Indonesian clerics call for rain prayer as forest fires spread
The Indonesian Ulema Council has urged Muslims to hold rain prayers as forest and land fires and haze affect several regions. The council also asked the president to give the fires greater attention.
JAKARTA — The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has called on Muslims across the country to hold Istisqa prayers in congregation to ask God for rain, according to a statement reported by Antara on Monday, 19 October 2026. The council said the call responds to forest and land fires, known locally as karhutla, in several areas.
Cholil Nafis, deputy chairman of the MUI leadership board, said the fires had reached an emergency level. In the statement, he asked President Prabowo Subianto to give the problem greater attention until it is fully brought under control. (Note: the source does not name the president; see below.)
Cholil Nafis also called on Muslims to repent sincerely for their sins and negligence, including acts that damage the environment. He urged believers to recite istighfar and the Qunut Nazilah during obligatory prayers. He said the council asked law enforcement to act firmly and impartially against individuals and companies that set fires deliberately for business purposes.
He said the haze had affected residents, especially children, older people and other vulnerable groups. He also said the fires had caused similar effects in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. The council urged people to help affected residents, avoid burning rubbish or land, and wear masks outdoors. It also called on central and regional government, the military, police, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and volunteers to speed up fire-fighting.
The MUI cited its Fatwa Number 30 of 2016, which states that reckless burning of forests and land that damages the environment and threatens human life is forbidden under Islamic law.
Background
The MUI issued the fatwa in 2016, when Indonesia also faced severe haze. The council's call draws on that ruling to frame the fires as a religious matter as well as an environmental one.
Istisqa prayers are a traditional Islamic rite for requesting rain. Antara reported that several regional governments and groups have held such prayers in recent days, including in Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Lampung. An Antara photograph captioned for the story showed Muslims performing the prayer at a mosque in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, on Saturday, 17 October 2026.
Antara did not give figures for the area burned or the number of people affected.
Sources
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