SHAFAQNA – Muslims in Malaysia have been urged to perform the Istisqa prayer on Tuesday, supplicating for rain and better weather.
Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha made the call Monday in a statement, saying the prayer should be performed after the Zuhur (noon)prayer.
“All major mosques under Jakim namely the National Mosque, the Putra Mosque, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque as well as all mosques and big surau under the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department will conduct the Istisqa prayer,” he said.
Othman also called on the other state Islamic affairs departments to follow suit.
He said the prayer was highly required to be carried out by Muslims who faced prolonged drought, haze and difficulty in getting water.
“Hopefully with such prayer, we will have rain and better weather,” he said.
Climatologists were reported to have sounded the alarm, warning of severe consequences of the El Nino phenomenon as the country might endure a hot spell up to June.
Water levels at certain dams have started to dip to critical lows, but no water rationing exercise had been carried out so far.