Khutba about ‘The importance of Friday’

Yousuf Saleh 27thSeptember 2013

All Praise is due to Allah (swt) who is the Sustainer of all the Universe. May the peace and blessings of Allah (swt) be upon Muhammad (saws), his family, his companions and all those who follow him in righteousness until the day of resurrection.
Amma Bad.

Respected brothers and sisters at home, today we will be talking from point seven of the importance of Friday. As we all know it is a Sunnah to offer supererogatory prayers before al-Jumu'ah until the imam arrives. After the imam's arrival, one should no longer offer any salah. However, what about performing two ofrak’ah of Tahayatul masjid? Some people perform these two rak’ah even if the imam starts the khutba.

Respected brothers and sisters at home, it has been mentioned in ‘KITABUL FIQHI ALAL MADHAHIBIL ARBAH’ page number 190 that one should abstain from performing Tahayatul Masjid in four situations: number 1 is if one enters into the masjid at any unlawful times, or in the periods when performing Nawafil is prohibited. For instance when thesun rises or after Salatul Asr. Number 2 is if one enters the Masjid without wadhu for any other purpose he does not need to go for wadhu and perform salah according to three imams accept ImamShaf’i. Number 3 isif one enters into the Masjid during Iqamah. And number 4 is if one enters into the Masjid when the imam is going to ascend on the mimbar to deliver the khutba, he should refrain from performing the salah according to ImamAbu Hanifa and imam Malik while ImamShaf’i and hanabilah say one should perform hastily.

So brothers, all the conducts have been made known to you now, so actions should be taken with God consciousness. The eighth point of the importance of Friday is about the matter of bringing children in the Mosque to attend Jamah.

We have 2 opinions in our community in this matter:

The first opinion is The Prophet (SAW) brought his grandchildren to the Masjid, and they climbed on him, etc. so it is permissible to bring them to the Masjid.

The second opinion is that young children are not allowed in the Masjid, because they distract others and make noise. Respected brothers and sisters at home; the mosque is a place of worship. The general manners for those attending are tranquillity, dignity, calm, and respect for others worship, and not to annoy them by sounds or actions. Allah (swt) saidin 24.36 ‘In houses (masajid) which Allah has commanded that they be exalted and that His name shall be remembered therein’ It is very important to raise our children with a strong attachment and love for their religion, and community, and thus it is important for them to have a strong and positive connection to the mosque from a young age, especially in non-Muslim environments.

But at the same time we have to remember the hadeeth mentioned in Ibn Majah and others, that the Prophet (saw) said ’Keep the insane and children away from your masjids’.

Respected brothers and sisters at home, if we analyse this issue sincerely, we will see There are three categories of children:

(1) The first type are those who are innocent and young. They neither understand the etiquette of the masjid nor do they know anything about salah. They do not have the understanding that the masjid is a place for worshipping Allah. They play in the Masjid, make noise, violate its sanctity and cause undue trouble to those praying. Children of five to six years usually fall in this category. Though the legal consideration is not the age itself. The ruling is for such children who are not reasonably expected to behave and will be an unnecessary annoyance to other worshippers. It is not permissible to bring them to the masjid. This is what the Hanafi scholars mention, and similar details are mentioned in texts of the Malikis, Hanbalis, & Shafi`is. If the parents are reasonably sure that their child will behave, and are not expected to make noise in the masjid, then the scholars tell us, to take them to the masjid.

It is the accountability of the parents to see that they do not bring such children to the masjid, if they do so and the children violate the sanctity of Allah's house, the parents will be sinful because the children themselves are innocent. The scholars saythis limit of Shariah. Moreover if one faces genuine difficulty with his child to attend the Jumua Salah because of the absence of the mother, then he should find any other option or he should inform the mosque committee of this matter, they may find a supportive alternative.

(2) The second category is those children who are slightly older. They are between seven to eleven years old.

Such children understand the status of a masjid and respect it to a certain degree. However, due to lack of a complete understanding, some do not respect it fully. It is permissible to bring such children to the masjid but it is better not to do so if there is still some fear that they may cause undue trouble. This goes back to the parents’ upbringing of the child and the child’s nature. The scholars mention that there is very strong benefit in bringing children to the masjid especially in non-Muslim countries, where they do not see a lot of Muslims around them, as this is a strong part of developing their Muslim identity.

(3) The third category of children is those who are close to maturity. Their ages range from twelve to fourteen. However, a fifteen-year-old child is considered mature even if he does not have any signs of puberty.

The ruling for this category is that they should be brought to the masjid in order to instruct the habit of prayer with congregation because prayer becomes obligatory on them the moment they reach the age of puberty. It is obligatory on them to attend the masjid for prayer with congregation. If this habit is not instilled before puberty, it will take time after puberty as a result of which they will forgo their prayers with congregation.

Thus it is imperative to bring the youngsters to the masjid while guiding them at home to respect the masjid. They should be taught not to make a noise in the masjid as it is a sanctified place where the name of Allah is taken.

The Position of the Children’s’ Prayer lines.
The children's prayer lines should be made after the men's prayer lines has been completed. It has been mentioned in [al-Bahr al-Raa’iq, Radd al-Muhtar]that If there is only a small number of children, or it is feared that they may start misbehaving, they are separated among the adult lines. This is the Sunnah way. After the prayer has begun, those who arrive later should join the children's prayer lines on the right and left side.

Some latecomers move the children,this occurs in many of the masjids. If the child was in the first prayer lines at the beginning of prayer, he reaches the last prayer lines at the end of prayer. Whoever enters the masjid does this thinking that it is not permissible to perform prayer next to children.

This is completely wrong. One should free one's mind of such a thought. You should stand next to the child whether he is in the front prayer lines or the back one. You may stand on his right-hand side or his left-hand side. This does not affect the prayer of the adults. All late comers should stand at the back next to the children. It is not permissible to move the children further back. Such an act is sinful. By doing this, we are nullifying their prayer and thereby placing that sin on our shoulders.

May Allah grant us the ability to refrain from committing wrong acts, May Allah bless you all.