What is a masjid al-bayt? (Its rulings and virtues)

Darulifta Ahlesunnat

(Dawateislami)

Question

   What do the honourable scholars of Islam say regarding the following:

   What is a masjid al-bayt, and what are its virtues?

   Does a masjid al-bayt also have finā’ al-masjid  (an appendage) just like normal masjids do? Moreover, if there was not a masjid al-bayt in the house before, and one is made now, can it be changed?

   Can a woman observe nafl itikaf inside a masjid al-bayt? Questioner: Abdullah, Karachi

بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

1. The area designated inside a home to pray salah is referred to as masjid al-bayt. To specify such a place is mustahab (recommended). It is better for it to be relatively high and kept clean and fragrant, for the Beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  instructed to make a masjid al-bayt and for it to be kept clean, and this itself suffices to demonstrate its virtue.

   Allah Almighty has stated in the Holy Quran:

وَّ اجۡعَلُوۡا بُیُوۡتَکُمۡ قِبۡلَۃً

   Translation from Kanz al-Īmān: And make your houses as places of worship.[1]

   In the exegesis of this verse found in Ṣirāṭ al-Jinān, it states:

We come to know of five things from this verse:

2. To build a domestic masjid (known as masjid al-bayt) inside residential buildings is an ancient custom. Hence, Muslims should keep an area of their home clean for salah, and ladies should observe iꜤtikāf  (the spiritual retreat) there.[2]

   Regarding making a masjid al-bayt within homes, it is narrated from Sayyidatunā ꜤĀishah رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا:

أمر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ببناء المساجد في الدور وأن تنظف وتطيب.

   Translation: “The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم ordered to build masjids inside homes (masjid al-bayt) and for them to be kept clean and fragrant.”[3]

   Elaborating on the reason to ensure a masjid al-bayt is clean, ꜤAllāmah Badr al-Dīn al-ꜤAynī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه writes:

بتنظيفها وتطييبها عن الأقذار؛ لأن لها حرمة لأجل إقامة الصلاة فيها، ولتشبهها بالمساجد المُطلقة.

   Translation: “[The command] to keep the masjid al-bayt free of filth is because of the sanctity afforded to it due to salah being offered inside it and its resemblance to a normal masjid.”[4]

   It is stated in Mirāt al-Manājīḥ:

   This is in reference to masjid al-bayt, meaning, a room or some part of the house should be designated for salah. Worldly activities should not take place there. The area should be kept clean and fragrant. We found our elders acting upon this. Now, this practice is ending.[5]

In Bahār-i-Sharīat, the following is mentioned:

   It is recommended for a woman to designate an area for salah inside the home. Such a place should be kept pure. For it to be raised like a platform is better. Men should also specify an area for Nafl salah inside the home, for it is more excellent to offer such salah at home.[6]

2. The ruling of a normal masjid that is religiously endowed (waqf) does not apply to a masjid al-bayt. For the latter to be sold or gifted, for example, is permitted. Likewise, someone in a state of ritual impurity may also enter a masjid al-bayt. Buying and selling are also permitted without any karāhah (disliking). All of these matters are not permitted in relation to a masjid that is religiously endowed. Hence, a masjid al-bayt can also be changed.

The following ruling regarding a masjid al-bayt is found in al-Hidāyah:

ولا بأس بالبول فوق بيت فيه مسجد، والمراد ما أعد للصلاة في البيت؛ لأنه لم يأخذ حكم المسجد، وإن ندبنا إليه

In explanation of the above, the following distinction is mentioned in al-Bināyah between the rulings applicable to a masjid al-bayt from those that apply to a normal masjid:

هو الموضع الذي يعده المصلي في بيته للصلاة (  لأنه لم يأخذ حكم المسجد ) لبقائه في ملكه، حتى له أن يبيعه ويهبه ويورث عنه، فكان حكمه حكم غيره من المنزل المملوكوتسميته مسجدا لا يفيد حكم المساجد وإن ندبنا إليه يعني وإن دعينا إلى اتخاذه في البيت؛ لأنه مستحب لكل إنسان أن يعد في بيته مكانا للصلاة يصلي فيه  النوافل والسنن ملخصاً[7]

   Hence, the concept of masjid al-bayt has its proof in Quran, Hadith and the works of experts in Fiqh (fuqahā’). A masjid al-bayt does not have Fina. Therefore, [an individual observing iꜤtikāf] must remain within the bounds of the masjid al-bayt. In the event of leaving to go to the toilet or perform wudu, it is only permitted to do so out of necessity, and one must return immediately upon fulfilling such needs, otherwise the iꜤtikaf  will become annulled. Leaving the masjid al-bayt for performing ghusl merely out of routine or for experiencing coolness or relaxation will also render iꜤtikaf  invalid.

3. The ruling regarding a woman’s itikaf in a masjid al-bayt is the same as the ruling for a man observing itikaf in a normal religiously endowed masjid. It is permitted for a man to observe a nafl itikaf in a normal religiously endowed masjid, so a woman can also observe a nafl iꜤtikāf in a masjid al-bayt.

   The ruling for a woman’s  itikaf in a masjid al-bayt is the same as the ruling concerning a normal masjid, which includes the nafl iꜤtikāf . Just as ꜤAllāmah al-Kāsānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه writes in Badā’iꜤ al-Ṣanā’iꜤ:

وأما الذي يرجع إلى المعتكف فيه: فالمسجد وإنه شرط في نوعي الاعتكاف: الواجب والتطوع۔۔۔ هذه قربة خصت بالمسجد لكن مسجد بيتها له حكم المسجد في حقها في حق الاعتكاف؛ لأن له حكم المسجد في حقها في حق الصلاة  ۔۔۔ وإذا كان له حكم المسجد في حقها في حق الصلاة فكذلك في حق الاعتكاف؛ لأن كل واحد منهما في اختصاصه بالمسجد سواء وليس لها أن تعتكف في بيتها في غير مسجد وهو الموضع المعد للصلاة ملخصاً[8]

   Note: Only women are permitted to observe  itikaf inside a home; it will not be valid for men to do so.

   It is stated in Fatāwā ꜤĀlamgīrī:

مساجد البيوت فإنه لا يجوز الاعتكاف فيها إلا للنساء كذا في القنية[9]

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم

Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qāsim ꜤAṭṭārī 

Ref No: Aqs-1819

Date: 22 Ramadan, 1441 (16 May, 2020)