By Nawara Fattahova

After three months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, some mosques in Kuwait reopened Wednesday starting with Dhuhur (noon) prayer. The Ministry of Awqaf has previously announced all health measures and precautions taken to allow Muslims to pray in mosques, including not allowing wudu (ablution), worshippers must bring their own prayer mats, must wear facemasks, must keep a specified distance between them, among other measures.

Muslims who were used to praying at the mosque missed the habit during the past months, and were excited to pray at the mosque again. Many of them even went to a different area to pray there, as none of the mosques in their areas were opened yet. Meanwhile, the women’s sections at mosques were not opened, even in mosques that reopened in the so-called ‘model areas’.

Abu Abdullah is one of those who are keen to pray in the mosque when it’s possible. As the mosque in his area hasn’t opened yet, he went to pray at Masjed Othman in Khaldiya. “It was a bittersweet moment. I’m glad that mosques are finally open, but sad that the atmosphere is not the same as before due to social distancing measures,” he told Kuwait Times, describing his feeling.

“I missed praying at the mosque so much. It has become a part of daily life to go to the mosque five times a day. I read the new measures for praying at the mosque, so I brought my own prayer rug, did ablution at home, and wore a mask. There were only about 25 – 30 worshipers for the Dhuhur prayer,” added Abu Abdullah.

According to him all worshipers who came were let inside, as the mosque is large and the worshipers were few. “Maybe some people still have concerns about the safety of praying in the mosque, so many didn’t come today. The prayer was a bit shorter than usual, as the imams have been instructed to keep the prayers short,” he concluded.

Ayoub Al-Khamees was excited to pray again in the mosque of his area, the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in North Ahmadi. “I felt happy and calm to finally be able to pray again in the mosque. It’s a different feeling. Of course I missed the feeling of hearing the Holy Quran and praying in Jamaa’. I took a face mask and my own praying mat. Also, sanitizers were provided by the entrance,” he pointed out.

Only few worshipers attended the Dhuhur prayer in that mosque as well. “There were about 10 – 14 people because our mosque is somewhat small. All worshipers who came were let in. it’s really honorable that everyone is following the rules, and everyone was let in. the prayer was shorter than usual, as per the rules of the Awqaf Ministry. Our Imam did his best to carefully follow the instructions,” Khamees further said.