Tag: community enjoyment

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New Muslims Reflections

New Muslims: How to Find Support and Strength

tree nature

Muslims are brothers and sisters to one another in the global sense.

The true religion of Islam is more than polemical rhetoric, or wearing a thobe, a hijab, or short pants. It’s about submitting to Allah, obeying Him, and establishing a lineage of belief, worship, family, brotherhood (love for the sake of Allah), prophetic tradition (Sunnah), honor, and akhlaq (morality), which is passed down from one generation, to the next, and to the next.

It is tragic when people enter into this faith and fail to pass it down to their children, or sometimes not even fully embrace it themselves, or try to live it through someone else’s reality without never having experienced its beauty.

In order to fully engage your Islam so that it becomes more than a bevy of regurgitated slogans, and faddish adaptations that you pick up and then discard later, you have to believe in, it in its totality, and practice it as a lifestyle.

To a true Muslim, Islam is not part of your life; it is your life:

Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds. (Al-An`am 6:162)

Islam is a lifestyle that you, yourself, must establish for yourself and your family. No one can do it for you; no imam, no sheikh, no scholar, and no saint. It is up to you to believe in it, embrace it, and practice it, or you can play with it. If you play with it, you are bound to lose it.

Priceless Gift

The reality is that many people who convert to Islam, are losing their religion, and fail to pass it down to their children and the next generations. Our faith is amongst the most valuable of gifts, and we need to do everything that we can to preserve and pass it down to our loved ones.

I was talking to my father, Sheikh Abdulkarim, about the issue of people leaving the religion and he reminded me of the verse: “It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when ye knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections: that ye may give thanks (to Allah).” (An-Nahl 16:78)

We have to value our Islam and realize that we came into this world with nothing, yet, now we are Muslims and have the guidance of Islam. This is a tremendous gift and there is nothing more beneficial than you can embrace for yourself, and pass down to your children, than Islam.

Success as a Muslim, without a doubt is a matter of tawfiq (divine enablement), and divine grace). Guidance is up to Allah; Verily Allah guides and leads astray who He pleases:

If Allah so willed, He could make you all one people: But He leaves straying whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases: but ye shall certainly be called to account for all your actions. (An-Nahl 16:93)

However, there is the matter of whether or not we engage causative factors which are determinants to the type of outcome that will occur. We cannot blame Allah for the condition of our religious practice and the loss of our children to the ways of the world. Parents have to take responsibility for how, when and to what degree we practice our faith.

Community Engagement

It is arguable that the biggest problem to beset African American Muslim communities by far is that most of them are not part of communities. This is a dangerous state; especially for someone new to Islam.

The basis of success for a community is enjoining upon each other truth and patience. This is best done with jama`ah (congregation). When there is no jama`ah, there is no leadership, when there is no leadership then there is no cohesion, and when there is no cohesion, people are left to their own individual machinations and when they are left to their own machinations, there is no religious order, and when there is no religious order, chaos almost always ensues. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever among you wants to be in the middle of Paradise, let him cling to the congregation.” (At-Tirmithi)

Americans have been converting to Islam in large number since the 1960’s, and some say that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States. I have no reason to dispute that claim, Yet despite the phenomena of mass conversion to Islam spanning half a century, it seems that for many converts to Islam, the religion is not passed down to subsequent generations of Muslims.

So if Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States, it can be argued that amongst converts to Islam, it is the religion with the fastest turnover rate. Many converts today are without community and end up being stray sheep, and the Shaytan (Satan) is picking them off, one by one, family by family, household by household.

Why is this important?

Well, it matters because as each subsequent generation of practicing Muslims evolve within the family, the moral and religious values of Islam takes hold and are reinforced within the family unit, the extended family, and then it impacts the society at large.

When Islam is not sufficiently passed down to the next generation, our children are left at a great spiritual disadvantage. More often than not, a person converts to Islam, has children, and the children grow up not to practice it, and take on social ills like teenage pregnancy, incarceration, social dysfunction and blatant immorality as if they have no guidance at all.

There is a conspicuous malfunction in the methodology of religious practice and thinking for much of the convert community, which resulted in impeding the generational flow of the religion to many of our children.

The number of children of converts to Islam who have either left the religion, are dead because of wanton gang or drug related violence, or are incarcerated, ex-felons, or non high school graduates, or single unwed mothers, are staggering.

The question that we have to ask ourselves is; now that we are aware of our circumstances and the consequences of our actions and inaction, what is it that works, and what is it that doesn’t work for us?

If we examine our history as Muslim Americans for the last forty years, we will get a firsthand snapshot of where we have been successful and where we have made mistakes with respect to passing down Islam to our children.

When people do not know the critical mistakes of their history, they are doomed to repeat them, and by all accounts, we as indigenous American Muslims, are making the very same mistakes, over and over again. One of the greatest errors during the last half a century is when people become detached from the masajid (mosques) which are the houses of Allah, from the congregations of Muslims, and from the salah.

Building Unity

Muslims are required to practice their religion in a local sense in order to preserve its practice within the individual and family.

Muslims are required to practice their religion in a local sense in order to preserve its practice within the individual and family.

Muslims are brothers and sisters to one another in the global sense. However, in the fragmented world that we live in, Muslims are required to practice their religion in a local sense in order to preserve its practice within the individual and family.

There is no single determinant which ensures that a convert to Islam, stays in the faith, practices in and successfully passes it down to their offspring, but there is a methodology based upon the Qur’an and Sunnah, which has proved to be most successful for converts to Islam over the last 40 to 50 years or so, and that is the establishment of jama`ah (congregations).

American Muslim congregations are one of the few places where you will find, two, three, and four generations of Muslim family, still in the practice of deen.  People who are attached to the masajid, and are part of religious congregations are much more likely to keep their Islam, and practice it, than those who aren’t.

Congregational communities, centered within a masjid, with an imam, and a community of people who establish the salah, have specific loyalty, commitment, and accountability to and with each other, and who have a communal focus, is a formula that works for American Muslims.

I didn’t say that it works perfectly; however, it does work and it does offer some sense of order, communal routine and stability. Such communities offer prayerful consistency, fraternity, cooperative spirit and effort, religious teachings, and spiritual support, which are all healthy and contributive factors to the good practice of Islam and being a Muslim in America.

Such an environment is critical for the convert to Islam. It doesn’t produce a perfect Muslim, for there is no such thing. However, it does create an environment of measured and consistent growth, as well as singularity of focus and religious message.

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Source: imamluqman.wordpress.com

 

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New Muslims Reflections

New Muslims: Where to Find and Preserve Strength

strength-nature

When people are in communities, they develop familiarity with each other, understand each other’s nuances, become more inclined to cooperate.

For many Muslims, to them, Islam is simply a fad, and not an actual way of life and practicing it is optional for them; not mandatory.

For others, Islam is something to argue about more than to practice, they will argue about the Qur’an and the Sunnah while ignoring the actual principles and teachings of the religion. There are others who will only practice Islam as long as it does not require any sacrifice, or require them to go out of their way.

These are the types of people who end up losing their religion all together. However, there are those who sincerely believe that Islam is the guided way to live your life and can be applied to everything you do, and they are willing to submit to it all. These are the true Muslims, and they are the ones who will find their way by Allah’s permission through the madness, the fitnah (temptation), the sectarianism, and the turmoil of our times.

These are the people who will in sha’ Allah benefit the most from congregation, and being in communities. To these people, I am saying to you that until there is a caliphate that is for all Muslims, and until the return of Jesus the Christ, the son of Mary (peace be upon him), the awaited Messiah, the best places to be are with a congregation of practicing Muslims, with a just imam.

This will aid you in the preservation of your religion, and your children’s religion. Here are just a few of its benefits…

Prayer in Congregation

Congregational prayer is the primary institution of a worshipful family and community, worship itself is the purpose of our creation; and it is the first extension of Islam’s value system:

I have only created jinns and men, that they may serve Me. (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56)

During my sixteen years as Imam of the Masjid, I have seen many brothers come into Islam and stay within the faith and practice it, teach it to their children, who grow into adults as Muslim.

At the same time, I have seen many of them convert to Islam, and go for years without engagement in the masjids and with communities all the while their children grow up without  the knowledge of the practice of Islam, and as adults are alien to the teachings of Islam.

Of course there are a lot of reasons for this but almost in every case, the ones who left Islam, and whose children were alien to the deen (religion) were people who did not attend the masjid, were not  part of communities, and did not attend Jumu`ah (Friday Prayer) with regularity. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“If there are three men in a village or desert and salah is not established among them, then the Satan takes mastery over them. So be with the congregation since the wolf devours the remote (stray) sheep.” (Abu Dawud)

Anytime there are Muslims living in any vicinity, it is incumbent for them to establish the salah. When this does not happen, it is inevitable that the Satan will overpower them:

(They are) those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong: with Allah rests the end (and decision) of (all) affairs. (Al-Hajj 22:41)

Establishing the salah is perhaps the single most significant factor that ensures that a person stays Muslim, and that there is trans-generational Islam. When people pray, they tend to stay in Islam, when they pray together; they tend to stay in Islam together.

This seems to have been the pattern over the years; those who pray, stay, and those who don’t pray, leave the religion. Leaving the salah and abandoning the masjids is one of the principal reasons that people leave the religion; the Prophet said, “Between man and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salah.” (Muslim)

It is important that every Muslim child sees their parents, or step-parents going to the masjid for prayer, getting up for Fajr, calling the Adhan in the home, experiencing that precious family moment which occurs after they have finished the congregational prayer.

There is nothing that can replace that. Children need a distinct, moral and spiritual foundation, in order to thrive as practicing Muslim adults in America, and there is no better foundation than the salah. When there is not a strong foundation, the dunya will tear them apart.

Cooperation and Familiarity

Congregational life and lifestyle plant the seeds of cooperation in righteousness and piety;

And cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, and do not cooperate with each other in sin and transgression.” (Al-Ma’idah 5:2)

Cooperation in righteousness and piety is fundamental to our faith is the methodology which engages group action for good. Allah has created people to depend upon one another in the handling of their affairs, both religious and temporal.

When people are in communities, they develop familiarity with each other, understand each other’s nuances, become more inclined to cooperate with one another, establish shared goals and aspirations, as well as develop a sense of belonging and accomplishment when they achieve these goals, whether it is building a masjid or a school, upgrading their facilities, feeding the poor, or engaging in religious projects to help people.

Thus, their children get to know and befriend each other, and they see each other’s children grow, and thrive. Cooperation and building upon successes breeds more cooperation.

These things are easier facilitated through congregation than through unanchored individuals, going it alone. This union develops to trust, willingness to support and do business with, and a better resolve to solve problems that arise amongst each other, because they have invested in the relationship.

These things are essential for our children to witness. When there is no cooperation, perseverance, spiritual bond, and loyalty in the religious group, it sends a message to our children that there is no stable future for them being amongst the Muslims.

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Source: imamluqman.wordpress.com

Read Also:

New Muslims: How to Find Support and Strength

Young Muslims Embracing Their True Identity

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New Muslims Reflections

New Muslim: Being Part of the Whole

prayer beads

Within the jama`ah (congregation) there is a certain degree of shared accountability that is not present outside of it.

Support: Spiritual & Moral

Being a committed part of a Muslim community fosters an atmosphere of support for one another through many means; social, financial, moral, and intra-personal. The strongest method of support is to enjoin upon each other truth, and patience:

Verily Man is in loss, except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy. (Al-`Asr 103:2-3)

Without spiritual support and righteous actions mankind suffers a devastating spiritual loss. Personal interaction and moral support that is found in congregation, eases the burden of isolation.

In today’s world, it is difficult to know who you can trust, and who you cannot, who is sincere and who isn’t. When people are engaged in a masjid, participating in the salah, in reminding, in fellowship, and doing good acts, they naturally begin to support each other morally over time.

Collective Accountability

Within the jama`ah (congregation) there is a certain degree of shared accountability that is not present outside of it. When brothers and sisters in Islam hold each other accountable, transgression is lessened. Spousal abuse is widespread in our communities, but when sisters are a part of a congregation, there is more recourse and direct help from within the community.

When Muslim children see that their parents are true to their religious and communal obligations, and have spiritual focus and goals in life, it is easier for them to do the same as adults because such experiences, and rearing serves as their foundation in life.

When our children see that their parents have no real commitment to our faith, to our institutions, to our communities, or to each other, it sends them a message that there is no real future for them as Muslims, and that it’s not worth the effort. We are seeing this occur time and time again.

Leadership

Having communities with imams is part of the tradition of Islam that has helped preserve our religion in America, dating back to the late 1800’s Being under some sort of religious leadership, whether it be an imam, an amir (ruler), a khalifah, or a sultan, is the Sunnah of our Prophet; The Prophet said:

“Whoever notices something which he dislikes done by his ruler, then he should be patient, for whoever becomes separate from the company of the Muslims even for a span and then dies, he will die as those who died in the Pre-Islamic period of Ignorance (as rebellious sinners).” (Al-Bukhari)

The ideal communities are those who have leaders who are fair, just, and knowledgeable of the religion so that can correctly teach people what is right and guide them according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. However, any leader is better than no leader at all.

When Muslim people do not have religious leaders, there is chaos. Brothers who have imams and are under some direct Islamic leadership tend to be more focused upon their religious priorities than those who aren’t. Imams are of varying qualities; some more knowledgeable, and more pious than others.

Still this should not prevent someone from the benefit of praying behind an imam in the congregational prayer. The Prophet said: “If the imam leads the prayer correctly then he and you will receive the rewards but if he makes a mistake (in the prayer) then you will receive the reward for the prayer and the sin will be his.” (Al-Bukhari)

prayer in masjid

When Muslim children see that their parents are true to their religious and communal obligations, it is easier for them to do the same.

We are living in the last days, and many of the major signs of the hour have passed. In the hadith of Hudhaifah, he was asking the Prophet about the trials of latter-day times; “What do you order me to do if such a state should take place in my life?” He said, “Stick to the group of Muslims and their imam (ruler).” I said, “If there is neither a group of Muslims nor an Imam (ruler)?” He said, “Then turn away from all those sects even if you were to bite (eat) the roots of a tree till death overtakes you while you are in that state.” (Al-Bukhari)

Ibn Taymiyah said, “It is better to endure under a tyrannical leader for 100 years than to go one night without one.”

Granted, we are all American Muslims, and brothers and sisters in Islam. However, if we take a closer look, it is evident that there are clearly two, distinctly different, Muslim Americas. One comprised primarily by immigrants from Muslim countries, and their children, and the other from American Muslim converts.

As immigrant communities are growing, thriving, and blanketing the landscape with multi-million dollar masajid, schools, and cultural institutions. African-American Muslim communities are struggling, lack physical resources, lack influence, and are very small in comparison.

The future looks very bleak for the Muslim converts unless we re-establish congregation with just and knowledgeable imams. Religious congregations are not perfect, but it is a lot better than chaos. For many Muslim converts, there is hardly any religious order in their lives. Imperfect institutions that teach, regulate, and fulfill the order of the deen of Islam, are better than no institutions at all.

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Source: imamluqman.wordpress.com

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New Muslims Prayer

How to Make Wudu’?

We, as Muslims, have to purify ourselves before offering prayer. Therefore, a Muslim is required to follow certain purification procedure known as wudu’ (ablution). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Allah does not accept prayer of anyone of you if he does hadath (passes wind) till he performs the ablution (anew). (Al-Bukhari)

But before ablution, you have to perform Istinja’ whenever one passes impurity from any of passages (front & back). One can use either stone (tissue in modern times) or water. To perform it with water is preferred. The best is to combine both water and tissue, first by wiping with the tissue and then washing.

In this video, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Naqwi explains how to make wudu’ perfectly….

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Source: edc.org.kw

 

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New Muslims Prayer

How to Perform Wudu’

By Abdul-Rahman Al Sheha

One should know that one must perform wudu’ (ablution) before the Prayer, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

How to Perform Wudu’

One should exhale the water from the nose with the help of the left hand.

“No Prayer is accepted without purification, and no charity is accepted from earnings made from impermissible sources.” (Muslim)

Allah says:

O you who believe! When you intend to offer the Salah, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, pass wet hands over your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. (Al-Ma’idah 5:6)

One should perform wudu’ in the following manner:

Homran ibn Aban, the freed slave of ‘Uthman ibn `Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“I saw `Uthman perform wudu’. He poured water on his two hands thrice, then he rinsed his mouth and nose, washed his face thrice, washed his right hand up to his elbow thrice, washed his right hand up to his elbow thrice, wiped over his head once, washed his right foot thrice, and then his left foot thrice. He then said, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) perform wudu’ like this wudu’, and then say: ‘Whoever performs wudu’ like my wudu’ I have just performed, and then prays two rak`ahs (units of prayer) not thinking about anything else, Allah will forgive him all his previous sins.’” (Al-Bukhari)

How to Perform Wudu’

1-One should intend with his heart that he is performing wudu’ to purify himself from a minor state of impurity. The evidence that the intention is obligatory is the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

“All deeds depend on their intention, and each person will be rewarded according to what they intend…” (Al-Bukhari)

2- One should say, “Bismillaah (In the Name of Allah),” before commencing the wudu’. The Prophet said:

“There is no Prayer for one who does not perform wudu’, and there is no wudu’ for one who does not mention the Name of Allah.” (Abu Dawud)

3- One should wash his hands thrice in the beginning of the wudu’, due to the hadith of Aws ibn Aws Ath-Thaqafi in which he said:

“I saw Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) wash his hands three times when he performed wudu’.” (Ahmad)

4- One should rinse his mouth and rinse his nose by inhaling water into it thrice. He should exhale the water from the nose with the help of the left hand.

5- One should wash his face thrice. The face consists of the area starting from the forelock at the top of the forehead of a normal haired man to the bottom of the (chin or) beard, vertically, and from right earlobe to the left, horizontally.

6- One should wash his hands from the tips of fingers up to and including the elbow, beginning first with the right hand, then the left. If he happens to be wearing a ring or a watch, they must move it in order to allow the water to reach the skin underneath it.

7- One must wipe over his head once. This is done by wetting the hands and passing them over the head, beginning from front, proceeding to the back, then passing them back over the head to the front. `Abdullah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

“Allah’s Messenger passed his two hands over his head starting from the front, proceeding to the back. He started from his forehead and passed them over to the top of his neck, and then passed them back to the place where he started from.” (Sahih ibn Khuzaimah)

8- One should wipe over his ears by inserting his wet index fingers [which he used to wipe his head] into the cavity if the ears, while wiping the outside with his wet thumbs. In ibn `Abbas’s description of the wudu’ of the Prophet (peac e be upon him), he said:

“He wiped his head and ears once.” (Abu Dawud)

In another narration, he said:

“He then wiped over his head and out his two index fingers into his ears, He wiped the outside of his ears with his thumbs, and the insides of his ear with his index fingers.” (Abu Dawud)

9- One should wash his feet three times from the tips of the toes up to and including the ankles. Abu Hurairah said that he saw a person who did not wash his heels, and he said to him:

“Woe to the heels from the Hellfire!” (Muslim)

10- One should wash the parts of wudu’ in the correct sequence. He should wash one part after another in the order that Allah commanded. He should not wash one body part before another which it should come after, for in the verse quoted previously, Allah mentioned the obligatory acts of wudu’ in a specific sequence.

11- One should make wudu’ in succession, meaning that one should not delay washing one part of the body so long that the previous washed part becomes dry. In a hadith, the Prophet saw a man praying, but a portion of his foot the size of a dirham was not wet. Upon this, the Prophet ordered him to repeat his wudu’ and Prayer. (Abu Dawud)

(Note that he did not merely order him to wash his foot, but rather he ordered him to repeat the whole wudu´ as well as his Prayer.)

One must remove anything from the parts that must be washed in the wudu’ which might prevent water from reaching the skin underneath it, such as paint and other similar things.

One remains in a state of wudu’ unless something invalidates it, such as urination, defecation, passing of gas, pre-seminal fluid, prostatic fluid, false menstruation (vaginal bleeding other than menses), eating of camel meat, touching the private parts with one’s hand without there being a barrier, or deep sleep.

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The article is an excerpt from the author’s book “How to Become a Muslim”.

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His Character New Muslims

Inside the Prophet’s Mosque

By Dr. Hatem  AlHaj

Religious & Social

the prophet's mosque in madina

The masjid should be a center for Shari`ah-compliant interfaith communication and dialogue.

A tour through the masjid of the Prophet (peace be upon him) during his time may help us rid ourselves of this false conviction.

1- Talking and socializing in the masjid of the Prophet

Jabir ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“He (peace be upon him) would not rise from his place where he prayed subh (the Dawn Prayer) until the sun rises, and when it rose, he would then stand up. They used to chat with one another, even about matters that happened to them in Jahiliyyah (before Islam), and they would laugh and he (peace be upon him) would smile.” (Muslim and Ahmad, and in Ahmad’s report, Jabir said that he witnessed this more than one hundred times)

2- Eating in the masjid of the Prophet

`Abdullah ibn Al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“We used to eat bread and meat in the masjid during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” (Ibn Majah)

3- Playing in the masjid of the Prophet

`A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

“I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) one day at the door of my house, while the Abyssinians were playing in the masjid, and the Messenger of Allah was covering me with his garment to watch their playing.” (Agreed Upon)

4- Sleeping over and staying in the masjid of the Prophet

`Abdullah Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) told us that before his marriage, he used to sleep in the masjid of the Prophet. (Agreed Upon; Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

`A’ishah also told us that a tent was set up for an emancipated black girl in the masjid. (Al-Bukhari)

It is also known that Ahl As-Suffah used to stay in the masjid, and they were about seventy men, as reported by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). (Al-Bukhari)

5- Tending to the sick in the masjid:

`A’ishah said:

“Sa`d ibn Mu`adh was wounded on the day of the Battle of Trench, so the Messenger of Allah set up a tent for him so that he may be close to him to visit him (often).” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Women at the Masjid of the Prophet

The Messenger of Allah was well aware of the praiseworthy protective jealousy of the men of his nation. Still, he was careful not to let this protectiveness become a reason for Muslim women to be deprived of the chance to visit the house of their Lord. On the authority of Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet said:

“Do not prevent Allah’s slave-women from going to Allah’s mosques.” (Muslim)

Even though the Prophet indicated in an authentic hadith (reported by Abu Dawud, Al-Hakim, Ibn Khuzaymah, and others) that it is better for a woman to pray in her home than to pray in the masjid, the mothers of the believers and the believing women used to go out to the masjid of the Prophet!

They wouldn’t do what is inferior, so they must have understood that this instruction is to say that women are not meant to go to the masjid five times a day like men, and to assure women who need to be at home, that they will not miss the reward of jama`ah (congregational).

The reward of their praying at home will be greater than their prayer at the masjid, but this applies to situations when there is nothing to do at the masjid but prayer. If there are other benefits such as learning, for example, then it may be better, overall, to pray at times at the masjid.

Children at the Masjid of the Prophet

Imam Ahmad reported from Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:

“The Messenger of used to lead the people in prayer, and Al-Hassan ibn ‘Ali would jump on his back when he prostrated, and he did that more than once.” (Ahmad)

Bukhari and Muslim also reported from Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah prayed at the masjid while carrying Umamah bint Zaynab, and he would put her down when he made sujud (prostration).

As expected, it was not only the Prophet who brought his children to the masjid. The Prophet would even shorten his prayers at times when he heard the crying of a child, out of mercy for his mother.

Non-Muslims Entering the Masjid

It is known that the Prophet used to receive the delegations in the masjid. It has also been reported that a delegation of the Christians of Najran stayed over at his masjid. It was also reported ” that Thumamah ibn Uthal was kept in the masjid for a few days”. (Al-Bukhari)

Muslims should reach out to everyone around them, and we should invite them to the masjid. Seeing it from inside, and watching the Muslims pray together, is likely to remove much of the fear generated by the anti-Muslim forces to define peoples’ perception of Islam and its people. The masjid should be a center for Shari`ah-compliant interfaith communication and dialogue.

Furthermore, we should initiate, participate in, and further all activities of benefit for the communities we live in. If the Islamic center has the appropriate facilities, meetings to discuss issues of common interest should be held at the masjid, such as neighborhood safety endeavors, drug-free zones, and the like.

Having said all of that, it is paramount that we put all of these reports in their right context and understand that the main function of the masajid (mosques) is still salah and dhikr. The Messenger of Allah said to the man who urinated in the masjid that the mosques have not been built for such purposes; they were built for the remembrance of Allah and establishment of the prayers.

The Prophet forbade all activities that will impede the proper establishment of these functions, to the point that he forbade people who ate garlic or onion from coming to the masjid in order to provide the best environment for those who seek to worship their Lord and engage in His munajah (subtle conversation).

It is therefore important that we keep the masajid clean and decrease the distractions as much as possible. If we could move some of these functions outside the prayer hall (masjid proper) to nearby rooms, then that would be warranted.

The children must also be instructed about the etiquettes of the masjid. If possible, we should designate areas for them where they could be best tended to and positively entertained.

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Source: muslimmatters.org

Dr. Hatem AlHaj is an AMJA scholar, a pediatrician and a PhD in Islamic Shariah.

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FEATURED New Muslims

Mosques in Islam: Purpose and Role

The masajid should be places wherein Muslims learn how to prostrate their hearts before Allah.

The masajid should be places wherein Muslims learn how to prostrate their hearts before Allah.

As the primary religious institution, the masjid has the greatest role in community building, and its success in performing this role is essential for the wellbeing of the community, particularly where Muslims live as minorities.

Sadly, the role of the masjid in many Muslim communities around the globe has recently been reduced to being a physical place where prayers are offered. It is time to reverse that trend and revive the role of this institution to what it was in the early history of Islam. Such a revival cannot be fully realized without first developing a clear understanding from the revelation, the Qur’an and Sunnah, about the importance, virtue, and role of the masjid in Islam.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The best patches (of earth) are the masajid (mosques) and the worst are the markets.” (Ibn Hibban)

Thus, Allah chose His Prophets to establish them, He said:

And (mention) when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and (with him) Ishmael. (Al-Baqarah 2:127)

And He commanded them to purify them and keep them clean, He said:

And We charged Abraham and Ishmael, (saying), “Purify My House”… (Al-Baqarah 2:125)

Furthermore, Allah made the reward of building the masajid most abundant. Regarding this, the Messenger of Allah said:

“Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, though it be the size of the ground nest of a sand-grouse, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.” (Ibn Majah)

Refuge for Hearts

Allah made the masajid a refuge for the hearts of His righteous servants, as the Prophet said:

“There are seven (types of people) whom Allah will protect with His Shade, on the Day (of Resurrection) when there will be no shade except His Shade.” Of them is, “A person whose heart is attached to the masjid.”

It should suffice the caretakers of the masajid that Allah praised them with this description,

The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the (rightly) guided. (At-Tawbah 9:18)

It was not a coincidence that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) started his mission in Madinah by building the masjid, which he made in its center.

The masjid takes its name from one of the actions of salah (prayer), which is sujud (prostration). It is the action wherein the believer shows the utmost humility to Allah. The salah is the best of our actions, as the Prophet told us in the hadith of Thawban.

Beyond Prayer

However, the role of the masjid is not limited to the performance of salah. The masajid should be places wherein Muslims learn how to prostrate their hearts before Allah, and not only their bodies. They are places of tarbiyah (refinement) of the Muslim character.

To the Prophet  and his Companions, the masjid was not only a place where they prayed, but it was also a place where they learned, recited the Qur’an, made dhikr (remembrance) and du`aa’ (supplication), met with each other, socialized, received the delegations, prepared the expeditions and raised funds for various good causes.

In fact, it was sometimes even a place for tending to the sick, and a shelter for the homeless. In the physical world, it was at the center of their lives. At the same time, it was the cradle of their learning and spiritual growth.

Whatever can be said about the importance of the masjid for Muslim communities throughout the world it is even more magnified when we talk about the Muslim minorities, to whom the masjid is truly the ark of Noah. In America, for example, Muslims are a small minority scattered throughout a large continent. For some of them, weeks or months may pass by without getting a chance to see another Muslim except in the masjid.

The masjid, therefore, constitutes the link between them and their deen (religion). In it, they develop that emotional bond with their community, which is vital to the wellbeing of their allegiance to the Ummah and faith in Allah. Many youth may find in the masjid the role models they lack at home.

In addition to this, for Muslims to see a masjid– especially the youth who did not grow up in Muslim countries– is vital because it’s the most evident symbol of Islam in their tangible world.

What Else?

The pressing question now is how to revive the role of the masjid in our times, particularly where Muslims live as minorities? Here are some of the things we need to do as a community.

We need to educate ourselves regarding what may be done at the masjid…

To begin with, one must emphasize that the primary actions in the masjid are salah (prayers), dhikr (mention of Allah), du`aa’ (supplication), tilawah (recitation), and education.

In light of that, priority must be given to the main jama`ah (congregants) of the masjid and activities led by the designated imam. Those who do anything else, or do something other than what the main jama`ah does, should not cause disruption. Abu Sa`eed narrated that the Prophet was in i`tikaf and heard them raising their voices with recitation, so he said:

“Each one of you is in munajah (soft conversation) with his Lord, so don’t bother one another, and don’t raise your voices above each other in recitation (or salah).” (Abu Dawud)

If it is prohibited for someone who is praying or reciting the Qur’an to bother the other worshipers, then it is more prohibited for someone doing something inferior to that to bother them.

Having said that, there is still room for much to be done at the masjid, and while many actions are prohibited in it, such as conducting business, advertising, announcing lost items, many other practices are thought to be prohibited when they are not.

Some of us Muslims have this mental image of the masjid as a sterile, extremely quiet place where people pray together and disperse thereafter. This causes some to enforce many restrictions in the masjid that would eventually make it an unwelcoming place for children and families, and even to adult men. However, a tour through the masjid of the Prophet (peace be upon him) during his time may help us rid ourselves of this false conviction.

To be continued…

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Source: muslimmatters.org

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