The hour-long event ended with a lengthy supplication led by an Imam, Abdul Jabbar.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Zambia, Dr Osama Bin Mohammed was in attendance.

In the sermon, Makeni Islamic Society Trust religious affairs coordinator Ikram Patel highlighted some of the possible causes of the current dry spell, according to Islamic doctrine.

Patel preached that when adultery or fornication become rampant in a nation and then its perpetrators “shamelessly, proudly talk about it, the anger of Allah inflicts diseases and pains” never seen before.

The other vice the religious scholar talked about, that fuels misfortunes like drought, is cheating in business by citizens.

Patel advised that during the ongoing crises of power, economic, water and exchange rate, “let us look into our business dealings.”

In an interview after the prayers, Patel said Lusaka, according to the Meteorological Department of Zambia, was supposed to receive above average rains in October, November and December.

“But if you noticed, October and November rains were not above average and December has come. When there are no rains, Muslims get together to repent to the Lord, asking for forgiveness for the betterment of society. So, we gathered here to pray for beneficial rains,” he explained.

“According to Islam, when fornication, adultery takes places a lot or when people start to cheat in business or when people don’t take out the compulsory charity for people in need, that’s when there are calamities involved from God. Rains are withheld or drought hit.”

Selected parts of Zambia have been experiencing a dry spell and when it rarely rains, its fleeting.

For Lusaka, the rains have been extensively a rare sight