Manners and Etiquettes at the Mosque

Ayah 18 of Suratu-Tawbah means: <<The ones who keep the Mosques of Allah lively with acts of obedience are indeed the ones who believed in Allah and the Day of Judgement, performed the prayers, gave the Zakah and are the ones who do not fear anyone but Allah. So may they be amongst the highly guided ones>>.

Dear brothers in Islam, our speech today is about the best of the places on earth, the mosques. The Prophet peace be upon him said: “The best places on earth are the mosques”.

They are the most beloved places to Allah as they are built for the believers to perform acts of worship therein. At mosques, the prayers are performed and the Holy Qur’an is recited. Moreover, the slave would stay at the mosque for a period of time with the intention of i^tikaf to spend his time in performing acts of obedience to Allah.

Brothers in Islam, Allah, the Exalted, glorified the mosques and made them greatly honoured places.

So my dear brothers, glorify the mosques and give them great concern. Avoid contaminating the mosques with disgusting or filthy Najas substances such as urinating or defecating inside the mosques, as doing so is Haram.

The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said what means: “Mosques should not be contaminated with urine or any other filthy substance, rather, mosques are places for praising Allah, the Exalted, and reciting the Qu’ran”.

Look, Brothers in Islam, at the Honour of cleaning the mosques, Abu Hurayrah said: “There was a black woman who used to clean the mosque. One day, the Prophet asked about her and they told him that she had passed away. So the Prophet replied: “Why didn’t you tell me?“. They did not tell the Prophet as they did not give her any great regard. Then the Prophet said: “Show me where her grave is”, and so they did. The Prophet performed the funeral prayer for her, and then said: “These graves are dark places for their inhabitants; however, Allah will illuminate them by my prayer for them”.

If you leave to go to the mosque, O brother in Islam, recite the supplication for going to the mosque. And, if you enter the mosque, recite the supplication for entering the mosque.

Also, for as long as you are in the mosque you should observe mosque manner without perversive strictness or dismantling negligence.

Having said this, be warned of the perversive strictness of some people who falsely deem as unlawful, the harmless and sin-free dialogue amongst mosque goers. Their judgement is not valid, as long as the dialogue doesn’t distract the mosque goer during his prayer or while reciting the Qur’an.

Moreover, it was established from what at-Tirmidhy related, that the Prophet , may Allah raise his rank, was in the mosque one night with some of his companions as they recalled the events of the dark ages, the situations of those people and how they behaved. They would laugh at some things remembered and the Prophet would smile.

However, the speech that is deemed unlawful in the mosque is the same speech that is deemed unlawful outside the mosque or anywhere else. This includes backbiting (Ghibah) and other forbidden talk. Hence, beware of the false accusations of some people who claim that the Prophet said that speaking in harmless people’s terms in the mosque disintegrates the rewards of that mosque goer like fire disintegrates fire wood. Let it be known that this saying is fabricated upon the Prophet.

On the other hand, the scholars of Islam said that buying and selling while in the mosque is a disliked matter not a forbidden one.

Note:

70,000 Angels will do istighfar for you if you say this Du^a when going to the Masjid:

دعاء الخروج إلى المسجد

روى أحمد وغيرهُ عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: ” من قال إذا خرج إلى المسجد اللهم إني أسألك بحق السائلين عليك وبحق ممشاي هذا فإني لم أخرج أشَرًا ولا بَطَرًا ولا رِياءً ولا سُمْعةً، خرجتُ اتقاء سخطِكَ وابتِغاء مَرضاتِك فأسألك أن تنقذني من النار وتغفر لي ذنوبي إنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت، أقبل الله عليه بوجهه _ أي رضي الله عنه _ واستغفرَ له سبعون ألف ملك . اهـ

Du^a’ to say when going to the Masjid

Imam Ahmad bin hanbal and others narrated that the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: whoever says when going to the Masjid:

“O Allah, I ask you (Bihaqis-Sa’ileen) by the virtue of those who ask you in supplication, and by the virtue of this noble walk, I did not come out out of arrogance, or insincerety, nor seeking the praise of the people, I came out to avoid your disobedience and to seek your acceptance (Rida) for me, so I ask you to save me from hellfire and to forgive my sins, no one forgives the sins except You, then Allah will accept and reward the one who says this du^a’ and 70,000 Angels will do istighfar for him (asking Allah for forgiveness).

* In this Du^a’ the Prophet taught us to supplicate to Allah, and do Tawassul by Asking Allah (Bihaqis-Sa’ileen) by the virtue of the pious ones who supplicate, and by the virtue of the good deeds, so this is a proof that tawassul by the Prophet, the pious ones, or by one’s good deeds is permissible in Islam and not shirk, because nothing happens except by the will and power of Allah, the one who created everything, He created the good and the bad, the illness and the cure, the reasons and the results. Allah does not need anything, He does not resemble any of His creations, He exists without a place.

In the end, we ask Allah to make us amongst those who occupy their times with acts of obedience, Amin.