If you have Muslim friends over for iftar, it is a nice gesture to put aside a place for them to pray. It need not be fancy; in fact, you could just have a room and a prayer mat. The most helpful thing you can do is point out the Qibla. As you might know, the Qibla is the direction toward which we pray, namely the Kaaba in Mecca. But it has even greater significance. Part of halal butchering is to point the animal towards the Qibla, and when Muslims are buried, the front of their head is supposed to face towards the Qibla.
So how do you know where it is? There are special compasses and techniques using the sun, but the easiest way is to go online. Thanks to Allah for the internet. Check out qiblalocator.com and you will see that from Abu Dhabi, the Qibla is about 260 degrees north, or on a diagonal from the middle of the city over the Emirates Palace hotel. Or even better, just see where the sun sets and there goes your Qibla.
