Khutbah Recap
“Masjid & Community Etiquettes”
March 25, 2022, Kanata Muslim Association
– It is a great blessing to finally have this masjid, even though it is temporary with the new Masjid & Centre to be built in front of this building, Insha Allah
– This effort has been going on for almost 2 decades and at the time time, no one knew what Allah had planned but now we are starting to see it alhamdulillah, thanks to your du’aas and continued support
– May Allah accept it as sadaqah jariyah (perpetual charity) from us all
– While we have all attended masajid elsewhere, this masjid and our first full normal Ramadan here (Insha Allah!) is a new experience for our community
– Plus, many of us have been away for the last year or two
– This place is already getting very busy alhamdulillah, and Ramadan is expected to be even busier
– Therefore it would probably be helpful to take a few moments to discuss etiquettes of the masjid
– First of all, what is the masjid? Literally the place where sajdah (root letters س ج د) prostration takes place
– as we know, the Prophet ﷺ said: أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ “The servant is closest to his Lord during prostration” (Reported by Muslim)
– So we can understand that the masjid is really a place to come close to Allah, primarily through sujood (prostration) offered in prayer but generally as well
– Sujood and prayer involve dhikr (His remembrance with heart and tongue), so it is a place of expressing obedience and devotion to Allah through worship and dhikr
– This is the primary function of the masjid but of course we know the masjid at the Prophet ﷺ was a community hub for everything to do with the community and that’s how we want it to be, but those are all secondary functions
– Allah tells us in the Qur’an:
(al A’araaf 31) يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِد
O Children of Adam! Dress properly whenever you are at worship.
– This verse was revelead in context of jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) when tawaf (circumambulation around the Ka’bah) used to be done by the polytheists while nude
– Tafseer Maariful Quran states: “The verse brings out another rule of conduct. By calling dress: ` Zinah,’ (adornment), the hint given is that the preferred practice in Salah is that one should not limit oneself to only covering the body functionally, but choose to wear what adorns, looks becoming – of course, within one’s means. It was the habit of Sayyidna Hasan (RA) that he would wear his best dress at the time of Salah saying: Allah Ta` ala loves beauty, therefore, I dress myself beautifully to please my Lord for He has said: خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ (take along what looks good on you to every mosque). So, we can see that this verse proves two things, that covering the body properly is obligatory in Salah and that it is recommended and merit-worthy to wear a neat, clean and good dress, within means.”
– The Prophet ﷺ said: إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ إِذَا قَامَ فِي صَلَاتِهِ فَإِنَّهُ يُنَاجِي رَبَّهُ “When one of you stands to pray, he is conversing with his Lord.” (Reported by Bukhari & Muslim)
– Therefore, dress decently and appropriately for the masjid and for prayer
– Prayer is technically permissible with the minimum covering that is required, but proper etiquette to dress decently and appropriately for the occasion
– Loose clothing, cover properly (not just for sisters, brothers be careful about your shirt covering your lower back properly), avoid faces, animate objects with facial features
– Regarding smell, the Prophet ﷺ said: مَنْ أَكَلَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ فَلَا يَقْرُبْ مَسَاجِدَنَا يُؤْذِينَا بِرِيحِ الثُّومِ “Whoever has eaten of this plant let him not approach our mosque and annoy us with the smell of garlic.” (Reported by Malik)
And he ﷺ also said: مَنْ أَكَلَ مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ الْمُنْتِنَةِ فَلاَ يَقْرَبَنَّ مَسْجِدَنَا فَإِنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ تَأَذَّى مِمَّا يَتَأَذَّى مِنْهُ الإِنْسُ “He who eats of this offensive plant (onion, leek) must not approach our mosque, for the angels are harmed/annoyed by the same things as humans.” (Reported by Muslim)
– Be careful about overeating at Iftar and then burping loudly when people are around you
– Noise: Be careful not to disturb people who are praying, worshipping
– Abu Sa’eed al Khudrai (RA) reported: عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ : اعْتَكَفَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَسَمِعَهُمْ يَجْهَرُونَ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ، فَكَشَفَ السِّتْرَ وَقَالَ : ” أَلاَ إِنَّ كُلَّكُمْ مُنَاجٍ رَبَّهُ فَلاَ يُؤْذِيَنَّ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا، وَلاَ يَرْفَعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ ” . أَوْ قَالَ : ” فِي الصَّلاَةِ “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was doing I’tikaaf in the mosque. He heard them (the people) reciting the Qur’an in a loud voice. He removed the curtain and said: Lo! every one of you is calling his Lord quietly. One should not trouble the other and one should not raise the voice in recitation or in prayer over the voice of the other.” (Reported by Abu Dawood)
– However, light talk is not totally forbidden if not disturbing others and not distracting from Allah
Simak ibn Harb said: قَالَ قُلْتُ لِجَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ أَكُنْتَ تُجَالِسُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ نَعَمْ كَثِيرًا كَانَ لاَ يَقُومُ مِنْ مُصَلاَّهُ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي فِيهِ الصُّبْحَ أَوِ الْغَدَاةَ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ فَإِذَا طَلَعَتِ الشَّمْسُ قَامَ وَكَانُوا يَتَحَدَّثُونَ فَيَأْخُذُونَ فِي أَمْرِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فَيَضْحَكُونَ وَيَتَبَسَّمُ “I said to Jabir bin Samurah (RA): Did you sit in the company of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? He said: Yes, very often. He (the Prophet ﷺ ) used to sit at the place where he observed the morning or dawn prayer till the sun rose or when it had risen; he would stand, and they (his Companions) would talk about matters (pertaining to the days) of ignorance, and they would laugh while he ﷺ only smiled. (Reported by Muslim)
– Should avoid serious exclusively worldly talk: عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَتَحَلَّقُونَ فِي مَسَاجِدِهِمْ وَلَيْسَ هِمَّتُهُمْ إِلَّا الدُّنْيَا لَيْسَ لِلَّهِ فِيهِمْ حَاجَةٌ فَلَا تُجَالِسُوهُمْ The Prophet ﷺ said: “There will come a time when people will sit in circles in the mosques and they will have no concern except this world. Allaah has no need of them so do not sit with them.” (Reported by Haakim)
-The Prophet ﷺ also said: البُزَاق في المسجد خَطيئة، وَكَفَّارَتُهَا دَفْنُها “Spitting in the mosque is a sin and its expiation is to bury it.” (Reported by Bukhari)
– Anas (RA) related that the Prophet ﷺ saw some sputum in the qiblah of the mosque and he got so angry that his face turned red. Then a woman from among the Ansar came and scratched it and put some perfume in that place. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “What a good deed this is.” (Reported by Ibn Majah and an-Nasaee)
– At the time, there used to be a dirt floor, not carpet…but the point is, anything that is repulsive or causes inconvenience to those in the masjid must be avoided, and if one makes a mess by mistake, should clean it
– Very important: carpet, crumbs, water bottles, wrappers, coffee cups, bathroom, etc
– No prohibition Islamically from having food in the masjid but we do not want food upstairs to prevent mess, crumbs, spills, smells that will inconvenience those praying
– For the masjid: Greatest degree of respect, including cleanliness, more so than our homes when guests come over, more respect than library esp. when prayers are happening
– Also respect: not passing in front of someone praying (forbidden unless about 2 rows ahead or place something in front of them), not stretching legs towards Quran when it is close by (and Qibla also according to many scholars) and in front of others
– We will be seeing lots of new faces, so say salam, smile, ask name, welcome, care
– The Prophet ﷺ said: عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا تَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَا تُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى تَحَابُّوا أَوَلَا أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ إِذَا فَعَلْتُمُوهُ تَحَابَبْتُمْ أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ بَيْنَكُمْ “You will not enter Paradise until you have faith and you will not have faith until you love each other. Shall I show you something that, if you did, you would love each other? Spread peace between yourselves.” (Muslim)
– All this being said, remember 2 things:
– There can be minor differences in the details of what dress is required for prayer, what is not permissible and how to pray, so avoid correcting people on this
– There can also be people who are new, not aware, so don’t discourage them by immediately giving them looks or scolding them and correcting them
– Welcome them and encourage them instead, otherwise your actions could have the opposite effect and they might never come back again
– There’s a great lesson in how the Prophet ﷺ dealt with the Bedouin who came into the masjid and started urinating (the companions were outraged and in a panic, but the Prophet ﷺ let him finish, explained to him kindly, and then ordered that the place be washed with water)
– Create welcoming atmosphere, lead by example, others will follow…once we get to know them and they get comfortable, then can guide gently if it is regarding something which is clearly and unanimously considered problematic
– May Allah attach our hearts with the masjid, may He unite us with love and respect, and may He instill the highest degree of respect in our hearts for the masjid
