Mosque Alhayr

Known locally as Masjid al Hayer, meaning the Mosque of the Enclosure, this humble place of worship serves a residential pocket of Ras al Khaimah, the northernmost of the seven emirates that together form the United Arab Emirates. The emirate's name translates as the top of the tent, a reference to the maritime navigation mark that the old fortified tip of the peninsula offered to pearl divers, dhow captains and traders moving between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. The region has been inhabited since the Umm al Nar culture of the third millennium before the common era and embraced Islam during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, through the mission of Amr ibn al As, may God be pleased with him, whose delegation persuaded the local Julanda chieftains to accept the new faith. Masjid al Hayer carries forward this long Emirati devotional tradition in a simple building characteristic of neighbourhood mosques across the UAE, built of sand coloured concrete faced with pale cream render, topped by a single dome tiled in turquoise and flanked by a short square minaret. The prayer hall is wide and low, lit by clerestory windows, cooled by powerful air conditioning essential in the fierce Gulf summer and carpeted in deep green wool with embroidered prayer markings. The mihrab is clad in ivory marble with a calligraphic band of Surah al Fatiha and a simple wooden minbar stands alongside. A separate women's section at the rear has its own entrance and wudu facilities. Friday prayer is well attended, drawing Emirati citizens in crisp white kandoura along with expatriate workers from India, Pakistan, the Philippines and across the Arab world. The khutbah is delivered in classical Arabic and translated summaries are sometimes available in Urdu and English. During Ramadan the mosque committee arranges iftar tables with dates, lamb harees, machboos and seasonal fruit for the fasting community. Visitors approaching Ras al Khaimah via the coastal road from Dubai or Sharjah can reach the mosque easily, dressing modestly, removing shoes at the threshold and observing the welcoming but disciplined Emirati devotional culture of hospitality and quiet.