MOSQUE AND PRAYING PLACES.

Mosque and praying places

(a) Every place in the world is the place of worship
In Islam, prayer can be offered anywhere on God’s earth. The Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) said: “The world, the whole of it, is a Mosque.” “Wherever you turn, there is the face of God. ” (2: 115Q.) Therefore as God is everywhere, He can be remembered anywhere on the globe. God does not live only in temples, Mosques and shrines, He lives in every particles of earth. Mosque means a place of prostration. Technically it now means a house dedicated primarily for divine service. Some exceptions have been made regarding places of prayer on the grounds of impurity or uncleanliness, namely, graves and graveyards, bath-rooms, public roads, public slaughter houses, places of dungs and filths, houses of beasts, such as camels and cows.

(b) Mosque is the center of all round activities
The Mosque is primarily a place of prayer. As Islam considers every action in the world as Ibadat, or worship, if done with the object of pleasing Allah, everything good and lawfully can be done within the Mosque. For its reason, no separate house for each item of Islamic work is required. In other words, the Mosque can be used as a place for puaers, as an educational institution, as a council chamber, as a house for war council, and as a secretariat office. All the God-fearing activities of the Muslims relating to individuals and the national welfare could take place with in the mosque. As the Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) made education compulsory for both males and females, he also made provision for educational institutions where boys and girls should be educated. It was in the Mosque of Madina that war councils were held, legislations took place, education was imparted, and orders were issued for administrative purposes. At the time of Hazrat Omar (R.), two councils held their sittings in the Mosque of Medina deputations of Muslims and non-Muslims were received within the Mosque. The Christian deputation of Nazran and the deputation of Saqif were received by the Prophet within the precincts of the Mosque of Medina.The Mosque was thus not only the spiritual center of the Muslims, but also their political, educational and military and social center. In a corner of the prophet’s Mosque a band of missionaries were attached, called Ahlisuffa, who exclusively devoted themselves to divine service and learnt the principles of Islam. Thus there is provision for the training of missionaries in the Mosque. The Mosque of Medina also served the purpose of a library and a reading room. In short, the Mosque was a center of all-round activities of Islam. There are, however, certain restriction, namely, no purchases and sales are lawful in the mosque, no execution, retaliation, or murder, and no sexual intercourse are permitted in the Mosque.

(c) Respect to be shown to the mosque
As the Mosque is the house of Allah, due respect should be shown to it. The respect is expressed in the following ways: No noise should be made, and no spitting done. None shall come to the Mosque with bad odour of bad smell of any kind. Fresh garlic and onions should not be eaten as they may cause annoyance to others (on account of unpleasant odour). Unclean shoes must be taken off before one enters the Mosque. The Mosque must be cleaned and perfumed at regular times. On entry, two rakats of prayers shall be performed out of gratefulness.

(d) Admission of women in the mosque
Women are allowed to enter the Mosque for the Purpose of prayer. At the time of the Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) and the four rightly guided Caliphs (peace be on them), there was the practice of the females praying with the males, though in a different row or in a separate reserved place. This practice afterwards fell into disuse except at the Holy Ka’ba and the Mosque of Medina. At any rate, women who are willing to attend Mosque for divine services cannot be prevented from doing so.

(e) Merits of the construction of mosques and its attendence
The Holy Prophet declared that the Mosque is the best place in the world, as it is the center of divine as well as of all-round activities, and because Allah is much remembered therein through good work. There is an atmosphere of divine glory and divine love within the Mosque. Hence it is called the House of Allah. The merits of praying in Mosques in congregation are much greater then those of praying in houses. One sawab is recorded for a prayer in private house, 23 sawabs in a tribal mosque, 500 sawabs with congregation in a public mosque, 50,000 sawabs in the Mosque of Medina, 50,000 sawabs in the Mosque of Jerusalem and 100,000 sawabs in the Holy Ka’ba. Besides these sawabs, there are additional sawabs for attending the Mosque. The greater the distance of the house from the Mosque, the greater is the swab for attending it.
To construct a House of Allah is a sawab. House of Allah does not mean that Allah actually resides in it, but that Allah must be remembered therein. The Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) said: “Whoso builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build a house for him in Jannuth.”
Islam teaches plain living and high thinking. It has also laid down the rule that a Mosque should be plain and simple, nor shall there be any paintings and engravings which may divert the attention of the worshippers. The Prophet himself constructed the Mosque of Medina with bricks baked in the sun and of wood from stems of palm trees and roofs of palm leaved and clay. The great Mosque built by Hazart Omar (R.) at Basra, Kufa, Fustat and Jerusalem, were all simple structures with vast courtyards in front.
SOME EARLY MOSQUES.
Among the shrines for divine service in the world, the Holy Ka’ba is the oldest. No trace of any other older Mosque is found in the archives of history. From pre-historic days, the place has been devoted to pilgrimage, and many people from every corner of Arabia visited this Mosque. The Quran says about the Ka’ba: “The first house built for man.” (3: 95Q.) Prophet Abraham (p.b.o.h.) died nearly 4,366 years ago, and 3,000 years before the Prophet Mohammed (p.b.o.h.). The Quran speaks of the existence of the Ka’ba even before that. When leaving his son Ishmael there he prayed: “Oh Lord! I have made some of my offspring settle in this barren valley, near Thy Sacred house.” (14: 37Q.) Muir also says: “A very high antiquity must be assigned to the main features of the religion of Mecca. . . . Diodorus Siclus, writing about half a century before our era, says of that part of Arabia washed by the Rea Sea: ‘There is in the country a temple greatly revered by all Arabs.’ ” This Mosque is the oldest sign of monotheism and declares the unity of God from the center of the world. The Muslims from every part of the world also turn their faces towards this oldest shrine and deep allegiance to it. Next in importance is the Mosque of Jerusalem, popularly called Masjed-ul-Aqsa. This Mosque is the religious shrine of the three great religions of the world, namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and round this Mosque are attached the memories of the Prophets Moses, Jesus, David, Solomon and Muhammad (peace be on them). This Mosque was the first Qibla of Islam, and the Prophet is said to have resurrected to Heaven from this Mosque. The Quran refers to this incident: “Glory be to Him Who made His servant go on a night from the sacred Mosque (Ka’ba) to the remote Mosque (of Jerusalem), of which We have blessed the precincts.” (17: 1Q.) Prayer in this Mosque carries 50,000 sawabs than prayers elsewhere.

The mosque of Quba
This is the first Mosque in Islam built for congregational prayer by the Prophet on his way from Mecca to Medina at the time of Hijrat. He stayed here for fourteen days and had it constructed. The Quran says about this Mosque: “Certainly a Mosque founded on piety from the very first day is more deserving that you should stand in it: in it are men who love that they should be purified.” (9: 108Q.)

The mosque of Madina
This is the Mosque of the Prophet. In a corner of this Mosque lies entombed the Apostle of Allah, the Universal Prophet. The courtyard belonged to two orphan boys. It was purchased from them. It was made of mid bricks, palm trees and palm leaves.




		Mosque and praying places (a) Every place in the world is the place of worship In Islam, prayer can be offered anywhere on God’s earth. The Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) said: “The world, the whole of it, is a Mosque.” “Wherever you turn, there is the face of God. ” (2: 115Q.) Therefore as God is everywhere, He can be remembered anywhere on the globe. God does not live only in temples, Mosques and shrines, He lives in every particles of earth. Mosque means a place of prostration. Technically it now means a house dedicated primarily for divine service. Some exceptions have been made regarding places of prayer on the grounds of impurity or uncleanliness, namely, graves and graveyards, bath-rooms, public roads, public slaughter houses, places of dungs and filths, houses of beasts, such as camels and cows. (b) Mosque is the center of all round activities The Mosque is primarily a place of prayer. As Islam considers every action in the world as Ibadat, or worship, if done with the object of pleasing Allah, everything good and lawfully can be done within the Mosque. For its reason, no separate house for each item of Islamic work is required. In other words, the Mosque can be used as a place for puaers, as an educational institution, as a council chamber, as a house for war council, and as a secretariat office. All the God-fearing activities of the Muslims relating to individuals and the national welfare could take place with in the mosque. As the Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) made education compulsory for both males and females, he also made provision for educational institutions where boys and girls should be educated. It was in the Mosque of Madina that war councils were held, legislations took place, education was imparted, and orders were issued for administrative purposes. At the time of Hazrat Omar (R.), two councils held their sittings in the Mosque of Medina deputations of Muslims and non-Muslims were received within the Mosque. The Christian deputation of Nazran and the deputation of Saqif were received by the Prophet within the precincts of the Mosque of Medina.The Mosque was thus not only the spiritual center of the Muslims, but also their political, educational and military and social center. In a corner of the prophet’s Mosque a band of missionaries were attached, called Ahlisuffa, who exclusively devoted themselves to divine service and learnt the principles of Islam. Thus there is provision for the training of missionaries in the Mosque. The Mosque of Medina also served the purpose of a library and a reading room. In short, the Mosque was a center of all-round activities of Islam. There are, however, certain restriction, namely, no purchases and sales are lawful in the mosque, no execution, retaliation, or murder, and no sexual intercourse are permitted in the Mosque. (c) Respect to be shown to the mosque As the Mosque is the house of Allah, due respect should be shown to it. The respect is expressed in the following ways: No noise should be made, and no spitting done. None shall come to the Mosque with bad odour of bad smell of any kind. Fresh garlic and onions should not be eaten as they may cause annoyance to others (on account of unpleasant odour). Unclean shoes must be taken off before one enters the Mosque. The Mosque must be cleaned and perfumed at regular times. On entry, two rakats of prayers shall be performed out of gratefulness. (d) Admission of women in the mosque Women are allowed to enter the Mosque for the Purpose of prayer. At the time of the Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) and the four rightly guided Caliphs (peace be on them), there was the practice of the females praying with the males, though in a different row or in a separate reserved place. This practice afterwards fell into disuse except at the Holy Ka’ba and the Mosque of Medina. At any rate, women who are willing to attend Mosque for divine services cannot be prevented from doing so. (e) Merits of the construction of mosques and its attendence The Holy Prophet declared that the Mosque is the best place in the world, as it is the center of divine as well as of all-round activities, and because Allah is much remembered therein through good work. There is an atmosphere of divine glory and divine love within the Mosque. Hence it is called the House of Allah. The merits of praying in Mosques in congregation are much greater then those of praying in houses. One sawab is recorded for a prayer in private house, 23 sawabs in a tribal mosque, 500 sawabs with congregation in a public mosque, 50,000 sawabs in the Mosque of Medina, 50,000 sawabs in the Mosque of Jerusalem and 100,000 sawabs in the Holy Ka’ba. Besides these sawabs, there are additional sawabs for attending the Mosque. The greater the distance of the house from the Mosque, the greater is the swab for attending it. To construct a House of Allah is a sawab. House of Allah does not mean that Allah actually resides in it, but that Allah must be remembered therein. The Holy Prophet (p.b.o.h.) said: “Whoso builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build a house for him in Jannuth.” Islam teaches plain living and high thinking. It has also laid down the rule that a Mosque should be plain and simple, nor shall there be any paintings and engravings which may divert the attention of the worshippers. The Prophet himself constructed the Mosque of Medina with bricks baked in the sun and of wood from stems of palm trees and roofs of palm leaved and clay. The great Mosque built by Hazart Omar (R.) at Basra, Kufa, Fustat and Jerusalem, were all simple structures with vast courtyards in front. SOME EARLY MOSQUES. Among the shrines for divine service in the world, the Holy Ka’ba is the oldest. No trace of any other older Mosque is found in the archives of history. From pre-historic days, the place has been devoted to pilgrimage, and many people from every corner of Arabia visited this Mosque. The Quran says about the Ka’ba: “The first house built for man.” (3: 95Q.) Prophet Abraham (p.b.o.h.) died nearly 4,366 years ago, and 3,000 years before the Prophet Mohammed (p.b.o.h.). The Quran speaks of the existence of the Ka’ba even before that. When leaving his son Ishmael there he prayed: “Oh Lord! I have made some of my offspring settle in this barren valley, near Thy Sacred house.” (14: 37Q.) Muir also says: “A very high antiquity must be assigned to the main features of the religion of Mecca. . . . Diodorus Siclus, writing about half a century before our era, says of that part of Arabia washed by the Rea Sea: ‘There is in the country a temple greatly revered by all Arabs.’ ” This Mosque is the oldest sign of monotheism and declares the unity of God from the center of the world. The Muslims from every part of the world also turn their faces towards this oldest shrine and deep allegiance to it. Next in importance is the Mosque of Jerusalem, popularly called Masjed-ul-Aqsa. This Mosque is the religious shrine of the three great religions of the world, namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and round this Mosque are attached the memories of the Prophets Moses, Jesus, David, Solomon and Muhammad (peace be on them). This Mosque was the first Qibla of Islam, and the Prophet is said to have resurrected to Heaven from this Mosque. The Quran refers to this incident: “Glory be to Him Who made His servant go on a night from the sacred Mosque (Ka’ba) to the remote Mosque (of Jerusalem), of which We have blessed the precincts.” (17: 1Q.) Prayer in this Mosque carries 50,000 sawabs than prayers elsewhere. The mosque of Quba This is the first Mosque in Islam built for congregational prayer by the Prophet on his way from Mecca to Medina at the time of Hijrat. He stayed here for fourteen days and had it constructed. The Quran says about this Mosque: “Certainly a Mosque founded on piety from the very first day is more deserving that you should stand in it: in it are men who love that they should be purified.” (9: 108Q.) The mosque of Madina This is the Mosque of the Prophet. In a corner of this Mosque lies entombed the Apostle of Allah, the Universal Prophet. The courtyard belonged to two orphan boys. It was purchased from them. It was made of mid bricks, palm trees and palm leaves.
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