, unless people realize the value there is no meaning. It applies to any religion. Reading the articles written in the newspapers during ramadan or listening to the religious on QBS about islam, it is beautiful
come on its their personal choice ,who are we to force them
“Playing and watching Football is Haram. Football is an abomination that causes people to waste their time, to adopt the depraved customs of the enemies of Islam, and to glorify “infidel” football players” - Saudi cleric Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman al-Barrak