Hawzah News Agency - (Cairo - Egypt) - Al-Azhar’s Senior Scholar Authority on Sunday has decreed that, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, all Muslims must perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers at home either alone or with their families.

The authority stressed that the purpose of Islamic Sharia law is to protect people, which is the reason behind this order to pray at home.

The prayers will begin 20 minutes after sunrise, the statement said, and 20 minutes before the noon prayers.

Azhar’s statement called on all Muslims worldwide to pray to god this Ramadan to hasten the swift end of this pandemic, while working to do good deeds and charity to the sick and poor.

The Ministry of Endowments will broadcast Eid al-Fitr prayers and the “takbeerat al-Eid” , which is the utterance of “God Is Great” several times before and after Eid al-Fitr prayer, through TV and radio, Minister of Endowments Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa said.

Gatherings will not be allowed during Eid al-Fitr Day, Gomaa stressed, and added during a cabinet meeting on Sunday that his ministry will prepare a plan for Eid al-Fitr day.

The coronavirus pandemic has even impacted religious aspects of life, with Egypt’s various religious bodies ordering changes in worship to help curb the outbreak.

Earlier this month Azhar Mosque announced that prayers at the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan will be performed without public attendance, instead being broadcast on the mosque’s official Facebook and YouTube pages.

The mosque stressed that Muslims must pray at home and adhere to the Ministry of Health’s coronavirus guidelines.

Back in March, Egypt’s Religious Endowments Ministry issued an order to halt Friday prayers and congregational prayers, closing all mosques and their attachments.