Why the Emirates are a wonderful place to live Islam – in the midst of modernity

1A country where faith sets the rhythm of the day

Anyone who wakes up in the Emirates for the first time hears it even before the alarm: the adhan for Fajr. Five times a day it rings out from countless mosques – between the towers of Dubai, over the date gardens of Al Ain, along the coast of Fujairah. Life here has a rhythm that is set not by the diary but by prayer.

How to shape a whole day with the Quran and the Sunnah, from waking up to falling asleep, is the subject of the chapter Islam in daily life. This chapter is about something else: the place that makes such a day easy.

Prayer rooms wherever you are

In shopping malls, office towers, hospitals, airports and at many petrol stations you will find a prayer room with a place for wudu, usually separate for men and women. In hotel rooms a small arrow often marks the qibla. If you step out of the office for a few minutes to pray, nobody asks why – it is completely normal. And in almost every neighbourhood there is a mosque within walking distance.

Friday

Friday has a special place in the Emirates. The Friday sermon is usually prepared centrally by the official authority for Islamic affairs; it is calm and measured and often speaks about everyday life: family, honesty, neighbourliness, care for nature. When the Emirates moved their weekend to Saturday and Sunday in 2022, Friday kept its place: in government offices work ends before the Friday prayer, and the mosques fill up – often right out onto the pavements.

Mosques with open doors

Many mosques explicitly invite visitors, including people of other faiths. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi welcomes guests from all over the world, and in Dubai the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding opens Jumeirah Mosque under the motto "Open Doors. Open Minds." for tours, questions and conversation over Arabic coffee and dates. You can read more in the chapters on the most important cities of Islam and the mosques of the world.

2Halal as a matter of course

In the Emirates you do not have to search for long.

Food without guesswork

In a restaurant, a supermarket or the little cafeteria on the corner, meat here is halal as a rule, and the Emirates have a national halal standard with state-supervised certification, imported food included. For many families who used to check every label, that is a real relief.

To be honest, this belongs to the picture too: some supermarkets have a separate, clearly marked section with pork for non-Muslims, and alcohol is served in licensed venues. Halal is the rule, not the exception – and if you are unsure, check the label and ask.

Islamic finance

From this principle a whole industry has grown in the Emirates. Dubai Islamic Bank, founded in 1975, is widely regarded as the world's first Islamic commercial bank. Today many banks offer accounts, home finance and car finance according to Islamic rules: instead of interest there are trade, lease and partnership models in which profit and risk are shared. Then there is takaful, insurance based on mutual help, and sukuk, Islamic bonds, which are traded on the country's exchanges. A central Sharia authority at the Central Bank oversees the rules for Islamic banks.

It is only honest to add that scholars assess some financial products differently. Before a big decision such as financing a home, get good advice and ask a trustworthy scholar.

Dubai and the Islamic economy

Dubai has set itself the goal of becoming a capital of the Islamic economy: from halal food and Islamic finance to fashion, travel and education in keeping with Muslim values. Behind this lies an idea Islam has known from the very beginning: honest trade is a good deed. The Prophet ﷺ himself was a merchant before the revelation began. What the Quran and the Sunnah say about honesty in business is described in the chapter Islam in daily life.

3Ramadan, Eid and the road to Makkah

Ramadan – the whole country fasts together

In Ramadan you can feel this verse across the whole country. Working hours are reduced by law – in the private sector by two hours a day – and schools and government offices adjust their times. Shortly before sunset the streets fall quiet, and in some places a traditional cannon still announces the breaking of the fast.

Mosques, families and charities invite people into iftar tents and to shared meals, often workers, travellers and neighbours they have never met. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever gives a fasting person something to break his fast will have a reward like his, without anything being diminished from the reward of the fasting person" (at-Tirmidhi). On top of this come large charity campaigns in which the country gathers meals and help for people in need in many countries. After Isha the mosques fill for taraweeh, and in the last ten nights the night prayer is added. How Ramadan itself is lived is explained in the chapter Ramadan and fasting.

Eid – holidays for everyone

The two festivals, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, are public holidays, as are the Day of Arafah, the Islamic New Year and the Prophet's ﷺ birthday. On the morning of Eid families stream to the prayer in festive clothes; afterwards people visit parents and relatives, and the children look forward to their eidiya, small gifts of money from the adults. You can read more about the festivals in the chapter Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and the Islamic calendar.

Hajj and Umrah – Makkah is close

From the Emirates, Makkah and Madinah are only a short flight away. Many Muslims who live here perform Umrah several times in their lives, some every year in Ramadan or during the school holidays. Hajj, the great pilgrimage, is also organised from here through licensed operators. How the pilgrimage works is explained in the chapter Hajj and Umrah.

4A land of the Quran and of learning

Quran centres and competitions

Every city has Quran centres where children and adults learn to read, practise tajweed and memorise, often in the afternoon after school, with classes for women as well. Since 1997 the Dubai International Holy Quran Award has honoured young huffaz from all over the world every Ramadan; how it works and how you can prepare is described in the chapter on the Quran competition in Dubai. Beyond it, Quran competitions for schoolchildren and young people take place all over the country.

Islamic education at school

In the Emirates, Muslim children study Islamic Education as a compulsory subject at every school, including the many international private schools, and all children learn Arabic. So a generation is growing up that knows the Quran and at the same time learns physics, coding and several languages.

Scholars, not guesswork

For religious questions there are reliable people to turn to in the Emirates. In 2017 the UAE Council for Fatwa (Majlis al-Imarat lil-Ifta' ash-Shar'i) was established under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah; it brings order to the work of issuing fatwas in the country. In addition, the official fatwa services of the authorities for Islamic affairs let you put your questions to scholars by phone or online.

Traditionally many Emiratis follow the Maliki school, and at the same time Muslims of every school live here side by side, Sunni and Shia alike. You can learn more in the chapter on the schools of law in Islam. On these pages we deliberately give no legal rulings: for your personal questions, please turn to a qualified scholar.

5Family, hospitality and community

At the heart of Emirati society stands the family. Parents and grandparents are honoured, children grow up surrounded by cousins, and at the weekend the wider family gathers. The Prophet ﷺ said: "He is not one of us who does not show mercy to our young and respect to our elders" (at-Tirmidhi). You see this respect in daily life: people stand up when an older person enters the room, greet the eldest first and let them go ahead.

Gahwa, dates and the majlis

Hospitality is part of faith: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him honour his guest" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). In Emirati homes every guest is offered gahwa, Arabic coffee with cardamom, in small cups, with dates. The host keeps pouring until the guest gently shakes the cup – the sign for "thank you, that is enough". In the majlis, the room for receiving guests, neighbours, friends and strangers sit together, talk, consult one another and share news. Arabic coffee and the majlis are both on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – as signs of generosity and community.

Safety and cleanliness

Many families value how safe they feel here and how well kept the cities are. That, too, has to do with faith: "Purity is half of faith" (Muslim), and the Prophet ﷺ counted removing something harmful from the road among the good deeds (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

6Tolerance that grows from faith

In the Emirates people from around 200 nations live together – Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jews and many others. Churches, temples and a gurdwara have their place here, and neighbours of different faiths treat one another with kindness and respect.

In recent years this spirit has been given visible form:

• In 2016 the Emirates appointed their first Minister of Tolerance; today there is a Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence.
• 2019 was declared the Year of Tolerance. In February of that year Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb, signed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together in Abu Dhabi.
• In 2023 the Abrahamic Family House opened on Saadiyat Island: a mosque, a church and a synagogue on one shared site.

This openness comes not in spite of faith but from it. Allah says: "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you" Quran 49:13. And: "Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly" Quran 60:8.

Once, when a funeral procession passed by, the Prophet ﷺ stood up. He was told that it was the funeral of a Jew. He replied: "Was it not a soul?" (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Tolerance does not mean that everything becomes the same. Muslims remain Muslims and Christians remain Christians – but people meet one another with dignity, kindness and justice. The Quran says: "And thus We have made you a median community" Quran 2:143 – firm in faith, moderate in how we treat others.

7Faith and progress belong together

Some people think you have to choose between faith and modernity. The Emirates tell a different story – and so does the Quran. Again and again it invites us to reflect on creation:

And it teaches the supplication: "My Lord, increase me in knowledge" Quran 20:114. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever takes a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise" (Muslim).

Expo 2020 Dubai

Expo 2020 Dubai was the first World Expo held in the Arab world; because of the pandemic it took place from October 2021 to March 2022. Under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", countries from all over the world showed their ideas for tomorrow – in a country where, all the while, the call to prayer rang out five times a day.

The Museum of the Future

Since 2022 Dubai has been home to the Museum of the Future, a gleaming silver ring with an opening at its centre. Its façade is covered entirely in Arabic calligraphy: words by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about the future, designed by the Emirati artist Mattar bin Lahej. The building's windows are the letters themselves. A house for the technology of tomorrow that speaks in the script in which the Quran is written – it is hard to show more clearly that tradition and progress belong together.

The Hope probe

In February 2021 the Emirati probe Hope (al-Amal) reached Mars orbit – the Arab world's first interplanetary mission. It studies the atmosphere and weather of the Red Planet, and it was developed by a young Emirati team of engineers, women and men, together with international partners. When you look up at the stars on a night in the desert, you understand the verse: "Then do they not look at the camels – how they are created? And at the sky – how it is raised? And at the mountains – how they are erected? And at the earth – how it is spread out?" Quran 88:17–20.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Since 2017 the Louvre Abu Dhabi has shown art from the cultures of all humanity side by side beneath its great dome. In one of its galleries a Quran, a Bible and a Torah lie open next to each other – a quiet picture of what this country wants to be: a place where people learn from one another. And the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty" (Muslim).

Smart government and sustainability

Many dealings with the authorities can be done here by app, from your residence permit to your driving licence. And with Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, a district is growing that is built around renewable energy and the careful use of resources. That suits Islam too: on earth we are trustees, not squanderers – "eat and drink, but be not excessive" Quran 7:31. The Prophet ﷺ said: "If the Hour is established while one of you has a palm seedling in his hand, and he is able to plant it before it is established, let him plant it" (Ahmad; al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad). In a land of date palms, these words need no explanation.

8What newcomers especially appreciate

Muslims who move to the Emirates often tell the same story:

• Praying without fuss: prayer rooms at work, in the mall, at the airport – and colleagues who think it is perfectly normal.
• Halal everywhere: no reading labels while shopping, no long questions in restaurants.
• Islamic holidays are public holidays: Eid al-Fitr, the Day of Arafah, Eid al-Adha, the Islamic New Year and the Prophet's ﷺ birthday.
• Arabic and English everywhere: signs, forms and offices speak both languages, and you hear Arabic every day – a lovely chance to learn the language of the Quran (learn Arabic).
• Community: mosques, Quran centres and iftars where people from many countries sit together.
• Children grow up with Islam: at school, in the mosque and through the festivals of the year.

9Being a respectful guest

If you visit the Emirates, whatever your faith, a few simple gestures go a long way:

• Clothing: in public places such as malls and government offices, modest clothing is appropriate. In mosques men and women cover their shoulders and knees, and women also cover their hair; large mosques often provide suitable clothing on site.
• In Ramadan: non-Muslims do not fast, but it is a kind gesture not to eat, drink or smoke conspicuously in public during the day.
• During prayer: do not walk directly in front of someone who is praying, and turn the music down when the adhan sounds – many people do this without thinking.
• Greetings: whether men and women shake hands varies; simply wait to see whether a hand is offered. A hand on the heart is just as warm a greeting.
• Photos: ask before you photograph people, especially women and families.
• Gahwa: take the cup with your right hand – and give it a gentle shake when you have had enough.

10An honest word: the place helps, the heart decides

As beautiful as it is here, no country can make the effort for you. In Dubai, too, you have to set the alarm for Fajr, and here, too, life between work, malls and screens can become so full that prayer slips down the list. A good place is a help, not a substitute. Allah says: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" Quran 13:11. And the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds" (Muslim).

Just as important: Islam can be lived anywhere, in London as in Jakarta, in Toronto as in Cairo. Muslims all over the world keep their faith with love and patience. The Emirates are not the only good place – but they are a place where much comes more easily. What you make of it, your heart decides: "And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good" Quran 29:69.

11An invitation

Whether you live here, are visiting or are simply curious: welcome. Step into a mosque, drink a coffee in a majlis, ask whatever is on your mind. And take the spirit of this country home with you – faith, knowledge and hospitality, together with modernity.

If you would like to read on:

• The most important cities of Islam – from Makkah to Sharjah
• The most beautiful mosques in the world – including those of the Emirates
• Islam in daily life – a day with the Quran and the Sunnah
• Ramadan and fasting – the month of the Quran
• Prayer times – for wherever you are
• Dua generator – your personal supplication

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Make things easy and do not make them difficult; give glad tidings and do not drive people away" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). In that spirit we invite you: begin today – with a single verse.