Etiquettes of the Masjid (with Sign Language) - Qari Zakaullah Saleem

Khutbah: Etiquettes of the Masjid

Amma ba'd: Indeed the most truthful speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. The worst of all matters are the newly invented ones, and every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

The Status of the Masjid in Islam

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Imam Muslim has reported on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah that the Prophet ﷺ says:

Indeed the most beloved places to Allah on this land are the masajid, and indeed the most hated places to Allah on this land are the markets, the marketplace.
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 671)

The masajid — the houses of Allah — are praised and given a special status in the religion of Islam. The masjid is the beating heart of a Muslim community. The masjid is the place where the Muslims gather together in order to build their brotherhood, and they unite and they become one ummah in this hub, in this center. The masjid is the place where the Muslims learn their religion and they gain the best type of knowledge — what Allah has said and what His Messenger ﷺ has said.

The masjid is the place where justice and equality prevail — where we see the rich and the poor, black and white, boss and servant all standing in one row before Allah. The masjid is the place which is not established only for the worship of Allah. Rather, the masjid is the hub of the community, is the center of the community, and this is how the masjid of our beloved Nabi ﷺ was.

At the time of the Prophet ﷺ in Medina al-Munawwara, there was no institute other than the masjid. There was no community center other than the masjid. There was no court other than the masjid. All these activities used to take place in the masjid. That is why our masajid should be like this — holding all these types of activities. Education, justice and equality, brotherhood — all these activities should take place in the masjid.

But the core purpose of establishing the masjid has always been to establish the five daily prayers. The masjid is called masjid because it is the place of sujood — where you prostrate and make sujood before Allah. That is why Allah has praised the masjid in the Qur'an, saying in Surah an-Nur:

The houses in which Allah has ordered you to raise your voice in order to remember Allah. The houses that need to be lifted and raised in respect and dignity and honor. These are the houses in which Allah's name is mentioned. In these houses those who do not get distracted by their trade and commerce — their business, their trade, their commerce does not distract them from the remembrance of Allah, from establishing the salah, from giving zakah. Rather, such people have the fear of the day in which they will be standing before Allah.

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, the core purpose of the masjid is to perform five daily prayers and to remember Allah within the house of Allah. That is why the Prophet has obliged Muslim men to attend the masjid for congregational prayer. They must attend the masjid — as long as you live within the area in which you can hear the adhan, you are close to the masjid, then you must attend the masjid for congregational prayer, for Salatul Jama'ah.

The Etiquettes of the Masjid

1. Dressing Appropriately and Respectfully

The Prophet ﷺ has taught us some etiquettes related to the masjid. One of them, my dear brothers and sisters, is that when you come to the masjid, you must dress respectfully, and your dress code must be according to the teaching of Rasulullah ﷺ. When you come to the masjid, you must dress yourself in an appropriate and respectful manner.

The dress that does not cover your awrah is not permissible for a Muslim brother or sister anyway. But especially when you come to the masjid, it is an even greater sin if your awrah is not covered. Unfortunately, we see and we hear many complaints from the congregation that people come to the masjid and stand before Allah in congregational prayer, and when they bow down and go into sujood, their awrah from the back is exposed. This is not only impermissible in Islam — it is a violation of the respect of the masjid. And it can also nullify your prayer, because if your awrah — the sattar — is not covered, your salah is not valid.

That is why my dear brothers, I would request you: whenever you come to the masjid, please be mindful. You are coming into the masjid in order to stand before your Lord, Allah. Dress yourself in a respectful manner. Allah says in the Qur'an in Surah al-A'raf:

O children of Adam, take your zina, your adornment, when you come to the masjid. He used to have a special dress for attending the masjid. Whenever the time of salah would come, he would use that dress in order to attend the masjid and he would say: "Allah has commanded me in the Qur'an."

But unfortunately, we Muslims nowadays are careless. We are always after concessions and always thinking about only what is compulsory and wajib. And we come to the excuse: "Yes, it is good. But Imam Sahib, it is just a sunnah. So if I miss it, there is no sin. So as long as there is no sin, I'm fine." By doing this, you end up abandoning so many sunnahs and so many mustahabbat in the religion of Islam. It is not only about obligations — it is something related to your manner, etiquettes, and respect for the house of Allah.

So my dear brothers, be mindful when you come to the masjid. Make sure that you dress yourself in an appropriate and respectful manner. At least cover your awrah completely. The awrah for a man is between the navel and the knees. This does not mean that this is the only part of the body you need to cover during salah. This is the minimum — for someone who has no other dress other than a sheet of cloth that can cover only this part. It does not give you an excuse to come to the masjid with your awrah exposed. Take your zina, beautify yourself when you come to the masjid to stand before Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ has also encouraged us to use perfume when we come to the masjid, and especially on the day of Friday. The Prophet ﷺ used to encourage his companions to take a bath on the day of Friday and to use perfume when coming to the masjid. This is something that is related to the respect and the etiquettes of the masjid.

2. Avoiding Offensive Smells

The second point, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, is that when you come to the masjid, make sure you have no offensive smell in your clothing as well as in your mouth. The Prophet ﷺ put great emphasis on cleaning the mouth by using the miswak and siwak. You must be aware of the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ reported by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, in which the Prophet ﷺ said:

If it was not the case that I would have overburdened my ummah, then I would have ordered them to use the miswak for every single salah.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 887; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 252)

Nowadays we find medical doctors and dentists advising people to use a toothbrush twice a day — in the morning and evening. But look at the purity and cleanliness that your religion teaches you: the Prophet ﷺ wanted to make it an obligation upon you to use the miswak and clean your mouth at least five times a day.

Unfortunately, people come to the masjid with an offensive smell — akramakumullah — and this is something that is not only against the respect and etiquettes of the masjid, it is something that also hurts the angels of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith reported by Imam al-Hakim that when one of you stands up during the day or night in order to perform his salah and he starts reciting the Qur'an in his salah, Allah sends down an angel. That angel comes from his back and continues getting closer to this person — the one who is praying and reciting the Qur'an in his salah — to the extent that the angel places his mouth on the mouth of the person who is reciting the Qur'an. This is out of respect for the reciter and out of respect for the Book of Allah. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: everything and every single word of the Qur'an that comes out of the mouth of this person goes directly into the mouth of the angel. And then the Prophet ﷺ said at the end of this hadith: so clean your mouth for reciting the Qur'an, in order to remember Allah — clean your mouth.
(Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, al-Hakim)

That is why the Prophet ﷺ put great emphasis on using the miswak. Our mother Aisha was once asked by one of the companions: "What was the thing that the Prophet ﷺ used to do when he would enter the house?" Our mother Aisha said: "The very first thing that the Prophet ﷺ would do when he would enter the house is clean his mouth with the miswak — even before conversing, before having chat and conversation with his own family members, his wife."

My dear brothers and sisters, you come to the house of Allah after eating raw onion and garlic, and even after smoking, and you do not clean your mouth. You tend to hurt the children of Adam — the people standing in the same row around you. And it is not only human beings; the angels of Allah are also hurt by this offensive smell. The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith reported by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah:

Anyone who eats raw onion and garlic, then let him stay away from our masjid and let him sit in his house. He does not need to come and attend the masjid and the congregational prayer. Indeed, the angels of Allah are offended and hurt by that which offends and hurts the children of Adam — meaning offensive smell.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 855; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 564)

Although it is an obligation for men to attend the masjid for congregational prayer, if you have an offensive smell, then please stay away from the house of Allah. Allah wants to give you honor and respect — in a way that when you read the Qur'an, Allah appoints an angel who gets closer to you — but this is only if your mouth is clean. So please be mindful and remember: whenever you come to the masjid, have a nice perfume and smell, and do not come to the masjid with an offensive smell.

3. Entering the Masjid with Tranquility

The third point is, my dear brothers and sisters: when you come to the masjid, come in all tranquility, peace, and quietness. We see sometimes, if the salah has already been started, people enter the masjid while trying to run and jog to join the imam — mainly because they want to catch the imam before he gets up from ruku. Because if you catch the imam in ruku, according to some, your rak'ah is valid. So they don't want to spend more time making up that rak'ah afterwards because they are already in a hurry.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

When the salah has been established, do not come to it running. Rather, come to the prayer while walking calmly and quietly. Whatever you manage to catch with the imam, pray it. And whatever is missed, make it up afterwards.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 636; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 602)

As I said, according to many fuqaha, if you catch the rak'ah in ruku, your rak'ah is valid and you do not need to repeat it. But according to many other fuqaha, who say that reciting Surah al-Fatihah is wajib in every single rak'ah, even if you caught the rak'ah while the imam is in the state of ruku, your rak'ah is not valid according to them and you have to repeat it anyway. So the point is: when you come to the salah and the salah has already started, do not rush — because then you will be out of breath, and when you stand before Allah you will not know what you are saying. The words coming out of your mouth in that state could mean something that you did not want to say to Allah. So when you come to the masjid and the salah has started, please come calmly and quietly.

4. The Du'a of Entering the Masjid

Another etiquette of the masjid: when you come to the masjid, upon entering, do not forget to mention the name of Allah and do not forget to send salutations upon your Nabi ﷺ — even before reading the du'a of the masjid. Many of us know the du'a for entering the masjid, and we teach it to our children. But we forget that the Prophet ﷺ has recommended something before reading this du'a — and that is making mention of the name of Allah and sending salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ.

The Prophet ﷺ has said in a hadith reported by Imam Abu Dawud and Imam Ibn Majah — and this is an authentic hadith — that he used to say when entering the masjid:

In the name of Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy.
(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 465; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 771)

So do not forget this du'a. And even before reading this du'a, you should say بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ.

5. Maintaining Silence and Respect in the Masjid

The next etiquette of the masjid — something that is related to the respect of the masjid — is: when you come to the masjid, please be silent. This is something that we have requested our congregation I don't know how many times. I shall say it's thousands of times, many many times. Unfortunately, we see — and you can witness it today, and many of you would agree with me — that even on the day of Friday, as soon as we complete the Friday prayer, our masjid turns into a marketplace. My dear brothers and sisters, this is completely wrong and against the respect of the masjid, the house of Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ came out of his house and entered into his masjid, and he saw his companions — some of them reading the Qur'an while others were engaged in praying. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Do not hurt each other, do not harm one another." Then he said: "Do not raise your voices over one another in reading the Qur'an when there are people praying close to you."

My dear brothers and sisters, if it is not permissible to read the Qur'an out loud when there are people praying around you, how can it be permissible for you to laugh, joke, raise your voice, and make noise in the masjid? We have requested many times and we have made the announcement sometimes before salah and most of the time after salah: please be silent, be quiet — people are praying sunnah.

Unfortunately, I have to say here: most of those who are engaged in making noise and raising their voice in the masjid are our youth. And when you approach them — "Please calm down, please keep quiet" — they say: "We are not going to pray the sunnah here. Why? Because the Prophet ﷺ has encouraged us to pray the sunnah at home." Do you really pray the sunnah at home? You waste your time in chat and conversation in the masjid and distract those who are praying the sunnah.

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab was in the masjid and he saw two persons talking and having conversation — only two people — in the masjid of Rasulullah ﷺ. He called upon them and said: "Come to me." They came to him and he said: "Where are you from?" They said: "We are from Ta'if." Umar said: "If you were from the people of Medina, I would have harmed you and hurt you. You are raising your voice in the masjid of your Nabi ﷺ. You do not have any respect for the masjid of Allah, for the house of Allah."

So my dear brothers and sisters, please be mindful when you attend the masjid. Before salah, if you have time and you do not want to engage yourself in reading the Qur'an, making du'a, or the remembrance of Allah — at least keep quiet and silent. Do not distract those who are praying, those who are engaged in reading the Qur'an, and those making du'a. And even after salah, keep quiet and silent. If you want to have any conversation or chat, you can go into the car park, or at least wait until there is no one praying — until all the people have gone — and then you will have your free time. We will never see anyone coming to the masjid for chat and conversation around 10 or 11 o'clock during the day. So all the conversation and chat always take place right after the prayer. Please be mindful and have some respect for the house of Allah.

6. Turning Off Your Mobile Phone

While we are on the point that being silent in the masjid is very important — especially when you have people praying around you — I would like to mention another point that is related to our mobile phones. When you come to the masjid, you have to be mindful that you are going to stand before Allah. You are going to engage yourself in direct conversation — a secret conversation between you and Allah — because the salah is the munajat, the secret conversation between you and Allah.

Just imagine: you are standing in court before a judge. Are you going to even breathe out loud? You would never try that because you have a kind of respect or fear — you are standing before a judge. And your Lord, your Creator — you are going to worship Him, you are going to remember Him, you are going to stand before Him — and you did not even bother to turn off your mobile phone? This is complete carelessness.

So please, when you enter the masjid, turn off your mobile phone, or at least make it silent so it does not distract your salah in the first place, and does not distract the salah of others who are praying around you. We sometimes make the announcement after the iqama: "Please switch off your mobile phone or turn them on silent." Yet we see mobiles ringing in the very first row. You are so addicted to this gadget to the point that you do not even have the courage to turn it off when you stand before Allah. Have some respect for the house of Allah. Have respect for the salah — the prayer which is the most important act of worship in your religion.

And unfortunately, we sometimes witness that people have ringtones on their mobile phone that is music. And some others do not have music — rather they have so-called "Islamic nasheeds." And this is, subhanAllah, the new term of these days: anything you want to respectable, you add the word "Islamic" to it — "Islamic nasheed." And some of them have du'as, and some of them have even the Qur'an — the recitation of the Qur'an — set as a ringtone.

My dear brothers and sisters, wallahi, Allah did not reveal the Qur'an for a ringtone. Ask yourself: how much of your time within your 24 hours have you dedicated to the recitation of the Qur'an? And here you are trying to show your love for the Qur'an by setting the recitation and the tilawah as a ringtone. This is not love for the Qur'an — this is completely disrespect. And the ulama have issued the fatwa — it is not my fatwa, it is not my opinion — the ulama have given the fatwa that it is not permissible to use the recitation of the Qur'an as a ringtone. Because sometimes you have to cut off the ring, or sometimes the mobile stops ringing mid-way through an ayah, which can completely change the meaning.

For example, Allah says in the Qur'an:

O you who believe, do not come near the prayer while you are in a state of intoxication — this was when khamr was not yet prohibited. But if you have set the ringtone as this ayah and then the ringtone is cut off partway, what would it mean? Allah saying in the Qur'an: "O you who believe, do not come closer to the salah." You have the kalimah tayyibah — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ — set as a ringtone, and the mobile starts ringing and it says لَا إِلَهَ and then it stops — meaning "there is no god at all." Is this right?

So please, do not set the adhan, Islamic nasheeds, or the recitation of the Qur'an, or anything like this, as a ringtone. And having music as a ringtone is even worse. And when you come into the masjid and you do not turn your mobile off — or put it on silent — and it starts ringing during the salah, disturbing your salah and the salah of others around you — this is completely against the etiquettes and respect of the house of Allah.

Closing Du'a

These are some of the etiquettes that I wanted to highlight concerning the house of Allah — the masjid. May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to learn our religion. May Allah give us tawfiq to act upon whatever we hear and whatever we say. And may Allah allow us to rectify our mistakes and our errors.