In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the
Merciful
MASAJID – THE
SOCIO-CULTURAL- RELIGIOUS-EDUCATIONAL & POLITICAL NEED OF MUSLIM UMMAH
[Shamim
A Siddiqi,
INTRODUCTION: Masjid is the heart of Muslim Ummah. It is the barometer and the manifestation of its
multifarious social, cultural, religious and educational activities. A vibrant
Muslim community is judged by its various activities that are centered in and
around it. It is not only the place of
worship giving a clarion call to the followers of Islam five times a day for
obligatory prayers and open declaration form its minarets and pulpits that
Allah is our Lord, One and only One, don’t make any partner with Him or His
authority; Mohammad (S) is the Messenger of Allah and rush to get Falah
[success] of both the worlds. However,
it is a different question that neither the Muslims undertake this call as the
mission of their life though they are calling the humanity five times a day nor
the listeners understand what for the call is given so loudly and vociferously,
echoing the four walls of every home and hearth in its surrounding. Can there be any thing more tragic than this
exercise in “futility”? When this Azan [call for prayers was given by Belal bin Rebah (RA) at the time
of Rasulullah (S) people used to stop everything what
they were doing and rush to Masjid-e-Nabavi and when
this Azan was given by a Mujahid fi
Sabeel al-Allah [one who struggles in the way of
Allah], Batil used to
shiver in its boots.
It establishes the need and importance of Masajid for Muslims. That is why it is the top most
priority of their community life to begin with.
Whereever Muslims went they built a mosque as
their first and foremost requisite to cater their socio- cultural, religious
and educational needs.
THE ROLE MODEL OF MASJID-E NABAVI OF
RASULULLAH (S):
Rasulullah (S) and his (S)
beloved companions in Makkah were offering their
individual prayers in the Haram [Baitullah
– the House of Allah]. But when Hijra [migration]
took place, Rasulullah (S) built the first mosque in Qubbah within a few days of his arrival, the first mosque
that was built on Taqwah. He then moved to Madinah and stayed at the house of Abu Ayyub
Ansari (RA)
His (S) very first move in Madinah was to build the Masjid
which is called “Masjid-e-Nabavi. He (S) himself personally participated in its
construction. This was and is the model mosque for the Ummah
to follow. It was not simply a mosque but Rasulullah
(S) used it for different needs and urgencies of the growing Muslim Community
and state.
* It was the sacred place for offering Five
times prayers where Belal (RA) was the Muazzin [who calls for Azan] and Rasulullah
(S) himself was the Imam, leading the obligatory prayers. He (S) was the Khateeb of the Masjid, reciting
the revelations of Qur’an from Allah {SWT), explaining its meaning and concept
to his (S) beloved followers. He (S) was doing their Tarbiyah
and Tazkiyah, both individually and collectively,
trimming their behavior and building a trust worthy character in each of them.
In fact, it was not only a Masjid but a Training
Institution to build the future leadership of the Ummah.
* It was the community hall of Muslims in Madinah. It was the place where the marriages were taking
place and where the coffins of dead people were brought for offering the last
prayers for the departed souls and making Du’a for his or her Maghfirah [pardon] before the burial.
* It was the open Residential University of Madinah where poor Muslims used to stay, devote their
entire time in learning the Qur’an, the Hadith of Rasulullah (S) and the problems of Fiqh.
Rasulullah (S) reserved a place for them in the Masjid where these students used to attend the classes
during the day and sleep in night. These brothers were known as “Ashabe Suffah”. They were full
time students and general Muslims used to arrange for their food and other
needs on voluntary basis. Maa'z bin Jabal (RA), Abu Hurairah (RA) and
Abdullah bin Umru bin A’s (RA) were the few
accomplished students of this University. Rasulullah
(S) himself was their teacher and guardian and was always mindful of their
educational, physical and spiritual needs as well as the general Muslims of Madinah were taking care of them.
* These devoted brothers of Ahley Suffah were also the
standing team of volunteers of Rasulullah (S). He (S)
used to send their selected teams for various Dawah
errands as and when needed. They served as the Reservists of Rasulullah (S) with the growing needs of Islam that was
expanding all around the Madinah and elsewhere in the
* Masjid Nabavi was equally the House of Parliament of Muslim Ummah. All the
political issues of the time were discussed and resolved in it. Foreign delegations
were received in the mosques and heard. Missions to kings and monarchs of time
were arranged and sent from here. Delegations from different tribes visiting Madinah were entertained in the Masjid.
Equally, the decisions about war and peace used to take place within its
premises.
* Simultaneously, the Masjid
was also serving as the Supreme Court of the fast growing Islamic State. Rasulullah (S) was its Chief justice and he (S) used to
decide all the cases that were referred to him and brought to him for his
adjudication, especially by the Jewish community of Madinah.
* Games and sports too were conducted often
within its premises. The acrobatic game was displayed in the Masjid when a team came from
This long list of the activities that were
going on in the Masjid Nabavi
shows that the Masjid Nabavi
was the hub of all socio-cultural-religious-political-judicial- martial
activities of the Muslims Ummah whose paramount
leader was Rasulullah (S). He (S) was the head of the state, the
commander-in-chief of his army, the supreme judicial authority of the time, the
law giver and its final interpreter, the administrator, the benevolent Murabbi and Muzakki and the Masjid was his (S) Head Quarter in all respect and for all
purposes. Muslim sisters too were equally attending the Masjid
at prayers time and Rasulullah (S) was often
addressing them for their special training.
LET THE MASAJID PLAY THEIR ROLE: So far the Muslim Ummah
maintained this status quo, giving central focus to Masjid
for all of its multifarious activities, keeping it as the barometer of their
community or as an Ummah, they were dominating the
world. Since the time our Masajid lost that status,
the fate of Ummah is doomed. Masajid
have become just the decorated prayer halls like the Churches and the
Synagogue. Muslim Ummah has lost its charm and
leadership. In most of the Muslim states, the Khateeb
are state appointees, and doors of Masajid are opened only for Salah,
reciting Qur’an, funeral ceremonies and delivering lectures on Fridays by State or Awqa’f appointed Imams who speaks only what they
are directed to speak by State’s Awqa’f ministries.
Muslims must think their position as what
they have become and compare it with the condition of their Mosques and see
where they stand today in the community of nations. Till the time they do not
make their Masajid as the barometer of their total
life span, free its atmosphere from the clutches of the political despotic
rulers of their respective country, they will never be able to resurrect their
fate. Their revival is hanging with the fate of their Masajid.
Let our Mosques be the center of all of our activities as was the situation at
the time Rasulullah (S). Only then the leadership of
this world will pass on to Muslims. Let us make our Masajid
Dawah cum service cum justice oriented. It will
change the hovering dark clouds of despondency that have enveloped the Ummah with the shinning clouds of hope and resurrection, Insha Allah.
Shamim Siddiqi
April 30, 09