The Mosque: A Place of Worship

A mosque is a symbol of Islamic literature which plays a significant role in reflecting the
superiority and greatness of Allah (S.W.T), the Almighty. In Arabic, it is known by the word
‘Masjid’ which simply means a ‘place of worship or prostration’ (Mosque, 2019). Any act of
worship in any place is said to create a mosque as long as it follows the Islamic rules of prayer.
Muslims usually gather in mosques five times a day for their daily prayers with Friday being the
day where its compulsory for all men to pray in a mosque for the noon prayer. This symbolizes
unity and brotherhood amongst Muslims. Not to mention, the act of being present at the mosque
displays equality where no one is superior to another.

Since the medieval times, mosques have been recognized as singular monuments of Islamic
architecture. The design and structure of a mosque is shaped by the regional traditions of the
place and time that it was built in. These buildings typically consist of a Mihrab, minarets,
domes, prayer rooms, pulpits and ablution facilities. In addition, they also provide segregated
places for women and men. A mosque is commonly decorated with geometric designs, Quranic
inscriptions and calligraphy (Abdullahi and Embi, 2013). Such basic patterns of organization
have adopted varying forms over different eras.

As mentioned by Yassin and Utaberta (2012), The Quba mosque in Saudi Arabia is known to be
the first mosque in the history of Islam and is the place where the Prophet (S.A.W) first rested
with his companions during the immigration from Makkah to Madinah. Many eras have also
observed the conversion of churches and cathedrals to mosques, a prime example being the great
mosque of Cordoba which embodies the history of the Umayyads known for leaving a great
progressive legacy (Khoury, 1996). In these eras, mosques were utilized as places where-
delegations were received from foreign countries, work of charity was practiced and where
meetings of planning/decisions on war were held.

According to the Quran, the mosque is supposed to be close to a Muslim’s heart, i.e., a place of
remembrance of Allah (S.W.T). As a Muslim, I believe that the more an individual visits a
mosque, the better she/he can focus towards the contemplation of the importance of Islam and

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the creations of the heaven and earth. Once they understand the significance of prayers,
especially, prayers in congregation, a larger number of Muslims will be convinced to build
mosques which automatically raises their ranks. The importance of mosques has also been
stressed in several Hadiths, for example:

It was narrated from Jabir bin 'Abdullah that:

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever builds a mosque for the sake of Allah, like a sparrow's
nest for Allah or even smaller, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise."

(Sahih Al-Bukhari 738, 2019)

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said:

the Prophet (s.a.w) said, "The dearest parts on the face of the earth near Allah are its mosques,
and the most hated parts near Allah are its markets."

(Muslim 1841, 2019)

All things considered, a mosque’s function is not only to perform salat, but it also works as a
center for education, information along with dispute settlement. It holds many events which
bring together members of all ages and gender to the mosque. For instance, during Ramadan,
various Muslims frequent the mosque to perform ‘Tarawih’. In fact, the mosque is also extended
to care and provide to the needy and orphans. They also serve as places where newcomers
willing to learn about the faith come to gain knowledge on the teachings of the Holy Quran.
Some mosques known as ‘madrasas’ work as full time schools to offer consistent Islamic
education. They house a variety of books that relate to the Islamic law and philosophy (Bano and
Kalmbach, 2011).

Personally, apart from praying, I find mosques and prayer rooms as a place where I can seek
solace and feel comfort. The community, the people, the atmosphere and the overall ambience

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make me feel at peace due to the fact that I have left the hustle-bustle of the material world and
retreated into what feels like a calm shelter. There have been several times, wherein after
praying, rather than leaving the mosque, I’ve stayed back to read the Quran or the Islamic books
so that I can expand my knowledge more in a better environment. This is because, in a mosque, I
am away from all distractions of daily life and can solely focus on what I am doing. Not to
mention, the presence of several knowledgeable people in the mosque is extremely encouraging
as everyone is happily willing to help each other and discuss or debate on the various topics of
Islam. The UAE itself is a peaceful country that holds pride in its Islamic identity and
encourages cultural exchange and has therefore, built several mosques throughout the country
which can be easily accessed by everyone.

Under the interpretations of the Shariah Law, non-Muslims have also been permitted to enter the
mosques as long as they respect the rules, people and the place. However, this may vary
according to different scholars (Jamal, 2005). There have been several instances wherein I’ve
seen people inside the mosque welcome my non-Muslim friends too with warm smiles. This
kindness is something that my friend and I always like to talk about sometimes.

Thus, throughout history, mosques have been associated with Islamic architecture and education.
Any place where Islam has taken hold, mosques were established. In conclusion, mosques are
integral to a Muslim’s life as it is the place where they stand close together, united in their love
for Allah.

References

Abdullahi, Y. and Embi, M.R.B., (2013), Evolution of Islamic geometric patterns, Frontiers of

Architectural Research, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 243-251.

Bano, M. and Kalmbach, H.E. eds., (2011). Women, leadership, and mosques: Changes in
contemporary Islamic authority. Brill.

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Jamal, A., (2005), Mosques, collective identity, and gender differences among Arab American
Muslims. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp.53-78.

Khoury, N.N., (1996), The meaning of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in the tenth
century. Muqarnas, pp. 80-98.

Mosque, (2019), In: Cambridge Dictionary. [online] Available at:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mosque [Accessed 3 Dec. 2019].

Muslim (2019), Hadith 1841, Book 19.

Sahih Al-Bukhari (2019), Hadith 738: Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 4, Vol. 1.

Yassin, A.A. and Utaberta, N., (2012), architecture in the Islamic civilization: Muslim building
or Islamic architecture, Journal of Islamic Architecture, vol. 2, no. 2.