Saudi Senior Scholars Urge Muslims Worldwide to Pray at Home during Ramadan over Virus

Saudi Arabia's highest religious body urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to combat coronavirus. (AFP)
Saudi Arabia's highest religious body urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to combat coronavirus. (AFP)
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Saudi Senior Scholars Urge Muslims Worldwide to Pray at Home during Ramadan over Virus

Saudi Arabia's highest religious body urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to combat coronavirus. (AFP)
Saudi Arabia's highest religious body urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to combat coronavirus. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during the holy fasting month of Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to combat coronavirus, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Sunday.

"Muslims shall avoid gatherings, because they are the main cause of the spread of infection...and shall remember that preserving the lives of people is a great act that brings them closer to God," it said in a statement.

Public gatherings include mass prayers and breaking fast and suhour meals.

Ramadan is set to begin next week.

The council recommended that Muslims perform regular and Taraweeh (optional evening) prayers at home if their country advised them to do so due to the virus outbreak.

Muslims must set an example in how to fully respect preventive measures in their countries, added the council. Islamic Sharia allows for different forms of worship whereby the worshipper can do no harm to himself and others.

Earlier this week, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh said that Muslim prayers during Ramadan and for the subsequent Eid al-Fitr feast should be performed at home if the coronavirus outbreak continues.

Saudi Arabia in mid-March stopped people performing their five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer inside mosques as part of efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

On Thursday, the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy city of Madinah said it was banning events which dispense evening meals in the mosque to those in need during Ramadan to break their daily fast.



Saudi Arabia Demands End to Israeli Violations in the Region 

Palestinians look at the damage of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians look at the damage of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
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Saudi Arabia Demands End to Israeli Violations in the Region 

Palestinians look at the damage of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians look at the damage of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

Saudi Arabia condemned the ongoing violations committed by Israel, including forced displacement, unlawful annexation, settlement expansion, and repeated assaults on unarmed civilians, which it described as “blatant breaches of all principles of international law.”

Permanent Representative to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva Ambassador Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila delivered the remarks before the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday. The council was meeting for a session on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.

Khothaila stressed the “Kingdom’s firm position that a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause cannot be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and establishing an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

“The Kingdom calls on the international community to assume its moral and legal responsibilities to halt the escalating Israeli crimes and violations in the region,” he added.

He urged “support for international efforts aimed at an immediate cessation of military escalation that threatens the security of civilians, as well as regional and international stability and peace.”