behavior in the mosque. What are the rules for visiting the mosque? Coming to the mosque
1. Entering the mosque, say the following dua :
« Bismillahi you-salaatu you-salamu ala Rasulullah. Allahumma aftahli abwaba rahmatik ”(“ I enter (here) with the name of Allah and a prayer of blessing to His Messenger. O Allah, open the doors of Your Grace to me ”) .
2. Immediately after entering the mosque, make an intention : « I will remain in (state of) itikaf all the time while I am in the mosque". By doing this, insha'Allah, one can hope for the spiritual benefits of itikaf (staying in the mosque).
3. When entering the mosque, it is best to sit in the front row . If the first rows are already occupied, sit where you find an empty seat. Walking over people is unacceptable.
4. You should not greet those who are already sitting in the mosque and busy with dhikr (remembrance of Allah) or reading the Qur'an . However, if one of these people is not busy looking at you, it won't hurt you to greet them.
5. If you want to perform sunnah or nafil prayer in a mosque, choose a place where the least number of people can pass in front of you . Some people begin their prayers in the back rows, while there is enough space in front. Because of this, it becomes difficult for other people to pass between them to find an empty seat. Praying in this way is a sin in itself, and if one passes in front of the person making the prayer, then the sin of passing in front of the praying person also falls on the one who makes such a prayer.
6. After entering the mosque, if you have some free time before starting the prayer, before sitting down, perform two rak'ahs (prayers) with the intention of tahiya al-masjid . This is a very commendable thing. If you do not have time before prayer, you can combine the intention for tahiya al-masjid with the intention for sunnat prayer. If you don’t even have time to perform sunnat prayer, and the jamaat has already gathered (ready for prayer), this intention can be attached to the intention for fard prayer.
7. While you are in the mosque, keep doing dhikr . It is especially useful to pronounce the following words: “Subhanallahi wal-hamdulillahi wa la ilaha illallahu wa Allahu Akbar” (“Glory be to Allah, all praise be to Allah, there is no God but Allah, Allah is Great”).
8. Don't let yourself be drawn into unnecessary conversations while you are (in the mosque), which may distract you from worship, prayer or dhikr (remembrance of Allah).
9. If the jamaat is already ready (has already gathered) for prayer, fill in the first rows first of all . If there is a free seat in the front rows, it is not allowed to stand in the back rows.
10. When the imam takes his place on the minbar to deliver the Friday khutba (sermon) in Arabic, then until the end of the Friday prayer, it is forbidden to pray, talk, greet someone or answer a greeting . However, if someone starts talking at this time, it is also not allowed to ask him to keep quiet.
11. Refrain from anything that can spread dirt or smell around the mosque or cause harm to someone .
12. When you see someone doing something wrong, calmly and gently ask them not to do it. . It is unacceptable to openly insult him, reproach him, quarrel with him.
Friday is the obligatory day to visit the mosque
Friday is Muslim day. This article is devoted to the basic norms and ethics associated with Friday and prayer. The article is written on the basis of the well-known modern book on fiqh of the imam's legal school Ash-Shafi'i- Al-Fihku l-manhaji.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Friday is the best day on which the sun has ever risen. On this day Adam was created, on this day he was settled in Paradise, on this day he was expelled from Paradise, and the Day of Judgment will come on this very day - the day of Friday. At-Tirmidhi).
Proof of the Friday Prayer Order
The words of Almighty Allah (meaning): “O you who believe! When called to prayer on Friday, run to the remembrance of Allah and leave trading. So it will be better for you if you only knew” (Surah “Assembly”, ayat 9).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Friday prayer is obligatory for all Muslims ...” ( Abu Daoud). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “People should stop neglecting Friday prayers, otherwise Allah will seal their hearts, and then they will become indifferent” ( Muslim).
The Wisdom of the Friday Prayer Order
There is much wisdom and benefit in the prescription of the Friday prayer. One of the most important is the weekly meeting of Muslims with each other. They gather for instruction, which strengthens their unity and harmony. The Friday meeting, accompanied by shoulder-to-shoulder worship of Allah, strengthens the love of Muslims for each other, promotes acquaintances and mutual assistance between people. Also, this meeting gives them the opportunity to follow the events taking place in the surrounding society.
Therefore, the Sharia encourages Muslims to attend the Friday prayer and warns against its abandonment or neglect. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah will seal the heart of the one who misses the three Friday prayers, neglecting them.”
Conditions for the obligatory Friday prayer
Friday prayer is obligatory for everyone who meets the following conditions:
1. Islam. Friday prayers are not required of a non-Muslim, in the sense that his worship will not be valid without converting to Islam. However, in the next world, he will be asked for her abandonment.
2. Age of majority. Friday prayer is not obligatory for a child.
3. Intelligence. A person who has lost his mind or did not have it is also not required to perform Friday prayers.
4. Belonging to the male sex. Friday prayer is not obligatory for a woman.
5. Health. It is not obligatory to perform Friday prayers for a sick person who, due to pain or illness, finds it difficult to be in the mosque. Also, the obligation to perform Friday prayers falls off a person if his illness may intensify or his recovery may be delayed. Also, it is not necessary for the one who looks after the sick or heals him to go to Friday prayers if the sick person needs this person. And it does not matter whether the sick relative is the one who looks after him or not.
6. Permanent residence in the place of Friday prayer. The performance of the Friday prayer is not obligatory for someone who is on a permitted journey (that is, for someone who did not leave to commit a sin), even a short one, if he left his city before Friday morning prayer and if from the place where he is this man, he does not hear the call to prayer from the city from which he left.
It is also not obligatory to perform Friday prayer for a Muslim who permanently resides in his locality, if it does not have all the conditions for the validity of Friday prayer (they will be discussed below). As, for example, if there are not forty people in it, for whom it is obligatory to perform a prayer, and the azan is not heard from a nearby settlement.
Conditions for the Validity of Friday Prayer
If a Muslim meets the seven conditions listed above, prayer is obligatory for him. However, it will not itself be valid except under four conditions:
1. Friday prayer should be held within the limits of the settlement (the place of its holding should not go beyond the boundary line of city buildings). And it does not matter whether we are talking about a city or a settlement in which at least forty men permanently live, who are obliged to perform Friday prayers.
Thus, the prayer will not be valid in the desert steppe, tent city or settlement in which there are not forty men who are obliged to perform the Friday prayer. If the azan is heard there from a neighboring settlement, then people are obliged to go there to perform the Friday prayer. Otherwise, the obligation to perform the Friday prayer falls from them.
2. The number of people performing the Friday prayer, for whom it is obligatory, should not be less than forty people. We are talking about adult men permanently residing in the locality in which the Friday prayer is performed. From Jabir ibn Abdullah It is reported that he said: “In accordance with the Sunnah, the Friday prayer is performed in the presence of forty or more prayers.” Also in one of the hadiths it is said that the first who gathered the Muslims and performed the Friday prayer with them was As'ad ibn Zirara and there were forty of them.
3. The Friday Prayer must be performed during the time interval in which the obligatory dinner prayer is performed.
Al Bukhari reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed Friday prayers when the sun passed the zenith, that is, deviated towards sunset.
Also reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Salam ibn al-Akwa', who said: "We performed Friday prayers together with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and when we parted, there were no shadows near the walls in which we could hide."
It is also reported that Sahl ibn Sa'd said: “We went for a midday rest and dined only after Friday prayers” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim).
The above hadiths indicate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed only during the time interval of the obligatory dinner prayer, and at the beginning of this interval.
4. Friday prayer should not be held in one city more times than necessary. In general, it is obligatory for the inhabitants of one city to gather for Friday prayers in one place. If the number of people or other circumstances do not allow to perform the Friday prayer in one place, it is allowed to perform it in as many places as necessary, but no more than that.
Proof of this condition
During the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the righteous caliphs and the next generation of Muslims, prayer was not performed except in one place in the city, in which there was a large mosque, called Friday. The rest of the mosques served for the five obligatory prayers.
Narrated Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Aisha, who said: “On Friday, people went one after another [to prayer] from their houses [located outside the city].”
The reason (wisdom) for this condition is that the Friday prayer in one place is more in line with the goals for which it was established: the desire for the unity of society and a single word addressed to Muslims.
Friday Prayer Etiquette
1. Before Friday prayers, one should bathe (take a bath - ghusl). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If you go to Friday prayer, then take a bath” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim).
However, bathing is desirable, not obligatory, according to other words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever performs ablution on Friday will receive good (do the right thing), if he bathes, then it will be preferable.” Some scholars consider bathing on Friday obligatory.
2. It is desirable for a man to anoint himself with incense. This is indicated by a hadith quoted by Al-Bukhari (843). Friday prayer is accompanied by pandemonium, and people should not cause each other inconvenience related to hygiene and neatness.
3. It is advisable to wear the best clothes for prayer, as indicated by the hadith narrated Ahmad (3/81).
4. It is advisable to cut your nails and cut your mustache, as indicated by the hadeeth from Al Bazzara.
5. You should go to prayer as early as possible. This is indicated by a hadith reported by Al-Bukhari (841) and Muslim (850).
6. Upon entering the mosque, one should perform a salutatory prayer of two rak'ahs. This is indicated by a hadith narrated by Muslim (875).
7. It is forbidden to talk during the khutbah. One cannot even make a remark aloud to one who speaks during the khutba, as indicated by the hadith transmitted by Al-Bukhari (892) and Muslim (851).
General Friday Etiquette
Friday is the best day of the week and has its own virtues and ethics. A Muslim should know them, receiving the reward of Allah for their observance:
2. On Friday and on Friday night, it is advisable to more often make dua to Allah Almighty. Allah has set a period of time during Friday in which He is sure to answer dua, as indicated by the hadeeth narrated by Al-Bukhari (893) and Muslim (852).
The church is a special place. The norms of behavior in the church of any denomination went through a very long way of becoming. Each religion provides its own norms and rules of conduct in the house of God. The general norms of behavior in all temples are only the following: do not smoke, do not drink alcohol, do not make noise and behave with respect for the place where God is present. All other rules are very different. With the advent of the opportunity to travel abroad, many tourists have the opportunity to visit countries where there is a different religion. Knowing the rules of etiquette when visiting a mosque can be useful to you.
A mosque is a prayer building for Muslims. It is not a holy place, a temple in the full sense of the word. The only exception is Masjid al-haram - the "forbidden mosque", which is located in Mecca. In the center of Masjid al-haram stands the Kaaba - the main shrine of Muslims.
The mosque organizes various holidays, not necessarily religious ones, performances by Islamic figures, competitions for reciting the Koran, etc. In addition, a visitor can always spend the night in the mosque.
Five times a day, at a strictly defined time, the azan is heard from the minaret - a call to prayer. It is proclaimed by the muezzin.
Inside the mosque, the direction of prayer is determined by the mihrab - a special niche in the wall facing Mecca. To the right of the mihrab in the cathedral mosque there is a minbar - a platform for the preacher.
Women usually pray on the second floor or in a fenced-off part of the first floor.
The entrance to the mosque for men and women is both common and separate.
Although the mosque is not a holy place, there are certain rules that apply to anyone who comes to the mosque, regardless of religion.
Women are forbidden to visit the mosque on "critical days". It is forbidden to enter the mosque while intoxicated. The outward appearance of a visitor to a mosque should not offend the gaze of believers: clean, modest and fairly closed clothing should be worn. For women, clothing should cover the entire body, with the exception of the face, hands and feet, its color should not be defiantly bright, and the silhouette should be tight-fitting. Women's hair should be completely hidden under a headscarf.
The floor in the mosque is covered with carpets, shoes are left at the entrance. In large mosques, special employees accept shoes and issue a token.
Visitors to the mosque behave very relaxed: they sit or lie on the floor, eat, sleep, communicate with each other. But at the same time, at any time, someone can perform namaz, that is, pray.
Believers read the Koran or simply focus on the thought of the Almighty. Therefore, you should not raise your voice, laugh, scold, etc.
When the time for prayer comes, believers perform ablution (wudu) and line up behind the imam - the primate in prayer. Those who for some reason do not take part in collective prayer are not required to leave the mosque.
Since there is no priesthood in Islam, the appeal to clerics is determined by the specific practice that has developed in the region.
The most universal is the appeal "sayd" (in Arabic "lord"), as well as "hadji", that is, who has performed the hajj. But these appeals are not the exclusive prerogative of clerics.
Visiting at least one should be a must on your travel itinerary. And it does not matter in which city of Turkey you plan to spend your vacation. Every Turkish city has a mosque, and not just one, but, for example, as in the case of Istanbul, thousands. As of 2013, there are 82,693 mosques in Istanbul!
Behavior in the mosque
Muslims adhere to certain rules of behavior in the mosque. But, even if you are not a Muslim, you should respect these rules. Ignoring other people's traditions and norms of behavior can only speak of your ignorance and disrespect for the country you decide to visit.
Closed for prayer time
During the hours of prayer (prayer) entrance to the mosque is prohibited. But in between prayers, you are more than welcome. Some people may pray outside during the obligatory prayer hours. Don't stare at them, don't stand too close, and don't walk in front of them.
Prayer periods are determined by the position of the sun in the sky. The five main prayer hours are: Sabah (Sabah - dawn), Oile (Öğle - noon), Ikindi (İkindi - afternoon), Aksham (Akşam - sunset) and Yatsy (Yatsı - night). The imam's call to prayer is an invitation for the believers to come and pray, and a warning for you to start praying.
Take off your shoes
Locals take off their shoes and leave them on a stand near the entrance. Mosques especially frequented by tourists such as the Blue Mosque and the Suleymaniye Mosque offer plastic shoe bags free of charge to avoid confusion. This way you can take the shoes in the bag with you and then put them on when you go out. But not everywhere there is such a service, so it’s better to have a bag with you just in case you don’t want to leave your shoes unattended.
Cover exposed body parts
Behavior in the mosque also applies to your appearance. Believers come to the mosque fully dressed, without exposed parts of the body. The rules for tourists are not so strict, but if you plan to visit a mosque, it is better to dress modestly. A woman's hair must be covered, as well as her shoulders and knees, both for women and men. If you're still unprepared, some mosques offer scarves and dresses for free, but not all, so bring something with you so you don't get stranded.
Silence
In the mosque you can not run, laugh, exchange jokes. If there is a need to say something, try to do it in a whisper. And don't forget to turn off your cell phones.
Photo and video shooting in the mosque
Taking pictures and filming videos in the mosque is allowed. However, it is unacceptable to film the process of ablution outside the mosque, and the believers during prayer in the mosque.
Free entry
Entrance to the mosque is free, but donations are very welcome.
Purity
You must come to the mosque clean. This means that the clothes must be clean, and the person must not emit strong odors, whether it be the smell of garlic or perfume. One of the basic tenets of the Muslim faith is purity.
