HOW DO WE ANSWER THE CALL OF ALLAH? (PART V)

(Visit Allah at His House)

• Why Build Mosques?
• What is the Role of Mosques in Our Life?
• What is the Right of Mosques on Us?


Why Build Mosques?

As you are wandering in the countries of Islam, you are attracted by a very familiar sight and a landmark of the Muslim countries. These domes and minarets that go high up in the sky sending the call of prayer at their times. As if mosques were mothers that call their children and they come like chicks come to their mothers. Between mosques and Muslims there is a relationship built by Allah when He ordered them to pray in and build mosques. He also reported the same in a verse of the Holy Qur’an, ﴾… and that ye set your whole selves (to Him) at every time and place of prayer, and call upon Him, making your devotion sincere...﴿¹


Hadith that Urge Building Mosques

Abi Jaafar Al Sadek (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “Whoever builds mosques, Allah shall build him a house in Heaven.”² In their life, people work hard and gets tired. They need to refresh their power and nourishment for continuity of their material life and to provide these bodies with necessary power.

Also, as humans, and as a result of our continuous business, we need to charge our spirits and souls with adequate and sufficient spiritual power for the permanence of this spiritual life to keep on going strong and to enhance our connection with Allah where we get power, spirit and morale.

We get our morale from the mosque since we need to meet and visit Allah. Allah knows this need and He is generous. He wants to open a house for receiving us.

It is reported in the Hadith that in the Old Testament of the Bible it is written that my homes on earth are mosques. Blessed is a servant who purifies in My home. But a host has to honor his guests except with the believers who walk to me in the mosque in the darkness of the glaring light on the Day of Judgment.³


What is the Role of Mosque in Our Life?

It is one of the sources of morale and spiritual power. It is the place where we camp to defend our religion and nation. Imam Khomeini said, “Your mosques are your bunkers, so fill up your bunkers.”

In times of the Prophet, the mosque was the House of Allah and a source of obtaining morale. It was also the place where the nation’s issues were administrated, armies were prepared to defend Islam and Muslims, a court house to judge among people, a place where Muslims study their problems and a place where Muslims meet each other. The mosque was the school where believers learn from its Imam, just as from the Prophet before, the rulings of their religion.

At the mosque, one may get acquainted with believers and take them as friends and brothers. Most importantly, mosque is the place where we all stand performing prayer. In the mosque, the worship of Allah is manifested just like the unity in worship which does not distinguish among rich and poor, bosses and employees. As it is the place where we perform collective prayer, the mosque forms the unification factor of Muslims.

Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb (peace be upon him) talked about the interests and benefits of visiting the mosque, “Any one who visits the mosque shall gain one of eight things: a brother in Allah, beneficial knowledge, an accurate verse, an awaited mercy, a word that refrains him from doing wrong, a word that leads him to the right way or he quits a sin because of fearnes and coyness.”⁴


What are the Rights of Mosque on Us?

Mosques are the Houses of Allah, the owner of all the graces and blessings that we enjoy and who has given us without being asked for; therefore, He decides how we should deal with mosques, “The mosques of Allah shall be visited and maintained by he who believes in Allah and the Last Day”⁵ He wants us to visit and maintain mosques. Visiting and maintaining things are relative. Maintaining the body occurs when it gets nourishment and maintaining the soul is by performing worship, then how do we maintain mosques?

Should we contemplate that the mosque is the House of Allah, the Great of the Greatest and the Power of Heavens and Earths, the Conqueror, and the King of Kings, we would find out that the first thing that we should do for mosques is to glorify them due to their owner.

Imam Al Sadek (peace be upon him) says, “If you reach the door of the mosque, know that you have come to a great king only those purified may step in and only those who are true can sit within. Let you come to serve this king.”⁶

Mosques are places where Allah is worshiped, so one have to preserve their sanctities by maintaining their cleanliness and purity, keeping one’s voice low, talk only mentioning Allah, keep performing worships in them such as performing a supplication, attending a lesson, and praying and we must not desert them.

Imam Al Sadek (peace be upon him) also says, “Thee things complain to Allah: a deserted mosque that no one prays in, a person with knowledge who lives among people who know nothing and a Holy Qur’an that is left for dust and no one reads in.”⁷

One is highly recommended to purify at home and then come to mosque to pray in various spots.

Imam Al Sadek (peace be upon him) also says, “Pray in different spots of the mosque, for each spot shall testify for the prayer on the Day of Judgment.”⁸

Imam Al Sadek (peace be upon him) also says, “Whosoever walks to the mosque and steps over wet and dry things shall have earth glorify him till the seventh earth.”⁹

A neighbor of the mosque is hated to pray somewhere else. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household), “A neighbor of a mosque must only pray in the mosque.”¹⁰


Conclusion about the Collective Prayer (Salat Al Jama’a)

Allah Almighty asks us to perform prayer, that is to make it live. Each thing is alive respectively. Erecting a chair is by letting it stand on its legs. Making a child stand is by letting him stand on his feet. As for prayer, we must take care of giving the prayer its great courtesies, purification, dedication, devotion of the heart, and humble before Allah. This is difficult to achieve, “It is too enormous…” So, the best way to perform prayer and to be uplifted to Allah is to cooperate on performing it. Our prayer might not be performed as they are supposed to be and thus they are not lifted. Therefore, we refuge to whoever helps us and we cooperate with him to uplift us. This is made through the collective prayer because when performing it as such, it will be accepted even if only one's prayer is accepted. In addition, when performing collective prayer the reward will be doubled.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his household) once said to Gabriel (peace be upon him) (Jebrail), “What will my nation have in the collective prayer? O Mohamad! If they were two, Allah shall write one hundred fifty prayers for each Rakaa and if they were three Allah shall write six hundred prayers for each Rakaa,” until Gabriel said, “if they become over ten, the reward shall never be measured even if the seas and oceans became ink, the earths trees and people, jins and angels became writers. O Mohamad! Saying Allah Akbar with the Imam is better than sixty thousand pilgrims and this life and what it contains for seventy thousand times, and a Rakaa prayed with the Imam is better than one hundred thousand dinnars spent on the poor and one Sajda made with the Imam is better than freeing one hundred slave.”¹¹ The best of collective prayer is to be made behind religious scholars. Imam Al Sadek (peace be upon him) says, “Praying behind a religious scholar is equal to one thousand Rakaa.”¹²


* "Beginning of the Path". By: Islamic Cultural Knowledge Organization. Knowledge Center for Islamic Studies and Researches.

^{1- (Al-Araf [The Heights] 007.029).
2- Al Mahaja Al Baida’a, v1, p356.
3- Al Mahaja Al Baida’a, v1, p356.
4- Al Mahaja Al Baida’a, v1, p356.
5- 009.018 (At-Tawba [Repentance, Dispensation]).
6- Misbah Al Sharia, p130.
7- Favor of Jumaa and Jama’a, p.10.
8- Favor of Jumaa and Jama’a, p.9.
9- Favor of Jumaa and Jama’a, p.9.
10- Favor of Jumaa and Jama’a, p.9.
11- Favor of Jumaa and Jama’a, p.11-12.
12- Favor of Jumaa and Jama’a, p.12.}