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)
[1] Al-Quran, 10:87
[2] Ṣirāṭ al-Jinān, vol. 4, p. 368, Maktaba tul Madina, Karachi
[3] Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Bāb Ittikhaz al-Masajid fī al-Door, vol. 1, p. 124, Maktaba al-‘Asriyya, Beirut
[4] Sharh Abī Dāwūd al-‘ayni, vol. 2, p. 359, Published in Riyad
[5] Mirāt al-Manājīḥ, vol. 1, p. 443, publisher Ziya al-Quran, Lahore
[6] Bahār-i-Sharīʿat, part 5, vol. 1, p. 1,021, Maktaba tul Madina, Karachi
[7] Al-Bināyah Sharh Hidayah, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Ahkam al-Masjid, vol. 2, pp. 469,470, Dār al-Kutub al-‘Arabiyyah, Beirut
[8] Badā’iꜤ al-Ṣanā’iꜤ, Kitāb al- iꜤtikāf, vol. 2, pp. 280 – 282, Published in Quetta
[9] Al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah, Kitāb al-Karahiyyah, al- Bāb al-Khamis fī Adāb al-masjid, vol. 5, p. 321, Published in Beirut
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Eating and drinking something on suspicion of invalidation of Sawm(fast)
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