Thursday, February 18, 2010

It Is an evil deed to disturb others in the Masjid.

It Is An Evil Deed To Disturb Others In The Masjid.

By Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

How should one behave, especially in a masjid, when the Adzān is being called? Are we allowed to talk worldly affairs while it is being called? Are we allowed to exchange "Salām" (greetings) while it is being called? Jazakumullah khairan kathira.


In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the praise and thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālamīn. There is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam, is His Messenger.


1. Allāh commanded that the masajid should be a place to remember Him.

 Anas Ibn Mālik (radiyallāhu’anhu) reported who, said: “The Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:

‘There will come a time when people will sit in circles in the mosques and they will have no concern except this world. Allāh has no need of them so do not sit with them.’”

[Recorded by Al-Hākim reported in Al-Mustadrak (4/359; This is a sahih hadith even though al-Bukhari and Muslim did not narrate it. Al-Dhahabi said in Al-Talkhis that it is sahih.]

This hadith states that this blameworthy deed is disliked, because the masajid are not built for such a purpose. Allāh commanded that mosques should be made as a place to remember Him and to conduct prayers and acts of worship and obedience to Him, such as I’tikaf (retreat, seclusion for devotion and worship), and different kinds of zikir such as circles for reciting Qur’an and seeking knowledge.

2. The Adzān

On the other hand, there are hadith that command us to repeat the words of the adzan after the muezzin, as a mustahabb or encouraged deed, and to set an example of how one should behave when hearing the adzan. Some people neglect it, and do not realize how much reward they are missing out on and how much they are to blame for that. What sort of hearts must they have?! They hear the remembrance of Allāh then they turn away from Him, and it has no effect on their hearts so that they may fear Him and feel compelled to listen.

One of these hadith is that narrated by Imām Muslim in his Sahih from ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas (radiyallāhu'anhu), who said that he heard the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) say:

“When any one of you hears the Muazzin, let him say something like he says, then send blessings on me, for whoever sends blessings on me, Allāh will send blessings tenfold on him. Then ask Allāh to grant me Al-wasilah, for it is a status in Paradise that only one of Allāh’s slaves will attain, and I hope that I will be the one. Whoever asks for Al-wasilah for me, will be granted my intercession for him.”

[Muslim 384]

3. Greeting of Salam and shaking hands

As for giving the greeting of salām and shaking hands, there is nothing wrong with this, for these are acts of obedience to Allāh. There is no conflict between doing these things and responding to the muezzin, because a person may do all of these things at once.

Muslims should beware of doing anything that may offend or disturb those who come to the mosque for worship. This includes disturbing those who are reading Qur’an, praying or remembering Allāh in the mosque.

It is an evil deed (sayyiah) to disturb the people in the mosque by talking about worldly affairs, because this is offensive to them and distracts Muslims from doing acts of worship properly.

4. It is not allowed to disturb others, even if it takes the form of reading Qur'an, more so how about if it takes other forms.

An authentic hadith narrated from Abu Hazim Al-Timar from Al-Bayadi, that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam)  went into i’tikaf (seclusion or retreat for worship) in the masjid, and he heard them reciting Qur’an in loud voices while some praying. Rasūlullāh (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) pulled the curtain and said:

“The one who is praying is conversing with his Lord, so let him think about what he is saying to Him. Do not compete with one another in reciting Qur’an loudly.”

[Recorded by Ahmad Ibn Shu’ib An-Nasā’ie reported in Al-Sunan Al-Kubra (5/32) under the heading Dzikir Qawl Al-Nabi (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wasallam) - Lā yajhar ba’dukam ‘ala ba’din f’l-Qur`an (Mentioning the statement of the Prophet (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam), None of you should compete with one another in reciting Qur’an loudly)]

Ibn Muhairiz (rahimahullāh) is reported to have said: “Speaking in the mosque is idle talk, except for one who is praying, or remembering his Lord, or asking for help or giving help.” [Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzaq, part 8, Bab Kalam ‘Ikrimah].

Ibn Al-Hajj said, concerning the manners of the Muslim when he sets out for the mosque: “He should intend to avoid idle talk in the mosque or talking about that which does not concern him, for there is a report that says that speaking in the mosque about anything but the deeds of the Hereafter is like fire in dry wood, it eats up hasānat (good deeds). So he should take care to avoid that, lest he goes out to engage in trade and comes back having lost everything because of his idle talk.” [Al-Madkhal by Ibn Al-Hajj, part 1, Al-Sunnah fil-Mashiy ila’l-Masjid].

And Allāh knows best.

[Via Islam Q&A]

See: Solāh Tahiyyatul Masjid
See: Disturbing others in the Masjid is an evil deed

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jazakallah