Young Children Under the Age of Seven in the Masjid

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

I had read this email when it was posted on the 4th Oct 2009 and have wanted to make one or two points, but due to the lack of time, have not been able to.

Firstly, may I point out that the evidence in question is hadith 707 in Sahih al-Bukhari in the chapter entitled Bab man akhaffa ‘l-salata ‘inda buka’i ‘l-sabiyy. In its commentary, whilst inferring from the hadith the permissibility of bringing small children to the masjid, ‘Allamah Badr al-Din ‘Ayni does state that some ‘ulama have disagreed with such inference. They have argued that it is very well possible that the small child(ren) whose crying the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would hear, and due to which shorten his salah, was left behind by its mother at home near to the masjid. This means the child(ren) was not necessarily within the masjid, but in a dwelling very close to the masjid - so close that when it cried for its mother, the cry could be heard by those engaged in salah in the masjid (see: ‘Umdat al-Qari, 5:359, pub. DKI).

Secondly, in the commentary of the hadith “Jannibu masajidakum sibyanakum wa […]”, reported by Imam Ibn Majah and classified as ‘dha’if’ by ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-Munawi al-Shafi’i, the latter states it will be makruh tanzihi to bring [small] children to the masjid when there is no risk of them polluting it. When there is the risk of pollution, it is makruh tahrimi (see: Faydh al-Qadir Sharh al-Jami’ al-Saghir, 3:462, hadith: 3601).

Whatever the fatwa, this is a sensitive issue that affects many fathers (and mothers in North America) and ought to be addressed sensibly. Last Ramadan, in my local masjid we had fathers bringing their little sons with them to salah very frequently. I think due to many fathers taking much of Ramadan off work (vacation), they were spending more time at home with their families. We soon found many fathers following this trend and bringing their very small children with them every time they came to the masjid for salah. The children coming to the masjid was not really the issue (as I myself was doing the same, and continue to do so, but in a very calculated and measured way). The issue was that some of these children were constantly running and screaming during congregational salah and no one wished to inconvenience themselves by advising these fathers. Toward the end of Ramadan, a child must have come to tarawih salah without a nappy. During salah he/she urinated on the masjid carpet. The father quietly slipped out of the masjid after or during salah. The brothers in charge of the masjid wished this to be addressed. During a brief after-khatm speech, I spoke about this as one of the guilty. Al-Hamdu lillah, it seems to have worked. Since that evening, none of the distractive children have been seen in the masjid. I have continued to take my two-year-old son with me to the masjid, on an average of once every two days.

I personally feel a blanket prohibition would not be a good solution to the problem – perhaps this would not even be in conformity to the spirit of the Sunnah. However, people need to be educated that while the masjid is the hub of the Muslim community, it is not a community centre where one may go to socialise and make friends, nor is it a playground or kindergarten. For many, the masjid is the only space where they find some solitude in which they may commune with (munajat) Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. When this is made clear, it also helps some of the regular ‘resident’ elderly chachas refrain from talking about America and Afghanistan in the masjid.



PLEASE NOTE

The above statement was my response to a discussion during 2009. Since then (over the last 5 years), experience in our masjid has shown us that there needs to be a strict, clear-cut binding rule enforced in this regard, if the masjid is to remain a place of quiet ‘ibadah, spiritual retreat away from the hustle and bustle of the world outside, reflection, retrospection solitude and engagement with Allah ta’ala. My translated fatwa by Shaykh Mufti ‘Abd al-Rahim Lajpuri (author of Fatawa-e-Rahimiyyah – may Allah grant him Jannah) sums it up very succinctly. For a long time now, I have ceased to take my children with me for prayers at the masjid. I have recently started taking my son, who has reached the age of 7 and is very sensible (and prays 5 times a day).

[Maulana] Abu Asim Badrul Islam

29 October 2014

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Q. Some people in our locality bring young children with them to the masjid and make them sit in the prayer hall. Often these children cry, cause a nuisance with their misbehaviour, and sometimes they even urinate in the masjid. They are told not to bring such young children with them as this violates the sanctity of the masjid, but they take no heed. Please explain this so that they may understand.


A. It is not permissible to take young children to the masjid. By doing so etiquettes of the masjid are not observed and its sanctity is violated. The one bringing the young children with him has no peace of mind whilst there. When he stands in prayer, he cannot concentrate as his mind is focussed on what the children are doing. The Prophet said:

ﺑﺎب ﻣﺎ ﻳﻜﺮﻩ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺴﺎﺟﺪ ص.55 رواﻩ اﺑﻦ ﻣﺎﺟﻪ

This is why the jurists maintain that if by taking young children into the masjid there is the risk of the masjid being fouled or polluted, it is haram. Otherwise, it is makruh. It is stated in the book al-Ashbah wa al-Naza’ir:




However, if the child is [mature] and can differentiate between right and wrong, prays and does not violate the sanctity of the masjid, then there is nothing wrong in taking him to the masjid. It is probably because of this that the [minimum] age of seven years has been mentioned in the hadíth. He should stand in the row of children who have not reached puberty. If he is the only child in the masjid, he may stand in the row of adults. This will not be makruh.


(Fatawa-e-Rahimiyyah, 9:120)