Manners and Etiquettes of the Masjid

The masaajid (plural of masjid) are the houses of Allah built for His remembrance. They are sacred places where some manners and etiquettes should be observed in order to realize and be truthful to the special nature of such places. The masjid is such a central and integral part of the Islamic Society that it was the first thing that the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ built when he migrated to Medina. Allah says:

Ibn Katheer mentions about Allah’s statement:

Also included in this ayah under the meaning of “raised” is to build, and there are several ahaadeeth with various wordings and chains which indicate this meaning such as the statement of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ narrated by the leader of the believers Uthman Bin Affan who said:

In another narration on the authority of the Mother of the Believers Aishah, who said

Another thing which we are forbidden from doing as it relates to the masaajid is to decorate them excessively as this causes confusion for those praying as well as the fact that it is a forbidden imitation of the Jews and Christians. In relation to this the Prophet ﷺ said:

Buying and selling are also forbidden in the masaajid. The Prophet ﷺ said,

It is also forbidden to raise one’s voice aloud in the masjid. This is prohibition is supported by the action of Umar when he saw a man raising his voice in the masjid. He said to him, “Do you know where you are?” This shows the understanding of Umar regarding raising one’s voice in the masjid.

From the virtues of the masjid is the encouragement of the Prophet ﷺ to pray in it and the fact that He mentioned that the prayer of a man in congregation is worth more than twenty-five times the prayer in his house or in his shop. Included in the virtues of the masjid is the reward that a person gets for every step that he takes towards the masjid. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned that any person who makes wudhu and goes to the masjid in order to pray sincerely will have every step of his will expiate his sins and another step will elevate his status. The Prophet said in another narration,

Dressing with clean and beautiful clothing is another way that one shows reverence and respect to the houses of Allah. Allah says

This refers to both male and female although women, in addition, should be wary and avoid exposing their beautification lest they are seen by men coming to the masjid.

These ahaadeeth show the virtues and manners that should be upheld in connection to the masaajid, but there are narrations which sow as well the honour that Allah has bestowed on certain people because of their connection to the masjid. From these virtues is the fact that Allah will give shade to the one whose heart is attached to the masjid. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah will give shade to a group of people on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade. Of these noble people is a person whose heart is attached to the masjid. (Agreed Upon)

In addition, those who attend the masjid for learning purposes, the Prophet ﷺ said

In addition to the things mentioned here, there are some other adaab that should be upheld on those attending the masjid such as:

• Making du’a upon entering, and exiting the masjid,
• Praying two raka’ah before sitting,
• Being careful not to walk in front of a praying person,
• One should not come into the masjid after just having eaten raw onions or garlic.

• A woman who is experiencing her menstrual cycle should avoid sitting in the musalla, or praying area.
• Not jumping over people to get to the front row or crowding the rows too much in order to secure a place in the front rows.
• One should also be careful in parking his car in a place where he compromises accessibility to, or out of the parking area as these actions are harmful to the other people who came to pray there.

We ask Allah that these reminders benefit the reader and help us in improving our manners and behaviour as it relates to the houses of Allah, and Allah knows best!