Hari Raya Puasa prayers to resume at void decks, public spaces after pandemic-enforced pause

SINGAPORE — Void decks, multi-purpose halls and other public spaces will resume hosting Hari Raya Puasa prayers this year after the activity was paused at these venues during the pandemic.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said on Thursday (April 13) that 20 of these supplementary spaces will be opened up to cater to members of the public with limited mobility.

In response to TODAY's queries, a Muis spokesperson added that the number of these spaces holding Hari Raya Puasa prayers this year — with a total capacity of 10,000 people — is similar to that before the pandemic.

Traditionally, in addition to mosques, the prayers have been held at shared neighbourhood spaces such as void decks, multi-purpose halls and stadiums, organised by ground-up groups called qaryahs.

This practice was halted when the pandemic hit in 2020 and is now resuming.

Muis added that exact number of such additional places fluctuated from year to year depending on the qaryahs’ ability to organise them.

As the approvals for these spaces are currently being processed, Muis will announce the finalised list with their locations sometime next week.

Muis also said on Thursday that mosques nationwide will be offering up to three prayer sessions this Hari Raya Puasa.

It added that five mosques have requested that members of the public book a slot before attending the first prayer session to help them better manage the surge in crowd expected.

Up to 240,000 spaces are available for the prayers in all.

“This is far beyond the spaces normally available for Friday prayer,” said Muis in its statement.

Muslims perform congregational prayers on the morning of Hari Raya Puasa, also known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which is set to fall on April 22 in Singapore.

Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, Mufti of Singapore, appealed to the public to work together with mosque staff and volunteers so that the prayers can proceed in a safe and orderly way.

He said that during the pandemic, the Muslim community has demonstrated the very important values of social responsibility, sacrifice and helping one another.

“And on the morning of Hari Raya… It is a time for us to manifest these values even as we come to the mosque with our families to perform the prayers,” said the Mufti.

Dr Naziruddin said that old practice of filling up “every nook and cranny” for prayers during the peak period was “not necessarily a good thing or safe thing”, and congregants spilling over outside the mosque and performing their prayers at public walkways “should not be encouraged”.

Muis appealed to the public to plan in advance and consider going to less crowded mosques to perform their prayers.

MULTIPLE SESSIONS AND BOOKING AT SELECTED MOSQUES

Of the 68 mosques holding Hari Raya Puasa prayers, 12 will be conducting three sessions starting from 7.15 am. A total of 51 will conduct two sessions, while five will conduct single session prayers.

The five mosques which will require congregants to book a slot before attending the first prayer sessions are: Darul Ghufran, Al-Mawaddah, Salim Mattar, Wak Tanjong and Yusof Ishak.

Booking of slots to attend prayers at mosques was implemented during the pandemic but this practice has largely been stood down.

Muis deputy chief executive Khairul Anwar Mohamed Abdul Alim said: “We still have a few mosques who have come back to us and actually requested to still retain the (booking) system for session one, because of the volume that's expected.”

The booking system can help the mosques plan for staff, volunteers and auxiliary officers that need to be deployed to better manage the crowd, said Mr Khairul Anwar.

He added that each mosque arrived at its own decision to implement the booking system based on their own assessment of various factors such as available manpower and number of access points into the mosque.

Mr Firdaus Khan Jamal Khan, executive chairman of Al-Mawaddah located at Compassvale Bow, one of the mosques deploying the booking system, explained the rationale for the decision.

“We understand the first session is typically crowded. With the booking system, we are able to distribute congregants to the second and third sessions for their own comfort.”

Registration for the prayer slots at these mosques will open on April 18 at 10am. It can be done via the MuslimSG app or at https://prayerbooking.ourmasjid.sg.

Additionally, Muis in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower is working with dormitory operators to arrange prayer sessions  at dormitories and recreation centres to provide additional spaces for Muslim migrant workers.