Prayer Times in Manama

About Prayer Times in Manama

Manama is the capital and financial centre of Bahrain, a small island kingdom in the Arabian Gulf with a population of approximately 1.5 million. Islam is the state religion, and Bahrain's Muslim population is unique in the Gulf for being roughly split between Sunni and Shia communities — a division that has shaped the country's social and political landscape for centuries. The ruling Al-Khalifa family is Sunni, while the majority of Bahraini citizens are Shia, making Bahrain one of the few Gulf states with this demographic balance.

Bahrain's official prayer times are published by the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf using the Umm al-Qura method, consistent with the wider Gulf standard. At 26.2°N, Manama's prayer times are very similar to Doha and Riyadh — Fajr ranges from approximately 3:50 AM in summer to 5:35 AM in winter, and Maghrib from 6:15 PM to 5:05 PM. Sunni mosques and Shia hussainiyyas (community halls used for prayer and religious commemoration) both operate throughout Manama, each maintaining their own prayer communities.

The Al-Fateh Grand Mosque in Manama, completed in 1987, is one of the largest mosques in the world, with a fibreglass dome among the largest in the world and a capacity of over 7,000 worshippers. Named after Ahmed al-Fateh, who brought Islam to Bahrain in 1783, it serves as Bahrain's national mosque and is open to non-Muslim visitors. The historic Al-Khamis Mosque in the southern suburbs of Manama, dating to the 7th century CE, is considered one of the oldest mosques in the Arabian Peninsula. During Muharram, Manama's Shia community holds some of the most visible Ashura commemorations in the Gulf.