And that Masaajid belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah [72:18]

THE ADAAB (ETIQUETTES) OF MASJID

The masjid is the house of Allah and has been made for His remembrance;
therefore, the Blessed Prophet forbade ghaflah (ignorance towards Allah
) and acts of ghaflah in the masjid. It is similar to being invited to someone’s
house and then ignoring the host. The same way we respect the host and appreciate his
inviting us to his home, we must also respect our Creator who invited us to His house to
gain from His rahmah. We should also be grateful that He has made our hearts inclined
towards His masjid, as many of our brothers could not avail this opportunity.

The Blessed Prophet explained that the following acts are unsuitable for the
masjid:
1. Making it a pathway.
2. Buying and selling
3. Bringing uncooked meat into the masjid1
4. Reciting poems in the masjid2
ote: This includes singing the lyrics of music and poetry also.
ote: In one hadith the Blessed Prophet said, “The bazaars (markets) are
the worst of places, and the masajid the best of places.” This is because the bazaars make
one forget Allah and occupy the heart in buying, selling, and acquiring goods
of the dunya. If one buys and sells in the masjid, he makes the best of places into the
worst of places; a place of remembrance becomes a place where one forgets Allah
. In another hadith the Blessed Prophet specifically said, “And do
not make it a bazaar (market).3”

Nowadays, masajid are commonly used as pathways where they are adjoined to a
community center. Youth will go to play basketball and adults will attend functions.
Many do not come for salah unless they are already in the center playing or attending a
function. Thus, like a pathway, the masjid is used to achieve other ends.

In another hadith the Blessed Prophet advised us keep the following away
from the masjid:
1. Your children
2. The insane
3. Your mischief-causing people
4. Your disputes
5. Raising your voices4
ote: One characteristic common to all the aforementioned things is that they distract us from the
remembrance of Allah . This hadith clarifies that it is reprehensible and even sinful to bring to
the masjid a child who disrupts the salah of the musallis and the tranquility (calmness) of the masjid; the
hadith also permits banning a person known to cause trouble and discord in the community from a masjid.

1
Ibn Majah 1/257 (748),
2
Ibn Majah 1/257 (749), Ibn Khuzaimah 2/275, Al-Mustadraq 4/419
3
Ibid
4
Ibn Majah 1/257 (750), Sunan Al-Baihaqi 10/103, AlMu’jam Al-Kabir 8/132
The Blessed Prophet said, “Whosoever removes adhaa (anything repulsive
or harmful) from the masjid, Allah will make a house for him in Jannah.”5

The Blessed Prophet once saw phlegm on the wall of the masjid. His face
became red with anger. A woman amongst the Ansaar came, removed it, and replaced it
with incense.6
ote: It should be remembered that in another hadith the same reward is mentioned for
one who makes a masjid in this dunya. This shows that keeping the masjid clean is as
important as making one.

The Blessed Prophet prohibited announcements of lost items.7

In another hadith, he admomished a person who made an announcement about a red
camel he had lost by saying, “May you never find it.” The masjid has been built for the
reason for which it has been built [and nothing else].8
ote: The abovementioned ahadith indicate two important points:
1. The masjid is not for personal use and should not be treated as such; this is denigration
of the masjid.
2. The masjid is solely for remembrance of Allah ; to use it for any other
purpose is disrespectful to the masjid.

Fatimah narrates that the Blessed Prophet would say:

“‫”بسم  والسالم على رسول  اللھم اغفر لي ذنوبي وافتح لي أبواب رحمتك‬
… when he entered the masjid.
And:
“‫”بسم  والسالم على رسول  اللھم اغفر لي ذنوبي وافتح لي أبواب فضلك‬
… when he left the masjid.9

The Blessed Prophet said, “When anyone of you enters a masjid, do not sit
10
until you pray two rakat.”
ote: This salah is called tahiyyat ul masjid. It is Sunnah/Mustahab to pray these two
rakah upon entering the masjid except during three times of the day: sunrise, midday, and
sunset, as mentioned in the ahadith.11 The tahiyyat ul masjid salah is established to
observe the sanctitude and greatness of the house of Allah - the masjid.

5
Ibn Majah 1/250, Al-Targhib wal Tarheeb 1/123
6
Al-Sunan Kubra 1/265, Ibn Khuzaimah 2/270
7
Ibn Majah 1/252,
8
Muslim 1/397, Ibn Khuzaimah 2/272, Sahih Ibn Habban 4/531
9
Ibn Majah 1/254, and with similar wording in Sahih Ibn Habban 5/399, Muslim 1/494, Tirmizi
2/127
10
Bukhari 1/170, Muslim 1/495
11
Muslim 1/568, Al-Sunan Kubra 1/482, Sunan Baihaqi 2/454, Muwatta Imam Malik (rah) 1/219,
Sahih Ibn Habban 4/413
Jabir bin Abdullah narrates that the Blessed Prophet said,
“Whoever eats from the baqala (plants), that is, the onion [on another occasion he said,
whoever eats from onion, garlic and leek] should not come to our masajid. Verily, the
angels are also disturbed by that which disturbs mankind.”12

ote: This hadith proves the many rights of those who come to the masjid. To eat
something that agitates another, especially in the masjid, is haram. Ghusl (bathing) for
Jum'ah was made mandatory in the beginning of Islam for the same reason but was later
abrogated.

It is important to be appeasing in appearance (as mentioned in the Quran: O children of

Adam take your adornment at every masjid13) and in every matter that may be
disrespectful to the masjid or cause discomfort to other brothers. Another pertinent issue
is the habit of burping and belching in the masjid during salah and outside of salah. This
is also disrespectful and must be recognized.
Anything else that emits a bad odor like cigarettes and body odor also fall under the
umbrella of this hadith.

Abdullah bin Busr narrates that a man once jumped over people shoulders
while the Blessed Prophet was delivering a khutbah. The Blessed Prophet
said to him, “Sit down. You have hurt [people] and come late.”14
ote: Sometimes, it happens that we come to the masjid to please our Creator but leave
the masjid gaining his displeasure. We want to gain the reward of sitting in the front
sufuf, but if it involves hurting others by jumping over and squeezing between them, then
one is sinful and does not gain any reward.
Ibn Masood saw some people, their backs towards the qiblah, in the masjid
between the time of azaan and iqamah of Fajr. He said [to them], “Do not come between
the angels and their salah.”15

What is included in remembrance of Allah in the masjid?

1. Recitation of the Quran
2. Dhikr of Allah and His tasbeeh
3. Anas bin Malik narrates: “Once we [the Sahaba (RA)] were discussing
our state in the times of Jahiliyyah and how Allah blessed us with iman
and the darkness we were in. The Blessed Prophet said, ‘You are doing
well; what a great thing you are talking about. Be like this and continue to do this
[have these discussions in which you remember the blessings of Allah
]’.”16

12
Muslim 1/395, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaiba 2/249, Sahih Ibn Habban 5/449
13
7/31
14
Ibn Khuzaimah 3/156
15
Tabrani fil Kabir 2/23
16
Sharah Hayat ul Sahabah 3/813, Al-Muntakhab 4/391
4. Ibn Abbas said, “Talk a lot about Omar because talking about
Omar is talking about adal (justice), and when there is talk about adal,
one remembers Allah .” 17 ………..
Aisha said, “Beautify your gatherings by sending durood upon the
Blessed Prophet and remembering Omar bin Khattab .”18
5. Once Abu Huraira told the people that the inheritance of the Blessed
Prophet is being distributed in the masjid. By inheritance, they thought
inheritance of wealth. They ran to the masjid and saw something else. When they
returned disappointed, he asked them what they saw. They said, “We saw some people
praying, some were reciting Quran, and some were discussing halal and haram.” Abu
Huraira replied, “Woe to you! This is the inheritance of the Blessed Prophet
.”19
ote: The masjid holds the inheritance of the Blessed Prophet which is
recitation of Quran, praying salah, and gaining the ilm of Deen. The former hadith
explains that remembrance of Allah includes reading and discussing the lives
of the Auliyah Allah (friends of Allah ) such as the Sahaba (RA)
and the Salaf.
The maula (freed slave) of Abu Saeed Khudri narrates: “Once we were with
Abu Saeed Khudri who was with the Blessed Prophet . We
entered a masjid and saw a man sitting in the habwa20 position in the middle of the
masjid, his fingers interlocked in tashbeek21.” The Blessed Prophet
gestured towards him but he did not understand the Blessed Prophet . The
Blessed Prophet then turned towards Abu Saeed Khudri and
said, “When one of you is in the masjid, he should not do tashbeek because it is from
shaitan, and verily one of you is in salah for as long as he is in the masjid until he
leaves.”22
ote: acts that characterize ghaflah like the tashbeek defeat the purpose of being in the
masjid, which is to remember Allah . Other acts of ghaflah narrated in the
hadith are:
1. Cracking knuckles23
2. Yawning with noise24
3. Unnecessary movement in salah25

17
Ibid, Al-Muntakhab 4/391
18
Ibid,, Al-Muntakhab 4/393
19
Majma’ul Zawaaid 1/123, Al Mu’jam Al-Ausat 2/215, Al-Targheeb wal Tarheeb 1/58
20
Arabs often sat in habwa position. In this position the knees are tucked into the chest and a cloth is tied
around from the back holding the knees in and leaving the hands free.
21
Tashbeek- interlocking the fingers of both hands together.
22
Musnad Ahmad 3/43, Imam Haithami says: its chain is hasan. (Al-Haithami- 2/25)
23
Sunan Ibn Majah 1/310
24
Muslim 4/2293, Bukhari 3/197
25
Sunan Ibn Majah 1/309, Sunan Baihaqi 2/285
There are many other acts of ghaflah that may not be in the ahadith but are commonly
recognized as signs of ignorance. We should avoid all such acts, especially in the masjid.

Prophecies about the masjid

The Blessed Prophet said, “There will come a nation before the times, their
talk in their masajid will be of the dunya; Allah has nothing to do with such
26
people.” In a similar narration, the Blessed Prophet said, “Do not sit with
them for Allah has nothing to do with them.”27
- “When my ummah does fifteen things, they will face hardship. One of the things
mentioned in the narration is when people become loud in the masjid.28”
- “When you embellish your masajid and adorn your masaahif (Quran), then
destruction is upon you.29” In a similar narration, the Blessed Prophet
said, “One of the signs of the Day of Judgment is when the masajid
are embellished.”30
ote: The aforementioned narration is indicating how the focus of the ummah will
turn away from the objective of the building of the masjid to the masjid itself.
Therefore, the Blessed Prophet said, “On the Day of Judgment, the
masjid will say: ‘Oh my Creator, they ruined me, did not benefit from me, and wasted
me.’” 31
It is like a person who spends all his time, effort, and money in building a beautiful
big mansion for himself but lives his whole life in the backyard.
- “The masaajid before the Day of Judgment will be populated but empty of any
guidance.32”

Mufti Taqi Uthmani writes in the foreword of The Rise of Mischiefs, Disorders, and
the Signs of Resurrection:

“Secondly, these ahadith (about the signs before the Day of Judgment) indicate those
conditions which the Blessed Prophet did not approve of for his
Ummah.33

Thirdly, these ahadith are pointing out the line of action which a Muslim should take
to protect his faith and his Hereafter during these times of fitan.”

26
Sahih Ibn Habban 15/163
27
Shu’abul Iman 3/87, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaibah 7/198, Al- Wara’ Li Ibn Hanbal 1/59 (mursal
narration)
28
Tirmizi 4/495, Al Mu'jam Al Ausat 1/150
29
Nawadir ul Usool fi Ahadith Rasool 3/256
30
Al Mu'jam Al Kabir 10/229
31
Al- Ishaa’ fi Ashrati Saa’ pg. 166
32
Shu'ab ul Iman 3/211, All Sunan Warida fil Fitan 3/544
33
Pg 10,
Note: Musical tones, phones ringing, noise, quarrels, children disturbing Salah etc. are everyday scenes in
contemporary masaajid.

Alhamdulillah, this is a humble reminder for all attending the masjid, a gift for Imams and teachers –
Compiled by Shaykh Asim Ahmed of Darul-Uloom Al-Madania, Buffalo, NY. Insha Allah, it will be
beneficial to everyone.