Fiqh

Extraordinary keenness is being shown by the people these days to build grand mosques, decorate them and collect funds for it. But Muslims ought to first follow the basic etiquettes of treating the Mosque with respect and reverence.


After his migration to Madinah, the holy Prophet (Pbuh) was very anxious to build a mosque for the worship of Allah Almighty. There was a piece of land belonging to two orphans, Sahl and Sohail, near the place where he was staying. The Prophet purchased the land from them and started construction of the mosque on the site. In this work, he also gave a helping hand to the Companions. When a Companion saw the Prophet carry bricks and stones, he remarked: “If we only sit while the Prophet of Allah labours with his hands, our behaviour will certainly lead us astray”.


The Companions had the following verse on their lips while they worked:

(Allahumma la‘aisha illa‘aish-al-akhirah Farham-il-ansara wal-muhajirah)

“O Allah! The real and everlasting life is the life of the Hereafter, so favour the Ansar and the Muhajirin with Thy mercy and grant them success in the Hereafter”.


The mosque in fact is the pivot around which the whole life of the Muslim community resolves. There can be no Muslim habitation without a mosque. That is why the Prophet first of all made arrangements for building the mosque on his arrival at Madinah.


The mosque and the organisation of the congregational prayer are essential to keep the Islamic spirit active and alive, and to create and sustain the feeling of Muslim nationhood and bind the Muslims together in a body. It was for this object that Allah exhorted Prophets, Moses and Aaron to set aside some houses in Egypt for the purpose of holding congregational services and to serve as religious centres to keep the Muslims together and united.


“And We inspired Moses and his brother: `Provide some houses for your people in Egypt, and make these houses of yours as qiblah, and establish Salat and fill the Believers with hope and courage.” (10:87)


The Prophet also has exhorted the Muslims in various ways to build mosques; for instance, he said:


1. “The one who builds a mosque only for the sake of winning Allah’s approval, will have a dwelling built for him by Allah in Paradise”. (Tirmizi, Bukhari)

2. “The person whose heart remains inclined to the mosque, will be provided with a place right under the shade of Divine Throne”. (Bukhari)


There is the person who after performing one prayer in the mosque starts waiting anxiously for the next prayer. The Prophet himself was so fond of the mosque that during his last illness when he could not even stand properly, he came out of his house with the help of two men, dragging his feet on the ground, and joined the congregation for the prayer. (Bukhari)


Respect and Reverence for the Mosque

*One should place the right foot first in the mosque, and after invoking Allah’s blessings for the Prophet, should say:

(Allahumm-aftah-li-abwaba rahmatika)

“O Allah ! open for me the doors of Thy mercy”. (Muslim)


*After entering the mosque, one should first of all greet the mosque with two rakahs of Nafl for the Prophet has said:“When any of you enters a mosque, he should not sit till he has observed two rakahs of prayer”. (Bukhari, Muslim)


*One should sit with perfect calmness, humility and dignity in the mosque with the heart over-awed by the fear and reverence of Allah, and should abstain from creating noise and laughter, passing comments on worldly matters, indulging in trade and business, etc. because they are against the sanctity of the mosque and have been forbidden by the Prophet. He has said:


“A time will come when the people will indulge in mere worldly matters while sitting in the mosque; you should not join them, because the prayer of such people will not be acceptable to Allah”.


One should enter the mosque humbly and sit wherever one finds a place. It is undesirable that one should try to go to the front by jumping over the shoulders of the people and disturb them unnecessarily, it is also undesirable that one should run in the mosque in order to join the Imam in the Ruku position to gain a rak’ah, but one must always walk humbly and in a dignified manner in the mosque.


*One should avoid coming to the mosque carrying or having eaten something which gives an unpleasant smell. The Prophet has warned:


“Do not come to our Mosque with your mouths smelling of garlic or onion, for anything which disturbs human beings, disturbs the angels, too”. (Bukhari, Muslim)


*The mosque should not be made a thoroughfare, for when a person has entered the mosque, he becomes honour-bound to pray in it, recite the Qur’n and remember Allah. Passing through the mosque carelessly for one’s personal convenience is a sheer violation of its sanctity and should be scrupulously avoided.


*If a person has lost something in the mosque, he should not raise loud cries for it.


*One should have deep love and natural inclination for the mosque, and should attend the mosque zealously at every prayer time. According to Sa’id bin al-Musayyab (RA), the Prophet said:


“The person who performed his Wudu well and left his house for the mosque, whether it is near or far from his house, gets a reward on each right step and is forgiven a sin on each left step taken forward. Then after coming to the mosque if he completed his prayer with the congregation, or if he joined late and completed his prayer independently, or if he missed the congregation altogether and completed his prayer individually, in the mosque, he is in each case entitled to full rewards from Allah”.


*The mosque deserves to be kept absolutely neat and clean at all times and also perfumed, if possible, Hazrath Abu Hurairah (RA) reports that a woman who used to sweep the Prophet’s Mosque died suddenly. The people did not care much for her and buried her without informing the Prophet. When the Prophet came to know of this , he said: “Why did you not inform me”? Then he went to her grave, and prayed for her forgiveness, and remarked: “The best deed of this woman was that she swept the Mosque”.(Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah)


*It is undesirable to clean dusty or muddy clothes or limbs against the walls, or pillars or with the curtains or mat of the mosque.


*One is forbidden to enter the mosque in an unclean state, for instance, after having an intercourse, or during the menses or Nifas etc.


*It is undesirable to sleep or stay in the mosque for the sake of passing time, unless one is in Itikaf in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan.


*One should not enter the mosque wearing shorts, or with one’s lower garment tucked up. On the other hand, one should visit the mosque in full and proper dress.


*There should be a proper system for pronouncing Azan and holding congregational prayers in the mosque, and only such people should be selected and appointed as the Mu‘azzin and Imam as seem to be the best among the worshippers morally and in the practice and knowledge of Islam.


*On leaving the mosque, one should say: (Allahumma inni as’aluka min fadlika wa rahmatika). “O Allah, I beg Thee for Thy bounty, grace and mercy”.


(Source:Everyday Fiqh by Mohammad Yusuf Islahi- Hanafi Viewpoint)

If one wants to know whether one is climbing upwards towards success, there are certain signs and indications that can help determine his progress.


1. As one becomes more knowledgeable, one becomes more humble and merciful to others. Think of an expensive pearl: the more heavy and valuable it is, the deeper it is in the ocean. A wise person knows that though knowledge is a gift, Allah tests the one whom He gives it to. When one is thankful for the gift of knowledge, one will be raised in ranking.


2. The more one performs good deeds, the more one becomes cautious and fearful, in the sense that he does not feel secure from error, such as a slip of the tongue or a change of heart. He is always in a state of watching over himself and of being wary. He is like a careful bird: each time it lands on a tree, it soon leaves it for another, afraid of the skilled hunter and his bullet.


3. The older one gets, the less covetous should one be for this world, for he comes to know with certainty that his time is soon finished..


4. The wealthier one becomes, the more generous should one be towards others. The wealthy Muslim must understand that his wealth is a trust given to him, and that Allah is testing him in that wealth.


5. The higher one’s status becomes in society, the closer should he be to ordinary people, showing humility and fulfilling their needs.


But there are also signs that indicate wretchedness:

1.The more knowledge one attains, the more haughty and arrogant he becomes. Such a person’s knowledge is not beneficial. His heart is empty and his company is heavy to bear.


2. The more he increases in deeds, the more proud he becomes and the more contemptuous he becomes of others. He doesn’t give the benefit of doubt to anyone except to his own self. Thus, he deems that he is the only one who achieves salvation while all others are bound for destruction.


3. The older he gets, avarice and cupidity become part of his character. He gathers, but he never shares.


4. The wealthier he becomes, the more miserly he becomes, with his money.


(Source: Don’t Be Sad- By Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni)