Sikander Hashmi – Masjid & Community Etiquettes KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The Connected Center is a place where Islam is emphasized, with a focus on dressing properly and returning to Islam after spending time in the area. The Darodar is designed to return to Islam, including prayer, community hubs, dressing appropriately, and returning to normalcy. The importance of respect for the book and not disturbing others while reciting or reciting the word out loud is emphasized, and people are advised to be careful about not having food on the main floor and not having food on the main floor. The importance of respect for the book is also emphasized, and people are encouraged to show respect and give advice to others.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters,
my young friends, Assalamu alaikum
It is a great blessing of Allah
that we finally
have
this space, this Masjid,
albeit
temporary. Because as you probably know,
the actual plan
is to hopefully very soon begin construction on
the actual Masjid
and center facility right in front of this
building.
So as we look out the front here
behind me, this is where the gymnasium and
the new Masjid is going to be between
here and the road.
And this existing building will also stay and
will connect
to the new building.
The effort has been going on for almost
2 decades.
So the brothers and sisters
who are the early,
sounds funny to say this, but the early
settlers, the early Muslim settlers in Kanada,
you know, they had this concern,
and they
tried to establish this organization and to try
to establish a masjid in this community. May
Allah
accept all of their efforts and reward them
greatly. Ameen.
And at that time, when this concern was
brought up and the efforts were being made,
nobody knew
how it was going to end up or
where it was going to end up and
how it was going to turn out.
But
now we are starting to see it. Thanks
to your duas and
continued support. May Allah
accept it as
from all of us.
Now my brothers and sisters, while we have,
I'm sure, all attended all of us have
attended
Masjid
elsewhere,
This Masjid
and our first
full
normal Ramadan here is
going to be a new experience.
It is going to be a new experience.
You know? For those of us who who
live in this vicinity, who live in Canada,
we haven't really had this experience. And, of
course, in the last couple of years, our
Ramadans haven't been normal because of the pandemic.
But
we ask Allah
to grant us a normal Ramadan this year,
and this is going to be in your
experience for us
Now this place, as you can see,
is already getting
very busy.
And Ramadan, it is expected to be even
busier.
Okay? So even though it looks like a
relatively small space,
believe it or not, you know, we actually
have a calendar where we booked the halls
for various events, the various rooms, and it's
actually a challenge even to get the cleaning
in on time between events because there's back
to back events happening.
So perhaps
it would be helpful to take a few
moments
to discuss
the etiquettes,
the etiquettes of the Masjid and the community
in general.
So first of all, my brothers and sisters,
what is the Masjid?
When we say we're going to the Masjid
or we say that this is a Masjid,
what is the Masjid?
So literally,
it is the place
where
takes place, where prostration takes place to Allah
As we know, the word Masjid has the
the root letters
that denotes prostration
in it. So the Masjid is a place
literally of making prostration to Allah
Now as we know also, the prophet
has said that
that the closest the servant is to his
lord or to her lord
is during prostration, is during the sujood.
So from that, we can deduce
we can understand that the masjid
is really a place of coming close to
Allah primarily through offering sujood, which is a
part of prayer, which is offered in salah,
but
offering sujood, which is a part of prayer,
which is offered in salah, but generally as
well, a place of getting closer to Allah
And that is the objective.
That is what we truly want. That every
time we walk
into these doors
and we spend time here and when we
go out,
we return from here, we leave from here
feeling closer to Allah
That is the ultimate
objective.
Now, of course, sujood and prayer
involves the zikr of Allah
So it is also a place of expressing
obedience and devotion to Allah
through worship
and through zikr, through his remembrance.
This is, of course, the primary function of
the masjid.
Of course, we know that the masjid at
the time of the prophet
was more than just a place for prayer,
and that's not to diminish the importance of
that. That is the ultimate
actual purpose.
But along with that, it was also a
community hub
for everything to do with the community.
Anything that had to do with the affairs
of the Muslims, anything that had to do
with the community was linked to the Masjid
was taking place in the Masjid for the
most part, and that is how we want
it to be as well.
We want this place to be a hub
for all of the Muslims in this area.
And, honestly, not just the Muslims, but also
those who are not Muslim as well.
Right? We want this place to be a
welcoming hub for everyone so that everyone, all
of the creation of Allah
in this vicinity
and beyond
benefit from the activities that take place here
inshallah.
The other things that happen in this community
hub, right, are all
secondary functions. Right? The primary function is the
remembrance of Allah
Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in
Surah Al Araf in ayah number 31,
Masjid. Allah
says, oh children of Adam,
dress properly
whenever you are at worship.
Or that is the, you know, the the
intent of the meaning or of the verse.
Right? Where we can say Allah is saying
that dress up or take care of your
dress
when you attend the masjid.
And this was revealed in the context
of the times of ignorance, the days of
ignorance in the Jahiliyah when
the
of Mecca, the polytheists used to make the
law around the Kaaba.
So we make the law around the Kaaba.
It is, you know, a part of worship
to Allah
but they used to do it in a
perverted way in an unclothed
state. So Allah
revealed this verse in that context, but also
there is a general teaching and a general,
injunction here with regards to how we conduct
ourselves
and in which state we attend
the worship of Allah
in which state we attend
the, the houses of Allah
In
Quran, it is stated
that the verse brings out another rule of
conduct, and that is by calling the dress
which is adornment literally.
The hint given is that the preferred practice
in salah
is that one should not limit oneself to
only covering one's body functionally, meaning, you know,
just functionally making sure that we are covered
and meeting the minimum requirements that are required
in order, to offer salah,
but also then choose to wear
what adorns us
that looks becoming, you know, of course, within
one's means. Okay. So it's not to say
that we need to be excessive,
but
to be mindful about the way we appear
in front of Allah
It was the habit
of Sayidna Hassan
that
he would wear his best dress.
He would wear his best clothes at the
time of salah
saying that Allah
loves beauty. Therefore,
I dress myself beautifully
to please my lord for he has said
and then he quoted this verse that,
You know, take along what looks good on
you to every Masjid, basically dressed appropriately, dressed
properly
when you are at the Masjid,
whenever you are at worship.
So the tafir goes on and says that
we can see that this ayah, this verse
proves 2 things, that covering the body properly
is obligatory in salah, so we have to
meet the minimum requirements
and that it is recommended and merit worthy
to wear a neat,
clean,
and good dress within
means.
The prophet
has also told us as it is related
in, Sahih al Bukhari and Muslim
that
that one of you stands to pray, he
is or she is conversing with
his or her lord.
We are conversing with Allah
So we want to dress decently
and,
appropriately. Now prayer, as I mentioned, is technically
permissible with the minimum covering required.
Right? But the proper etiquette
is to dress decently and appropriately for the
occasion. So for example, we wanna try to
have loose clothing. Right? We wanna try to
ensure that we are covered
properly. If we have, you know, something on
our shirt, we wanna try to avoid having
faces or,
images of animate objects with facial features on
our clothing. And you know, a lot of
times when we think of clothing and we
think of covering properly and all of that,
a lot of times,
the mind, at least for the brothers, I
think, I could be wrong, goes towards the
dressing of sisters.
Right? But I've said this before, brothers as
well. Right? That please try to be mindful
about your clothes, particularly the length of your
shirt.
Because we don't want to be sighting the
moon when you're offering salah.
Yeah? When you're making sujood, we don't wanna
be seeing the moon. Moon sightings in the
sky, not here. Yeah. So please make sure
that your shirt is long enough and your
pant is pulled up enough that
you're offering salah in a in a decent
manner and it is not distracting anyone else
and you're not revealing parts of your body,
that should be covered. Now another thing I
also want to mention is
that
this should also not be an excuse for
not coming to the masjid. Say, oh, I'm
not dressed properly, so I'm not gonna go
to the masjid.
Oh, I'm you know? No. Like, think in
advance
and think of ways that if you have
to dress in a certain way, and maybe
it's not the best clothing for coming to
the Masjid or coming for salah, then think
accordingly. Plan ahead. Maybe keep an extra, you
know, pair of clothes or something that allows
you to wear that quickly and come enjoy
the masjid if,
when the time comes. So that is with
regards to
our dress.
Smell. You know? Because you see, we are
standing close together. Right? We are sitting close
together.
And especially in the month of Ramadan, you
know, we're hungry, and then we end up
eating a lot, you know, even though we
should we are learning self restraint. But when
the goes on, you know, the floodgates open
and then we stuff ourselves.
And by the way, this the brain gets
the signal a little bit after the stomach
is actually full. Because we just keep that
in mind. Okay? Because what ends up happening
is, come for isha, you come for salatulfaraweeh,
That's wonderful.
But then there's there's activity in the stomach.
You know?
And,
and then we're standing close together, and we
can't you know, if you can't control yourself,
it's an emergency. Okay. No problem. Right? But
we want to be mindful that we're not
just, like, you know, burping and, like, you
know, emitting
smells which are, you know,
which are disliked,
around others. Because the prophet
has mentioned
about smell that whoever has eaten of this
plant. Right, and he's talking about garlic, let
him not approach our masjid and annoy us
with the smell of garlic. Right? Meaning raw
garlic. And this is just, you know, an
indication. That smell is something that we should
be careful about. Right? Whether it's our breath
or whether it's our clothing, you know, if
we can try to refresh
it somehow. For example, the prophet,
you know, had put a great emphasis on
using the, the toothpick, right, as a as
a breath freshener,
taking care of our of our, you know,
body, and our clothing smells. So, you know,
if you're busy, you're working outside in the
sun, you're playing or whatever, and then you
have to come to the masjid, that's fine.
But try to, you know, wash up, clean
up to the best of your ability. Maybe
have some perfume, some deodorant, or something that,
you know, you're able to put on so
that others are not being disturbed by, by
bad smells.
The prophet
also said that
what was he referring to? He who eats
this offensive plant,
right, referring to onion, raw onion, and leek.
Must not approach our masjid.
For the angels are harmed or bothered by
the same things that the human beings are
bothered by. Right? So if there are strong
offensive orders, that is not something only which
is offensive or bothersome to human beings, but
also to the angels as well. So, again,
it doesn't mean that, you know, we should
just use that as excuse and not come
at all. But when we are coming, try
to be mindful of that and try to
take care of it, sort of take preventive
measures so that we are, mindful of this.
So that is with regards to,
we talked about dress and smell.
Noise.
Be careful
not to disturb people who are praying
and who are worshiping.
Right? Because, of course, the primary purpose is
to engage in the worship of Allah.
Right? Yes. We have other activities, and they're
good because it's a community hub. You know,
we have halls downstairs, and, you know, we
have lots of other activities happening. That's wonderful.
But we have to maintain respect and decorum,
especially for the primary activity in the masjid.
The
prophet once,
retired to the Masjid, and then he heard
people
reciting Quran.
He heard the people reciting Quran in a
loud voice.
Reciting Quran out loud. So they're doing a
good thing. Right? They're not doing anything bad.
They're reciting Quran. They're reciting Quran out loud.
So he removed he removed the curtain and
he said
that everyone of you is calling his lord
quietly so one should not trouble the other,
and one should not raise the voice in
recitation
and prayer over the voice of the other.
Right? So, basically,
even when it comes to doing something noble
like the recitation of Quran,
even then be mindful of
not disturbing others who may be engaged in
the worship of Allah
So you can imagine now, you can deduce
from this, that if that is the case
with regards to something as noble as the
recitation of Quran, then how about general chitchat
and talking? Right? Now I understand
it's a place to, you know, meet one
another, and that's actually one of the the
wisdoms perhaps or one of the benefits of
coming for a salah in jama'ah. We get
to see one another, and we exchange salaam,
and we catch up, and that's all good.
That's positive. Right? But just try to do
it in a way that it minimizes disturbance
or a limit or that you do it
in a way that doesn't disturb people who
are engaged in the worship of Allah
We should also keep in mind, though, that
light talk is not totally forbidden if it
is not distracting other disturbing others and not
distracting from the worship of Allah
or distracting from Allah
because
someone asked
that did you sit in the company of
the messenger of
So he said yes, very often.
And then he described that. He said that
he, the prophet
used to sit at the place
where he observed the morning or dawn prayer
till the sun rose. So the prophet would
stay in the same spot
after Surah Al Fadar until the sun had
risen.
He would stand and they, the companions, would
talk about matters amongst themselves.
And what would they talk about? They will
be talking about matters pertaining to the days
of Jahiliyyah.
So they will be exchanging stories and, you
know, memories and talking about things that happened
in the past, and they would laugh on
these matters while the prophet
only smiled. Right? So from that, we know
that it's not like a total prohibition
on any talking. Yes. If it's not disturbing
others and, you know, no one's really being
bothered by it and it's it's, you know,
not something which is totally,
worldly in nature because the prophet
has,
has
has warned us about that as well that
there will come a time when people will
sit in circles in the There
will come a time when people will sit
in circles in the mosques,
and they will have no concern except this
world.
The prophet said,
Well, he said first that Allah has no
need of them, so do not sit with
them.
Right? So there will come a time when
the gatherings in the masajid will be exclusively
about worldly matters. Focus seriously will be on
worldly matters. The prophet
said, do not sing, sit
among those gatherings.
He warned us about that. Right? So exclusively
worldly matters, serious discussions about matters which have
to do with the dunya, have nothing to
do with Allah
with our deen, with the akhirah, we wanna
avoid those. But if there's light, you know,
discussion, chitchat, you're catching up, and it's not
really disturbing anyone in a serious way, then
there is some room for that.
Now with regards to cleanliness, the prophet
said
that
that spitting in the Masjid is a sin
and its expiation is to bury it. Now
Now you think, okay, who's gonna actually spit
in the masjid? Right? But you gotta remember
that the masjid of Rasulullah
was not like the masjid of today. Right?
It was not like soft carpets and all
of that. Right? It's like made out of
dirt. There's dirt floors.
So it was not uncommon that people would
sometimes come and maybe they were not aware
of the decorum of the masjid, and they
would just spit, you know, here and there
or on the wall. So the prophet
said that that was a sin. Right? The
indication we get is
focus on keeping the Masjid clean.
Again, because otherwise, it will disturb people or
will bother people who are coming to worship
Allah
It is narrated from
that the prophet
saw some spook him. He saw some spit
in the of the mosque of the Masjid.
And he got so angry
that his face turned red.
But the prophet
when he got angry, he wouldn't, like, explode
or blow up, but it was visible on
his face. And you could tell by the
color of his face. You could tell by
the by the color of his blessed face.
You could tell by, you know, his veins,
and you could tell by the appearance,
on on his face. So he got so
angry that his face turned red. And then
a woman from among the
came and scratched it and put some perfume
in that place. So
said, what a good deed this is.
Right? So if we see something
that has first of all, if we make
a mess ourselves, we wanna make sure that
we clean it up. And secondly, if someone
has forgotten or something happened, then if it's
in front of us, we're able to clean
it. Should make an effort to clean it,
inshallah.
It will be rewarded by Allah
So dirt on the floor,
in, you know, carpet. The point is whether
it's, you know, whatever the form of mess
it is,
anything that is repulsive or causes inconvenience to
those in the Masjid must be
avoided, and we should try to clean it
up. And it's very important, not just in
the Masjid, but also the halls downstairs, the
washrooms,
you know, the carpet. We wanna be careful
about crumbs, about water bottles. It happens in
Ramadan a lot. You know, after an event,
we see water bottles lying around everywhere. Not
only is it just bad for the environment
and waste of plastic and a waste of
spring water that people die for, but on
top of that, it's just you know, carelessness
and leaving a mess in the masjid. Right?
So water bottles, bring your own water bottle,
bring your own water for for iftar. That
is the best way to do it. You
see wrappers or coffee cups and things. Just
don't be careless about things. Alright? If you
do something I mean, it's just a good
practice anywhere even at home. Clean up after
yourself. But especially in the masjid, especially in
the house of Allah
On that note, you know, there's no prohibition
Islamically on eating in the masjid because that
is something that was done. However,
right, here we try not to bring food
on the main floor, especially because what happens?
Naturally, when we eat, crumbs fall, you know,
there's some dirt that falls onto the carpet,
the carpet's good soil, there can be smells
in the carpet. And people, when they're trying
to offer salah, especially when they don't have
their prayer mats with them, it becomes you
know, it's it's not nice. It's it's a
major,
it's it's very, you know, it's it's a
big inconvenience,
and it's it can be very annoying. So
please try to be careful about not having
food on this main floor.
Now the greatest
degree of respect
is to be given for the masjid, right,
including the cleanliness
more than our homes when guests come over.
Right? We like to keep everything clean when
people are coming over. We have some special
company coming over.
We want to keep or give more respect
or more attention to the masjid than that
and more respect to the masjid
when salah is happening than the library. This
is how I explain it to my young
friends. Now Now when we go to the
library, every child knows.
Every child who goes to school knows that
when you go to the library,
you stay quiet. You don't run around in
the library. You don't shout. If you do
that, people look at you because you're not
supposed to be doing that. So inside the
masjid, the respect for the masjid should be
greater than what we have for the library.
Also part of respect is not to pass
in front of someone who is praying. Right?
This is from the prohibitions that the has
told us. Unless there is a sizable gap,
maybe about 2 rows or so, then you
can pass in front or unless you have
put something in front.
And, also, you know, not stretching legs towards,
the of the Quran if they're close by.
And some of the scholars say, you know,
towards the as well, or in front of
others. Right? Anything that will be disrespectful
towards the signs of Allah
anything linked to Allah or towards
others.
I was gonna talk about children as well,
but I'm running out of time. So we'll
talk about that some other time.
We will be seeing lots of new faces
as we are today.
So I wanna welcome everyone. And through Ramadan,
we are gonna be seeing more and more
people.
So try to say salaam.
Right? Try to smile.
Ask their name. Welcome people.
Show care and respect towards people. Because the
prophet
has told us
You will not enter Jannah until you believe.
And you will not have faith to have
true perfect faith until you love each other.
When was the last time we thought about
that? Going to Jannah, that we have to
love one
another.
And then the prophet
said, shall I show you something that if
you did it, you would love each other?
And then he said,
spread peace
or spreads the between
yourselves, amongst yourselves. So this is something that
we should try to do. Whether we know
someone or not, offer them the salaam,
be kind, be considerate,
and be outgoing in terms of reaching out
to others. Now all this being said, my
brothers and sisters, and I'll wrap up with
this. Remember 2 things. So first of all,
there
can be some minor differences in the details
of what dress is required for prayer
or, you know, how to pray as an
example
or what is not permissible.
So my sincere advice is
hold yourself back from correcting others,
from correcting others and pointing things out. Why?
Because,
first of all, there could be a legitimate
difference of opinion that you're not aware of,
number 1. And number 2, there can also
be people who are new.
They're not aware. Maybe they're coming to the
Masjid for the first time. And if you
start pointing out their mistakes to them, that
can be discouraging to them.
Right? If you start doing it immediately or
maybe by scolding them. Right? There's stories of
boys who came to the masjid.
Right? They weren't dressed properly. Maybe they were
wearing shorts that were a bit high or
whatever.
Right? And then they never somebody screamed at
them, shouted at them, and then they never
came back to the masjid again.
Right? So be very careful
about approaching others
and correcting others. We wanna welcome people and
encourage them instead. Right? Otherwise, there might be
the opposite effect.
And then, you know, if we create a
positive and welcoming
atmosphere, of course, we great learn a great
lesson from how Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam dealt
with
the Bedouin who came into the Masjid. And
what did he do? Because he wearing shorts?
No.
What did he do in the Masjid? Did
he throw some litter? No. He started urinating
inside the Masjid.
But Rasulullah dealt. First of all, he held
the the Sahaba back, told him to calm
down, let the man finish, and then he
dealt with it wisely. This is prophetic wisdom,
my brothers and sisters. K? So we want
to have a welcoming atmosphere. We want to
lead by example.
Others will follow. And once we get to
know people and they get comfortable, then we
can guide them gently. If it is regarding
something which is clearly and unanimously considered to
be problematic.
May Allah increase us in our love for
the Masjid. May Allah
make this a hub that unites us in
the worship of Allah
and love for for each other. May Allah
forgive us for our shortcomings. I mean,
We have some very sad news about the
passing of, the dear mother of our brother,
Abdul Sami,
Filfil
We make dua for her and all those
who have passed away.
To grant to our brother
and to all of loved ones.
Also because for dua of sheaf, for Shifa,
for the father of our dear brother, Latif,
Ahmed,
our dear uncle, brother Niaz, is ill in
hospital.
Him and others, as well, had messaged me
regarding a a sick relative. May Allah
grant them all a complete and spread speedy
recovery.