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Sunna's |
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The message of the mosque
Introduction The mosque is a religious institution where prayers are performed and the name of Allah is mentioned and glorified. It is also a social institution that people visits frequently; it contributes in helping the poor and finding solutions for people's problems. Mosques played an efficient role in promulgating Islam during the epoch of the prophet Muhammad -may peace be upon him- and the flourishing eras of the Muslim nation's history. Thus, it is an obligation on the Muslims all around the world to work on realizing the main objective of mosques so that they will be the starting point for the development and the civilization of the nation. I. The high position of prostration Prostration is to put one's face (front head) downwards as a sign of submission to Allah and exalting Him. Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The servant gets nearer to Allah when his is prostrating». [Reported by Muslim] The meaning of this Hadith is affirmed by Allah's saying: «… But prostrate and draw closer to your Lord». [Surat Al-Alaq/the Clinging Thing, from the verse 19] The word "prostration" is found in the Noble Koran in many forms. Here are some verses where it is mentioned: «So, the angels prostrated themselves, all if them together». [Surat Al-Hijr/the Rock, 30] «And when We said to the angels, "prostrate to Adam". They all fell prostrate except Iblis; he declined and was arrogant, and so was an unbeliever». [Surat Al-Baqara/the Hiefer, 34] «Allah said: "What prevented you from prostrating yourself when I commanded you?" Satan said: "I am better then he, You have created me from fire, and You have created him from clay». [Surat Al-A'râf/the Heights, 12] «And of His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate not to the sun and the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah, who created them, if it is He you worship». [Surat Fussilat/the Expounded, 37] «We created you, then We shaped you, and then We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam". So all prostrated themselves except Satan, he did not join those who prostrated». [Surat Al-A'râf/the Heights, 11] «Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are hard on the unbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing, prostrating, seeking bounty from Allah and His good pleasure. Their marks of their prostration are on their faces. This is their description in the Torah and their description in the Injeel (Gospel)…». [Surat Al-Fath/the Conquest, from the verse 29] «Is he who worships devoutly in the night, prostrating himself and standing, fearing the Hereafter and seeking his Lord's Mercy? Say: "Can those be equal, they who know and they who know not?" only people of understanding are admonished». [Surat Az-Zumar/the Companies, 9] «Those who repent, those who worship, those who praise, those who wander in devotion for the cause of Allah, those who prostrate, those who enjoin good and forbid evil…». [Surat At-Tawba/the Repentance, from the verse 112]
II. The merits of mosques The Almighty Allah preferred the places where mosques are built to any other place in the earth because it is the spot where He is worshipped. The prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «…And the earth has been made for me a place for praying and purification». Many texts from the Koran and the Sunna showed the high position of mosques and their merits. 1- From the Noble Koran: The word "mosque" is mentioned in the Koran in different forms, among them: «… And from where you come, turn your face towards the sacred Mosque. That is indeed the truth from your Lord, and Allah is not unaware of what you are doing». [Surat Al-Baqara/the Hiefer, 149] «Glory be to Allah the One, who did take His servant (Muhammad) on a night journey from the Sacred Mosque to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the precincts of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs. Indeed! Allah is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing». [Surat Al-Isrâ'/the Nocturnal Trip, 01] «And the mosques are only for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah any one». [Surat Al-Jinn/the Jinn, 18] «But it is only those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, who establish prayer and pay alms, and fear none but Allah, who are worthy of maintaining the mosques of Allah, that they might be rightly guided». [Surat At-Tawba/the Repentance, 18] «And who is more wrong than one who prohibits prayer in the mosques of Allah and strives for their ruin? Those should not be allowed to enter them except for asylum, for them is disgrace in this world and in the Hereafter a tremendous punishment». [Surat Al-Baqara/the Hiefer, 114] 2- From the Sunna: a) The prophet's deeds: - The prophet -may peace be upon him- built Qibâ', the first mosque built in Islam. - The prophet -may peace be upon him- built the Prophetic Mosque in the place where the she-camel kneeled down (in a land that belongs to two orphans who were maintained by Asaâd bnu Zurara. b) The prophet' sayings: - Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The places that Allah desires more in the earth are its mosques, and the places that Allah loathes more in it are its markets». [Reported by Muslim] - Omar bnu El-Khatab reported that he heard the prophet -may peace be upon him- saying: «He who builds a mosque for Allah in order that His name will be mentioned in it, Allah will build for him a house in paradise». [Reported by Ibnu Madja and Ibnu Heban in their Sahihs] - Uthmân bnu Afân reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «He who builds a mosque and seeks nothing (by building it) but Allah's face, Allah will build for him a house in paradise -in another narration- Allah will build a similar to it in paradise». [Reported by Al-Bukahri and Muslim and others]
III. Inciting people to go to mosques 1- Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «He who performs his ablution in his house and then goes to one of Allah's houses (the mosque) to perform one of Allah's obligation, one of his steps removes from him a sin and the other raises for him a virtue». [Reported by Muslim] - In the narration of Imam Mâlik, it was reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «He who performs his ablution perfectly and then goes to prayer, is in prayer (i.e. as he is praying) as long as he walks to pray (in the mosque); and by one of his steps Allah raises for him a virtue (good deed) and by the other He erases from him a sin (evil deed) ». 2- Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Shall I inform you about the deeds by which Allah erases your sins and increases in your reward? ». They said: «Yes, o prophet of Allah». He said: «Perfecting ablution, praying frequently in mosques, and waiting the coming prayer after praying, because this is the band, because this is the band, because this is the band». [Reported by Mâlik, Muslim, Et-Termidi and En-Nassâ'i] 3- Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The one who goes to a further mosque receives the greatest reward». [Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawűd Ibnu Madja] 4- Abi Mussa El-Ashâri reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The one who receives the greatest reward in prayer is he who walks to the further mosque; and the one who waits for the coming prayer to pray it with the Imam is better (rewarded) than the one who prays it and then goes to sleep». [Reported by El-Bukhari, Muslim and others] 5- Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «…And if he prays, the angels still pray for him as long as he is in his oratory (place of prayer): "O our Lord! Have mercy on him", and he is still in prayer as long as he is waiting for the coming prayer». In another narration: «"O our Lord! Forgive him, O our Lord! Accept his repentance" as long as he did no harm and as long as his ablution is not nullified». [Reported by El-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawűd and Ibnu Madja] 6- Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Seven (persons) will be shaded by Allah's shade in the day where there will be no shade but His: "……. And a man who is attached to the mosques (he used to visit the mosques frequently) …». [Reported by El-Bukhari, Muslim and others] 7- Anas bnu Mâlik said: "I heard the prophet -may peace be upon him- saying: «Those who maintain the mosques are the people of Allah -High Exalted is He». [Reported by Et-Tabarani] 8- Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Every person who salutes me (i.e. says: peace be upon the prophet Muhammad) will receive a virtue for each salutation…, and he will receive a virtue for each step he walks to pray (in a mosque) ». [Reported by El-Bukhari and Muslim]
IV. The message of the mosque and its aims. Mosques have many messages and objectives to fulfill: 1- Worship: this appears in performing prayers, glorifying Allah and asking for His forgiveness. 2- Faith: increasing one's faith through congregational prayers and meeting. 3- Education: protecting the values and preserving the virtues; forming men and women and preparing them to bear and convey the message of Islam. 4- Society: strengthening brotherhood relations and consolidating the social structure. 5- Teaching: teaching the sciences of Sharia and the other sciences. 6- Dawa: conveying the truth to people with wisdom and sound advice. 7- Civilization: building an Islamic and human civilization under which people live in peace and tranquility.
V. The rules of the mosque and its ethics. 1- Invocation when entering the mosque and when going out of it. The prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «If one of you enters a mosque, he says: "O my Lord! Open for me the gates of your mercy", and when he goes out he says: "O my Lord! I am asking you (to grant me) from your blessings" ». [Reported by Muslim] 2- Salutation to the mosque: the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «When one of you enters the mosque, he must not sit until he prays two Rakaât (kneelings) ». [Agreed on] 3- The forbiddance to penetrate into the ranges of those who pray and to pass through them. 4- The forbiddance of entering the mosque with socks or any dress that has an offensive smell. It is also forbidden to the one who ate onion or garlic to enter mosques (until their odor has gone). The prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The one who ate from this tree (i.e. garlic) should not approach our mosques». [Agreed on] In another narration, the prophet said: «He who ate garlic or onion must isolate himself from us, or he said: he must isolate himself from our mosques». [Agreed on] 5- Cleaning the mosques: Abi Hurayra reported that a woman was used to clean the mosque and then the prophet -may peace be upon him- missed her, and when he asked about her he was informed that she died. Then he said: «So could you allow me» then he visited her tomb and prayed for her. [Reported by El-Buhkari, Muslim and Ibnu Madja] Anas reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Spitting in the mosque is a sin and its expiation is burying it». [Reported by Abu Dawűd, Et-Termidi and En-Nassâ'i] The prophet also said: «Spitting in the mosque is a sin, and burying it is a virtue». [Reported by Ahmad] 6- Forbidding beggary in mosques because this causes those who pray to miss concentration and reverence in their worship. 7- Forbidding buying and selling in mosques. Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «If you see someone buying or selling inside the mosque, say: "May Allah not make your trading profitable». [Reported by Et-Termidi and said it is good and authentic, and En-Nassâ'i, Ibnu Khuzaima and El-Hâkim and said it is an authentic Hadith] 8- The non permissibility to call for something lost inside the mosque. Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Whoever hears a man crying out in the mosque about something he has lost, he should say: "May Allah not restore it to you, for mosques were not built for this». [Reported by Muslim] 9- The forbiddance of taking mosques for tombs. The prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «May Allah curse the Jews! They have taken the tombs of their prophets for mosques». [Agreed on] 10- Forbidding every thing that disturb those who pray and interrupt their concentration like a noisy discussion, throwing shoes in a manner that makes a noise, sleep, wearing garments which have designs or markings over them
VI. Conclusions 1- The abundance of mosques is a sign of our fathers and forefathers solicitude for their religion. They built mosques and glories and served the religion, and it is obligatory for us to preserve them and to build glories upon glories. 2- The necessity to open the closed mosques by the collaboration of the public and governmental efforts. 3- The necessity to open mosques to people in order to teach them their religion and to enlighten them, because building mosques requires forming the worshipper (Man). |
