From all the places on Earth, Allah loves the mosques above all else. They fulfill the most important function. They are the places where those on Earth make contact with their Creator and Sustainer. The Arabic word for prayer –
salâh – means to make a connection between the worshipper and his Lord.
The mosque is the pure location that the hearts of the worshippers are drawn towards. It is where the hearts find contentment from the worries of daily life. It is where they are cleansed of the vain desires and temptations that always beset them. The mosques are a place of tranquility and mercy where a soul can find a short reprieve from the long day’s turmoil.
As for the markets, they are not “the most despised places on Earth to Allah” because of the buying and selling that goes on there. Not at all. They are despised because of all the deception and fraud that goes on. The markets are places where false measure is given, and where every day false oaths are sworn. They are places of stinginess, avarice, wrangling, and disputation.
At the same time, we find that this hadîth provides us with another very essential and important meaning. By placing the market in comparison with the mosques, the hadîth is acknowledging that the marketplace is an institution in Muslim society, just like the mosque is.
Life is not only about the mosque. The mosque and the marketplace are both integral parts of society.
Allah speaks about the mosque in the Qur’ân, saying: “in houses, which Allah has permitted to be raised to honor; for the celebration, in them, of His name: In them is He glorified in the mornings and in the evenings.” [
Sûrah al-Nûr: 36]
Allah speaks about “houses” that should be devoted to the purpose they are meant for, so that no other name but Allah’s should be exalted in them. Allah has permitted them to be raised to honor” – He has commanded them to be “raised to honor” in every possible sense. They are raised to honor in the abstract sense by being purified through worship, by being dedicated to our fulfilling the rights that Allah has over us. They are places of spiritual purification through the remembrance of Allah.
They are raised to honor in a tangible sense by being kept clean, by being protected from filth and from worldly pursuits.
They are raised to honor in a physical sense through their actual construction. It is in this sense that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.” [
Sahîh Muslim]
Indeed, the mosques are the houses of Allah. They are not the houses of any human being. They are not even the houses of preachers and sermon-givers. They are certainly not the homes of those who would use the mosque to further their political agendas or their personal disputes – those who seek to spread division, strife, and sectarianism.
Allah’s believing servants are people who engage in buying and selling. However, they do not let their commerce distract them from the remembrance of Allah. There is harmony between the rights of this world and the rights of the Hereafter. Allah says: “And do not forget your share of the worldly life.” [Sûrah al-Qasas: 77]
The Unifying Role of the Mosque An important role of the mosques is to provide a place for congregational prayer. It means that the Muslims come together in word and deed and carry out an act of worship collectively. In doing so, they help one another in piety and righteousness. The congregational prayer accustoms the Muslims to mutual support and to working together. Though they may naturally differ in many ways, their coming together for prayer shows an affiliation on a broad and comprehensive basis – that of faith. It instills in the Muslims a sincerity for their faith and their relationships with each other on that basis.
One of the greatest ways that the role of the mosque is compromised is when the mosque is turned into an instrument of division – where it is used to foster partisanship and to wear down the ties of faith that the mosque were established to strengthen. It is a problem when the mosques become places for asserting sectarian, political, and ethnic differences and widening the gap between people and cultures.
There are many places in the world where the mosques have become focal points for hatred and tensions, not only in Islamic lands, but even in Europe, America, and elsewhere. This is a symptom of religious ignorance and ignorance about the ethical values that the mosque represents.
The mosques should be places where Muslims can transcend their differences and come together.
The Mosque’s Role in Perspective Another important aspect of understanding the mosque’s role is to remain cognizant of the fact that the mosque is not an alternative to life, but a part of life, one of its essential elements. The mosque is not intended to replace other institutions in society, like, the university, the social club, the home, the marketplace, the courts, or the government.
This is one of the reason’s why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If you see someone buying or selling in the mosque, sat to them: ‘May Allah make your commerce unprofitable’ and if see someone asking in the mosque after a lost item, say to them: ‘may Allah not return it to you’.”
The mosque is not a shopping center. It is not desirable for the mosque to carry out the functions of other institutions in society.
When we speak about the mosque, we often have a tendency to give it very idealistic roles to play, both historically and in our present context. Yet, I believe that the essential role for a mosque is that of worship. Its job is to provide an environment conducive to worshipping Allah.
At the same time, the mosque does not exist in isolation from society. It cannot be separated from the people, their concerns, and their political reality. However, the mosque is only concerned with the broadest aspects of the political life of the Muslim community as a whole – the preservation of the Muslims’ rights and the sanctity of their homes. It is not concerned with personal claims, partisan, interests, and specific political agendas. The mosque is only concerned with the universal political realities of the Muslims, like their common defense and the cultivation of Islamic ethical values in the community.
Likewise, the mosque is a place for encouraging the Muslims to excel and engage in constructive pursuits. The mosque in this way functions as part of the Muslims’ community life. It cannot have a bias towards one group at the expense of another or favor one set of subjective tastes to others. The mosque is, first and last, for the glorification of Allah.
When we look to the Prophet’s guidance, we find the meaning of “mercy” repeatedly associated with the mosque. For instance, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) entered the mosque, he would say: “O Allah! Open for me the doors to Your mercy.”
The mosque is a place of mercy. It is a place for showing mercy to one another. It is a place for fostering love.
It is, therefore, a pity that some sermon-givers seem to make it a rule that their sermons must be devoid of any reference to mercy. Some sermons are more like deprecations and rants than they are like exhortations.
When the people want to pray, they are warned: “Many a worshipper has his prayers rejected.” When they turn to fasting, they are told: “Many a fasting person gets nothing out of his fast but hunger and fever.” When they want to read the Qur’ân, they have to hear: “How many reciters there are who say with their tongues what is not in their hearts.”
This is certainly a great way to crush the people’s spirits. Incessant pessimism like that can only make them despair of Allah’s mercy.
Allah tells us something altogether different: “No one despairs of Allah’s mercy except a people who disbelieves.” [
Sûrah Yûsuf: 87]
May Allah make us people “whom neither merchandise nor sale can beguile from the remembrance of Allah, and from constancy in prayer and from paying to the poor their due; who fear a day when hearts and eyes will be overturned;” [
Sûrah al-Nûr: 37]
