Istiqlal No Iduladha Prayer, High Priest: Putting Danger Rejection Rather Than Pursuing Benefits

JAKARTA - The Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, officially cancels the Eid al-Adha prayer 1442 Hijri which falls on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.

The Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, KH Nasaruddin Umar, said that the decision to cancel the Eid prayer was decided because the government was still implementing Emergency PPKM.

According to him, maintaining personal health is mandatory. Meanwhile, the Eid prayer is sunnah.

"Don't let us worship the sunnah, but ignore the obligatory ones. So we prioritize the rejection of dangers rather than pursuing benefits," he said, Wednesday, July 14.

Nasaruddin asserted, the same as last year, the cancellation of the Eid prayer this year was for reasons of safety and health of the people. Moreover, daily cases of new variants of COVID-19 infection continue to break new records.

In addition to Eid prayers, the Istiqlal Mosque has temporarily suspended the congregational Friday prayers.

"The Istiqlal Mosque negates the Eid prayer 1442 Hijri and also eliminates Friday prayers," he said.

Later, continued Nasaruddin, the takbir night at the mosque will not be opened to the public as usual. Takbiran will only be held and broadcast through the Istiqlal TV platform.

"We will do takbiran at the mosque, only we will broadcast it on Istiqlal TV which is linked to all mosques in capital cities around the world," he said.