Visiting the Mosque, who is eligible?
Mostafa
Dear all, peace be with you.
There is no reason at all why you may not visit a mosque.
In fact, it would be better to say that you are most welcome to visit a mosque if your intention is good and you have respect for its sacrament and for the worship that takes place there.
The only people who would not be welcome to visit would be those whose intentions were to cause profanation or blasphemy to the place or to Islam, to cause harm to those present or those whose inappropriate dress or behaviour caused offense to the Muslims who were present.
I think this is quite reasonable and that it would be true of all religious places, wouldn't it?
Your visit would be very interesting because I am sure you would be surprised about many things.
The first reason you will probably be surprised will be by the place itself.
Whilst many mosques seem grand and splendid from outside, there is, in fact, very little to see inside a mosque.
At its inception, you will find the prayer hall, where the prescribed congregational liturgy takes place five times a day.
It is actually very plain because of the nature of Islam itself.
You will find no statues nor paintings or depictive stained glass.
There is no altar, nor elaborate robes or candlesticks.
The prayer space will be carpeted and clean since people will be putting their foreheads on the ground in worship of their Creator.
In some of the grander mosques, these carpets may be works of art in themselves, but most mosques just have a simple carpet of one colour, with horizontal lines showing the places for the rows of prayer.
There will be two other major factors in the mosque.
The direction of Makkah, in which all Muslims have been commanded to pray by Allah glory be to Him which is generally known as the Qibla.
It will be obvious by the Mihrab, which is usually a small niche in the wall, suggesting the direction of prayer which is called the Qibla.
At one time, Muslims used to pray in the direction of Jerusalem, but Allah Almighty revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when he migrated to Medina that the prayer direction from now on would be the Kabba in Makkah.
It was a divine abrogation of the former direction.
Muslims don't worship or prostrate to the Kabba.
It can do them neither good nor harm.
It is just the first built on earth in worship of Allah, it is the unified direction towards which Muslims pray.
It signifies our unity and the worship of perfect monotheism.
We worship a one true God.
We face a one singular direction.
We constantly pray in congregation.
The other characteristic in the mosque will be the pulpit from which the sermon is given on a Friday service.
This is quite elaborate and simple, but its function is basically to allow the preacher to be seen and heard when he gives his sermon.
The second reason I think you will be surprised will be because of the simplicity of the worship that takes place in a mosque.
In a mosque, Muslims pray together in worship of their Creator.
It is a pure worship, not needing popes or priests or intermediaries of any kind.
The one who leads the prayers will be a simple man from among the congregation, chosen by them because of his knowledge of Islam and the Qur'an and because of the uprightness of his life.
His duty is simply to lead the prayer, which all those present will say in exactly the same way when they are in their homes.
There are no hymns or hymn sheets, nor Orders of Service.
In fact, the prayer in common is quite brief, but individual Muslims may choose to stay on to make their own private prayers or to recite verses from the Koran.
The third reason I think you may be surprised is by how unlike a church or a temple the mosque actually is, in terms of how people behave.
People do not speak to one another in hushed tones, nor put on gloves or fancy hats, As well as a place of prayer, the mosque is a meeting place and a place of rest.
You may find people chatting in a lower voice there, sitting together in groups, or even lying on the floor, asleep.
The mosque is a living place, not a museum or a relic.
The Mosque is a place of calm, certitude and placid temperament.
And, by the way, you might not always find a minaret at the mosque you visit.
Despite all the fuss caused by the banning of minarets in Switzerland, it is not necessary for a mosque to have a minaret.
The original function of the minaret was to announce the Call to Prayer from its top.
In our modern age, this can possibly be substituted with loudspeakers or even text messaging, although a minaret can indeed be a very beautiful addition to the mosque's architecture.
So, your question shouldn’t cause you to fear.
It is true, however, that many Muslims may be unused to seeing non-Muslims in their midst in the mosque, and they may wonder what you are doing there.
In the current climate of distrust and suspicion which exists between many people in the world, some of the Muslims might even think you are there to cause trouble.
As I have clarified at the beginning, though if you enter with respect, taking off your shoes so as not to dirty the place where people will be praying, your presence should not cause any problem.
If the people there speak your language, I am assuming you will visit a mosque in your own country, you might even approach someone to explain what you are doing there.
On the other hand, for your first visit you might prefer just to be quiet and watch what is going on.
Many people before you have had the same curiosity, only to find that they have been warmly received and have returned time and time again.
This was certainly the case in many converts experience.
After venturing into the mosque for the first time, they become used to people and the place.
Over time, they gradually get to know many Muslims there.
It was in the mosque that many people unfeignedly pronounced their own Shahadah and became Muslims.
Shahadah is your solemnly faithful testimony that you oath in public, declaring your acceptance and embracement of Islam.
Moreover, Shahadah is synonymously the divinely feted condition of whom were nobly martyred in the cause of Allah glory be to Him.
Furthermore, it will caught your attention to observe the separation of men and women.
Men are praying in the major unit of the prayer hall, while women are sharing some of it with them.
It certainly ranges from a mosque to another, depending on how many women are present, and how often they regularly attend the congregation.
The prayer hall is befittingly separated by either a built in preventive wall, or curtains that prevents illicit gazes.
It is to avoid inappropriate stares or inadmissible conversations from either side.
The purpose of this is to basically avoid temptations, to keep everything professionalized in a religious manner, and to perfectly purify your heart and mind for the spiritual rlief you are about to be involved in.
You are the superviser of your intention, so you have to make sure that your intention is clearly innocent, and in particular, when you are communicating with women.
In the Mosque, there are many further religious activities taking place.
It all ranges from religious classes, conferences and seminars.
You could arrange with the mosque directors to attend any of them, and in particular, if the subject interests you.
Mosques are anually decarated at the beginning of Ramadan for terrestrial attraction.
If you use a guide-dog to get around, you may not be allowed in within your dog.
Carpets ought to remain clean because this is where worshippers are putting their forehead for prostration.
Dog's saliva causes physical impurity.
Alternatively, you may use your white-cane or be guided by sighted assistants.
Men and women are called brothers and sisters collectively.
This signifies the passion and unity of our nationhood, as to address each other in brotherhood and sisterhood.
It's the faith which unifies us.
One of the most intriguing privileges of worshipping at the Mosque that it doesn’t demand facilitating instrumental incorporation to conduct a religious ceremony.
To facilitate instrumental incorporation is an essential factor of conducting Church services which is not the case at all at a Mosque.
At the Mosque, you often hear the vocal recitation of the Noble Koran which spiritually substitutes musical hymns.
Hymns were never part of Jesus ministry.
He never sang to glorify the divine but Christians incessantly importune that he did.
Well, in spite of this controversial part, but it’s definitely true that Church laity is perfectly insignificant without settling instrumental incorporation for temporal gains.
In Islam, it’s quite crucial to preserve the serenity of the Mosque so people can peacefully worship and seek for devotion without a sudden interruption.
At the Mosque, people stay there for a private remission with Allah glory be to Him.
It’s quite blasphemous in Islam to pray in the name of or to seek for forgiveness in association with or rather than Allah glory be to Him.
Priesthood and similar bodies of ordained religious practitioners are not suppose to interpose between Allah and His worshippers.
Therefore, it’s quite possible to see an individual standing in prayer in the middle of the night in the Mosque whilst unfeignedly supplicating for forgiveness, reconciliation and a divine propitiation with Allah Almighty, all matchless glory be to Him.
The most tranquile time at a Mosque is right after conducting the congregational liturgy of the dawn.
It’s a perfect state of distinct quietude.
Everything is quite calm and serene unless you hear birds exalting their Lord out of natural piety.
Indeed, the situation after the dawn prayer is just a tremendous sight to behold.
It’s a broad state of blessedness, prosperity and felicity.
I hope this post encouraged you a little bit more to give visiting the Mosque a try.
Trust me, it’s a thought-provoking experience which is expected to incredibly strengthen your edified discernment of Islam and what it enjoins.
Everyday, I look forward to the dawn time when I stay for a little bit to sniff the breeze of devoutness and spiritualization.
It’s quite essential in advanced of heading to my secular pursuits.
Although I am religiously commanded to pray five times a day, but still the dawn prayer is just a completely different experience of guidance and spiritual cleansing.
It’s inexpressible and it has never been twinned.
I hope this was sufficiently provocative in a positive manner.
Touring the Mosque may vary as how it effects you depending on your motive to do so.
It’s not a tourist appealing site, it’s not a museum.
When the Muadhdhin summons the call to prayer, Muslims ought to walk tranquilly toward the Mosque and to enter with total humility and courtesy.
I attempted to give you a moderate portrait of this place and what it signifies.
It’s not just a house of worship.
It’s more like a community center.
The Mosque must chiefly be the portal for Muslim youth, so it’s to protect them from all of these tribulations out there.
To deny the crucial significance of the Mosque is quite similar to denying a major tennet of this faith.
It’s an inherited prophetic tradition and it therefore cannot be relinquished with any circumstances.
Thank you so much for reading this, and I enthusiastically look forward to hearing your fruitful feedback and proposals.
I now must head to bed, so I can inshallah get up for dawn fully attentive and energized.
Peace be with you.
Mostafa Almahdy, your friend from Cairo, Egypt.
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