RIYADH – Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Sheikh on Wednesday urged the believers to offer funeral prayers in the premises of cemeteries. "This was the custom, which has been followed ever since the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions. There had been places designated for offering prayers at cemeteries and they offered prayers there," he said while pointing out that the facilities for washing the dead bodies have to remain open as usual, the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying. Al-Sheikh directed to quickly implement the decision of the Council of Senior Scholars to suspend the daily congregational prayers and the weekly Friday prayer in all mosques across the Kingdom. The Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah are exempted from this ruling. The 25th extraordinary session of the council which was held in Riyadh on Tuesday ruled that all the mosques will remain closed on a temporary basis but the call for prayer (adhan) shall be made as usual. The decision is part of the preventive and precautionary measures being taken by the Kingdom to stem the spread of coronavirus. "The ministry will strictly enforce the council's decision, which is very clear and explicit, and will follow up its effective implementation. "My fellow imams, preachers and muezzins: you will have to discharge a great deal of responsibility. There should not be any laxity in implementing the decision issued by the council," he said. According to the minister, the decision to temporarily close mosques is based on the principle of avoiding the gatherings of people as it was found as the major cause of the transmission of the virus from one to another. "The suspension of prayers at mosques was taken as a precautionary measure to stem the spread of the virus, which caused no deaths in the Kingdom, praise be to God." Al-Sheikh said that precaution is obligatory so as to avoid the unimaginable consequences. "Taking extra measures to safeguard people's lives is also an obligation and this cannot be overlooked. Because of this, the overall situation in the Kingdom is normal and stable, and all actions have been taken to ensure the protection of the life of citizens and expatriates," he added. On his part, Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Yusuf Bin Muhammad said that the decision to suspend congregational prayers in mosques represents the moderate approach and the true spirit of the Islamic Shariah, which makes things easier and not meaning any hardship for the faithful. "What the Prophet (pbuh) opted among two things was the easiest of them provided that it was not a sin. This is what Islamic scholars also did," he said while emphasizing that protecting human lives is one of the core points highlighted in the fundamental sources of the Islamic Shariah - Holy Qur'an, Sunnah and the consensus of the Islamic scholars.
