Mosque (مسجد)

13/6/2017, 18 Ramadhan 1438H


Masjid (مسجد) [Mosque]


"And [He revealed] that the masjids are for Allah , so do not invoke with Allah anyone." (Quran 72:18)

Masjidil Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Cultural Masjid (Mosque) in Malaysia

Malay Architecture

Malay architecture: Masjid Kampung Laut in Kelantan, Malaysia

Malay architecture: Masjid Kampung Laut in Kelantan, Malaysia
Malay architecture: Masjid Al-Azim in Melaka, Malaysia
Malay architecture: Masjid Kampung Kling in Melaka, Malaysia
Malay architecture: Masjid Kampung Hulu in Melaka, Malaysia
Malay architecture: Masjid Ulul Albab in Terengganu, Malaysia


Chinese Architecture
Chinese architectureMasjid Cina in Melaka, Malaysia

Chinese architectureMasjid Cina in Melaka, Malaysia

Chinese architectureMasjid Muhammadiah in Perak, Malaysia

Chinese architectureMasjid Muhammadiah in Perak, Malaysia

Chinese architectureMasjid Cina Seremban in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Indian Architecture
Indian architecture: Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Persian/Middle Eastern Architecture
Persian architecture: Masjid Putra in Putrajaya, Malaysia

Turkish/Ottoman Architecture
Turkish architecture: Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Russian Architecture
Russian architecture: Masjid Lapan Kubah, Terengganu

Russian architecture: Masjid Lapan Kubah, Terengganu

Russian architecture: Masjid Lapan Kubah, Terengganu

Modern Architecture (Contemporary)

You may visit any mosque in the world and identify these 6 features of a mosque:

1. Mihrab (direction to Masjidil Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia)
Narrated Anas:None remains of those who prayed facing both Qiblas (that is, Jerusalem and Mecca) except myself. [ Sahih al-Bukhari: Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 16]
Masjid Qibalatain in Medina, Saudi Arabia

Narrated Al-Bara' (bin 'Azib):When the Prophet (ﷺ) came to Medina, he stayed first with his grandfathers or maternal uncles from Ansar. He offered his prayers facing Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months, but he wished that he could pray facing the Ka'ba (at Mecca). The first prayer which he offered facing the Ka'ba was the 'Asr prayer in the company of some people. Then one of those who had offered that prayer with him came out and passed by some people in a mosque who were bowing during their prayers (facing Jerusalem). He said addressing them, "By Allah, I testify that I have prayed with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) facing Mecca (Ka'ba).' Hearing that, those people changed their direction towards the Ka'ba immediately. Jews and the people of the scriptures used to be pleased to see the Prophet (ﷺ) facing Jerusalem in prayers but when he changed his direction towards the Ka'ba, during the prayers, they disapproved of it.Al-Bara' added, "Before we changed our direction towards the Ka'ba (Mecca) in prayers, some Muslims had died or had been killed and we did not know what to say about them (regarding their prayers.) Allah then revealed: And Allah would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. the prayers of those Muslims were valid).' " (2:143). [Sahih al-Bukhari 40]

Narrated Al-Bara:
The Prophet (ﷺ) prayed facing Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months but he wished that his Qibla would be the Ka`ba (at Mecca). (So Allah Revealed (2.144) and he offered `Asr prayers(in his Mosque facing Ka`ba at Mecca) and some people prayed with him. A man from among those who had prayed with him, went out and passed by some people offering prayer in another mosque, and they were in the state of bowing. He said, "I, (swearing by Allah,) testify that I have prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) facing Mecca." Hearing that, they turned their faces to the Ka`ba while they were still bowing. Some men had died before the Qibla was changed towards the Ka`ba. They had been killed and we did not know what to say about them (i.e. whether their prayers towards Jerusalem were accepted or not). So Allah revealed:-- "And Allah would never make your faith (i.e. prayer) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered (towards Jerusalem). Truly Allah is Full of Pity, Most Merciful towards mankind." (2.143) [ Sahih al-BukhariVol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 13]

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 144:

"We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do." (Quran 2:144)

Mihrab (Mecca is facing to the west/sunset from Malaysia) at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya, Malaysia
Mihrab at Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2. Minbar (a pulpit that facing the audience for the imam to stand while reciting the sermon on weekly Friday prayer & Eid prayer)

Minbar at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya, Malaysia
Minbar at Masjid Cina in Melaka, Malaysia

3. Prayer hall (for men and women, separately)

Prayer hall for men (ground floor) and women (first floor) at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya, Malaysia

4. Ablution room (for men and women separately)


Ablution room for men at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya, Malaysia
Ablution room for men in Masjid Muhammadiah in Perak, Malaysia



'A'isha reported:

Umm Habiba and Umm Salama made a mention before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) of a church which they had seen in Abyssinia and which had pictures in it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When a pious person amongst them (among the religious groups) dies they build a place of worship on his grave, and then decorate it with such pictures. They would be the worst of creatures on the Day of judgment in the sight of Allah. (Sahih Muslim & Bukhari)
Prayer hall at Masjid Putra in Putrajaya, Malaysia


Mosque architecture may have cultural influence. Islam distinguish the religion and racial culture. You may preserve and practice your own racial culture, as long as not contradict to Islamic teaching. 

Islam is a universal religion. All muslims worship the same one God (Allah), read the same Quran (arabic) & follow the same one Prophet Muhammad, but culturally diverse.

Sacred Mosque

I said: Messenger of Allah, which mosque was set up first on the earth? He said: Al-Masjid al-Haram (the sacred). I (again) said: Then which next? He said: It was the Masjid Aqsa. I (again) said: How long the space of time (between their setting up)? He (the Holy Prophet) said: It was forty years. And whenever the time comes for prayer, pray there, for that is a mosque; and in the hadith transmitted by Abu Kamil (the words are):" Whenever time comes for prayer, pray, for that is a mosque (for you)." [Sahih Muslim 520 a]

Earth is our mosque

Allah's Messenger said: "All of the earth is a Masjid except for the graveyard and the washroom." (Tirmidhi)

Hudhaifa reported:
The Messenger of Allah (may peace be npon him) said: We have been made to excel (other) people in three (things): Our rows have been made like the rows of the angels and the whole earth has been made a mosque for us, and its dust has been made a purifier for us in case water is not available. And he mentioned another characteristic too. [Sahih Muslim 522 a]

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 114:

"And who are more unjust than those who prevent the name of Allah from being mentioned in His mosques and strive toward their destruction. It is not for them to enter them except in fear. For them in this world is disgrace, and they will have in the Hereafter a great punishment." (Quran 2:114)


One Direction (Masjidil Haram) for Unity

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 144:

"We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do." (Quran 2:144)

"So from wherever you go out [for prayer, O Muhammad] turn your face toward al- Masjid al-Haram, and indeed, it is the truth from your Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.
And from wherever you go out [for prayer], turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] may be, turn your faces toward it in order that the people will not have any argument against you, except for those of them who commit wrong; so fear them not but fear Me. And [it is] so I may complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided." (Quran 2:149-150)

Iktiqaf

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 187:

"It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah , so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may become righteous." (Quran 2:187)

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 196:

"And complete the Hajj and 'umrah for Allah . But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice. And when you are secure, then whoever performs 'umrah [during the Hajj months] followed by Hajj [offers] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find [or afford such an animal] - then a fast of three days during Hajj and of seven when you have returned [home]. Those are ten complete [days]. This is for those whose family is not in the area of al-Masjid al-Haram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty." (Quran 2:196)

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 217:

"They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months (i.e. 1st, 7th, 11th and 12th months of the Islamic calendar). Say, "Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allah is to prevent mankind from following the Way of Allah, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants, and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And they will never cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion (Islamic Monotheism) if they can. And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein forever." (Quran 2:217)

Surat At-Tawbah (The Repentance), Chapter 9, Verse 18:

"The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah , for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided." (Quran 9:18)



To Protect Places of Worship



Surat Al-Ĥaj (The Pilgrimage), Chapter 22, Verse 40:


[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right - only because they say, "Our Lord is Allah ." And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might." (Quran 22:40)





"[Such niches are] in mosques which Allah has ordered to be raised and that His name be mentioned therein; exalting Him within them in the morning and the evenings." 

(Quran 24:36)



Every step towards good deeds is rewarded

Surat Yā-Sīn (Ya Sin), Chapter 36, Verse 12:
"Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register." (Quran 36:12)
Anas said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'O Bani Salima! Don't you think that for every step of yours (that you take towards the mosque) there is a reward (while coming for prayer)?" Mujahid said: "Regarding Allah's Statement: "We record that which they have sent before (them), and their traces" (36.12). 'Their traces' means 'their steps.' " And Anas said that the people of Bani Salima wanted to shift to a place near the Prophet (ﷺ) but Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) disliked the idea of leaving their houses uninhabited and said, "Don't you think that you will get the reward for your footprints." Mujahid said, "Their foot prints mean their foot steps and their going on foot." [Hadith: Sahih Bukhari]




7 golongan yang mendapat pertolongan Allah di Padang Mahsyar


Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (These seven persons are) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood), a man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation), two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears." [Hadith: Sahih Bukhari]


The virtue of offering the obligatory prayers in congregation, the virtue of waiting for prayer and taking many steps towards the masjid, the virtue of walking to the masjid  

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
A man's prayer in congregation is more valuable than twenty degrees and some above them as compared with his prayer in his house and his market, for when he performs ablution doing it well, then goes out to the mosque, and he is impelled (to do so) only by (the love of congregational) prayer, he has no other objective before him but prayer. He does not take a step without being raised a degree for it and having a sin remitted for it, till he enters the mosque, and when he is busy in prayer after having entered the mosque. the angels continue to invoke blessing on him as long as he is in his place of worship. saying: O Allah, show him mercy, and pardon him! Accept his repentance (and the angels continue this supplication for him) so long as he does not do any harm in it, or as long as his ablution is not broken. (Sahih Muslim)


Non Muslims Enter Mosque



Abu Hurairah said “ The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) sent some horsemen to Najd and they brought a man of the Banu Hanifah called Thumamah bint Uthal who was the chief of the people of Al Yamamah and bound him to one of the pillars of the mosque. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) came out to him and said “What are you expecting, Thumamah?”. He replied “I expect good, Muhammad. If you kill (me), you will kill one whose blood will be avenged, if you show favor, you will show it to one who is grateful and if you want property and ask you will be given as much of it as you wish. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) left him till the following day and asked him ”What are you expecting, Thumamah?” He repeated the same words (in reply). The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ)left him till the day after the following one and he mentioned the same words. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) then said “Set Thumamah free.” He went off to some palm trees near the mosque. He took a bath there and entered the mosque and said “I testify that there is no god but Allaah and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His apostle. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. The narrator ‘Isa said “Al Laith narrated to us”. He said “a man of respect and reverence.” [Sunan Abi Dawud 2679]

Abu Hurairah said:
"Thumamah bin Uthal Al-Hanafi went to fetch some water that was near the Masjid and performed Ghusl, then he entered the Masjid and said: 'Ashhadu an la ila ha ill-Allah was ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh (I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger), O Muhammad, by Allah! There was no face on the face of the Earth that was more hateful to me than your face, not now your face has become the most beloved of all faces to me. You cavalry captured me and I want to perform 'Umrah. What do you think? The Prophet (ﷺ) gave him glad tidings and told him to perform 'Umrah." [Sunan An-Nasa'i: Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 189]

References:
  1. Mosque in Quran, http://legacy.quran.com/search?q=mosque, viewed 13th June 2017.
  2. Sahih MuslimThe Book of Mosques and Places of Prayer, https://sunnah.com/muslim/5, viewed 13th June 2017.
  3. 10 Unique Mosques in Malaysia, https://thesmartlocal.my/mosques-in-malaysia/, published 1st April 2021. 
  4. 9 Iconic Malaysian Mosques, https://www.therakyatpost.com/living/2022/03/31/9-iconic-malaysian-mosques-you-must-visit-for-their-unique-architecture/, published 31st March 2022. 
  5. MACMA Kelantan: Masjid Cina, http://kelantan.macma.my/index.php/masjid-cina/, viewed 3rd September 2018.
  6. MACMA, http://macma.my/main/index.php/media/masjid-jubli-perak-kelantan/viewed 3rd September 2018.
  7. 7 Golongan Yang Mendapat Pertolongan Allah di Padang Mahsyar, https://tazkirah.net/7-golongan-yang-mendapat-pertolongan-allah-di-padang-mahsyar/, published 9th March 2015.
  8. Beautiful Mosque, https://www.beautifulmosque.com/, viewed 7th March 2018.

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