Mosques in Islam are glorified places that are sacred and possess specialty. It is enough glory for these places to be related to Allah as houses of Allah and the most dear to him. It is surely one of the symbols of Allah. Allah said in the Quran, �and whoever holds in honour the Symbols of Allah, such (honor) should come truly from piety of heart.� Ch.22 V.32 In order for one to honor Mosques he/she should pay attention to the manners one follows in them and the special rules related to them. In order to cover these points this research is divided into two sections:

Section one: manners in the Masjid.
1. It is liked that when one enters Masjid to say as he enters � I seek refuge with Allah the great and his ancient sovereignty from Satan. By the name of Allah (Bismillah) and all praise be to him (Alhamdulellah) Allah�s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet and his family (Allahuma Salli wa sal�lim ala Mohammad). Oh Allah forgive my sins and open your doors of mercy to me.� When one exits the Masjid he should say the same except that instead of open your doors of mercy one says "open your doors of favor (Rizq) to me." If one couldn�t memorize this Duaa, one should say when he enters �Allah�s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet and his family (Allahuma Salli Wa sal�lim ala Mohammad). Oh Allah open your doors of mercy to me.� And to enter with the right foot first. When one leaves he can just say �Allah�s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet and his family (Allahuma Salli wa sal�lim ala Mohammad). Oh Allah open your doors of favor to me.� And to exit with the left foot first. Evidence for that is that the Prophet used to say so when he enters or leaves the Masjid in a lot of Hadeeths. And it is also narrated that the Son of Omar (a companion) used to enter Masjid with his right foot and exit with his left foot. And his doing so is as if the Prophet has done it because he wouldn�t do it from his own mind.
2. It is a Sunna (something the Prophet liked to do) to pray two Rakaas as a greeting of the Masjid. The Prophet (pbuh) said, � if anyone of you enters Masjid let him pray two Rakaas before he sits down� and these two Rakaas are to be done any time you enter Masjid even if it was in a time prayer is not liked, such as when the sun starts to set or rise. This rule is related to two scholars Al-Shafi�ee and Al-Hanbali. It is not liked for one to sit in Masjid without doing the greetings Prayer.
3. One should keep masjid clean and clear of any dirt and wastes and not go through any of the acts that might cause it to be dirty. The Prophet pbuh said, � the good deeds done by my nation (Ommah) were shown to me even the small particle of dirt one gets out of Masjid.� And he said (pbuh); � I was shown my Omaha�s good and bad deeds. I found of the best deeds removing harm from the road, and of the worst deeds not cleaning a spit from the Masjid�s floor (at that time masjids didn�t have any carpeting and some used to spit on the floor and the Prophet ordered that the spit be buried).� The Prophet also said, � Spitting in the Masjid is a sin and to repent from that sin one should bury it.� So spitting in Masjid is forbidden (Haram) because it is causing dirtiness. Also it is Haram throwing paper towels, cutting ones hair, clipping nails, and wearing dirty socks that might harm people with bad smell that remains attached to the carpet of the masjid. It is a Sunna of the Prophet to clean the masjid and the Prophet (pbuh) used to do that himself and he used to honor those who serve and clean the Masjid. In this is a direction to all Muslims to make the initiative and follow what the prophet used to do to get the best reward from Allah on that. Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) saw dry spit on the wall of the Masjid and rubbed it to clean it by himself. Abu Hurairah narrated that a black man or woman who used to stay in the masjid so as to clean it died. The Prophet told his companions you should have told me about his/her death and he went to his/her grave and prayed for him/her. It is also a Sunna that if one wants to pray wearing his shoes to check if they are clean first. As it is forbidden to throw dirt in the Masjid it is also forbidden to do so in the surrounding yards and places attached to the masjid. Evidence for that is that the Prophet (pbuh) said that these Masajid are not for urinating or dirtiness but they are for mentioning Allah and reading Quran. Also it is not liked for anyone who ate Garlic or onions and the smell of them remained in his/her breath to enter the Masjid because the Prophet (pbuh) said, � Whoever eats garlic or onions should stay away from us or from our Masjid.�
4. One shouldn�t raise his/ her voice loud in the masjid or to ask for something lost or to buy and sell, especially if these things confuse those who are praying. What is more detested is to dispute with others or to take them as enemies. The Prophet (pbuh) said, � if you saw someone coming to the Masjid to ask people about something he had lost say May Allah never let you find it, and if you saw someone who comes to masjid to buy and sell say May Allah never allow you to benefit from it.�
5. It is a Sunna for someone who was on travel and came back to start with the masjid and to pray two Rakaas in it as the Prophet used to do.
6. If one enters Masjid carrying any kind of weapons, or sharp utensils he/she should take extreme care not to harm others with them. Jabir narrated that a man holding arrows came through the masjid and the Prophet (pbuh) ordered him to hold them by the blades.
7. To have the intention of staying in the Masjid even if it was for a short period of time waiting for Salat or a lesson. The intention will be accepted. (The intention of staying in the Masjid is to devote oneself to stay in the Masjid for a period of time and not to leave it for the sake of Allah and it is a Sunna in the last ten days of Ramadan where people sleep and never leave) this intention is accepted even if it was for a short period of time.


Section two: the rules related to the masjid.
The special rules of the Masjid are divided into 3 parts: rules that state what is allowed, what is not liked and what is forbidden.

First, Things which are allowed:
1. Women going to the masjid. It is allowed for women to go under the condition that their going would not violate any of the thing forbidden by Islam such as mingling with men, or seducing them by their beauty and things like that. Taking into consideration that their Salat at their home is better for them. The Prophet (pbuh) said, � Don�t prevent female servants of Allah from going to houses of Allah.� And he added in another narration of the Hadeeth, � but let them go without wearing perfumes, makeup or indecent clothing.� And he said pbuh, �Don�t prevent your women from going to Masjid and their houses are better for them.�
2. Sleeping in the Masjid and lying down on the back. It is allowed to sleep in the Masjid because the son of Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) slept in the Masjid of the Prophet (pbuh) when he was still single. Also the people of the (Suffa) who were very poor immigrants (Muhajireen) used to sleep in the Masjid of the Prophet (pbuh). As for one to lay down on his back the evidence for that is the Prophet�s doing so. Obadah ibn taim narrated that his uncle saw the Prophet (pbuh) laying down on his back putting one leg over the other.
3. Talking about what is accepted from the matters of this life even if it was associated with laughing. Jabir ibn Samrah narrated that the prophet (pbuh) didn�t leave the place where he made his Fajr prayer until the sun rises and then he would stand up. He also said they were - the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) - talking and sometimes they would remember the day of ignorance (Jahiliah) and that would make them smile and laugh.
It is also all right for one to read or narrate poetry only if it was talking about good things because Hassan bin Thabit (the poet of the Prophet) used to do that in the presence of the Prophet (pbuh). But if poetry contained things that might scorn Muslims or praise cruel people or brag about something, then it is Haram because the Prophet prohibited that in the Masjid.
4. Eating and drinking in the Masjid are allowed under the condition that doing so doesn�t pollute the masjid or cause uncleanness.
5. Closing the Masjid in times of no Salat. It is allowed to do so in order to clean it or protect it. If there is no fear from that it is a Sunna to keep it open as making it available to people at all times and the evidence for that is that the masjid of the prophet pbuh has never been closed since the time of the Prophet (pbuh).
6. The people who are not on ablution (Wudu) are allowed to enter the masjid and to sit in it whether it was for a religious purpose or not.
7. Making Wudu in the Masjid is allowed in the places provided for that. It is allowed to make Wudu inside the Masjid under the condition that it doesn�t cause any harm to the people who make Salat. 8. The Non-Muslims entering the Msajid. It is allowed according to Al-Shafi�ee school for the non-Muslim (Kafir) to enter any Masjid except Mecca and it�s Mosque. And it is allowed for him/her to sleep in it. An evidence for that is that the Prophet (pbuh) used to host and receive the non-Muslim delegations in his Masjid. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) sent a group of horsemen to Najd (an area in the Arabian Peninsula) and they captured a man called Thomamah bin Athal who was a non-believer and when they came back to Madinah they tied him to a column in the Masjid.
9.Building a Masjid in a place of an old cemetery, Or in a place which was a church. Under the condition that the cemetery is not used any more and that the bodies buried in it has turned to dust because the Masjid of the Prophet in Madinah was built over an old graveyard and it was cleaned and dug before building the Masjid.

Second, things which are disliked:
1. Begging and seeking help in the Masjid. According to the majority of the scholars it is disliked to beg and ask for help in the Masjid. According to Hanafi school it is Haram. But giving those who ask if they should ask is all right because Abu baker (a companion of the Prophet pbuh and the first Muslim leader after the Prophet died. He was called the truthful because he believed all what the Prophet said and said it is true) he gave a beggar who came to ask for help in the Masjid. In a Hadeeth the Prophet asked his companions if any one of them has fed a poor person today? Abu Baker said: I entered the Masjid and found someone asking for food, so I took a piece of bread from my son�s hand and gave it to him.
2. Small children entering the Masjid especially if they are too small to prevent themselves from urinating in or polluting the masjid. If it was sure that they won�t pollute the Masjid it is allowed for them to enter the Masjid because the Prophet (pbuh) made Salat in the Masjid holding in his arms his granddaughter, the daughter of his daughter Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her). The same applies for the crazy people.
3. Having Masjids built over a famous grave. The Prophet pbuh said, � May Allah fight the Jews because they took the graves of their Prophets as Masjids.�
4. Writing on the walls of the Masjid and decorating them especially if the writing was in the direction of Qiblah because it might occupy the peoples minds while they pray. The Prophet (pbuh) said, � the time of the end of this life will not come close until people start bragging about their Masjids by decorating them.�

Third, the not allowed (Haram):
1. For any one to stay in the Masjid if he/she didn�t wash after having sexual intercourse because Allah said in the Quran, �O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say, nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.� [Ch.4 V.43], but it is allowed for him or her to pass through the Masjid. If sexual fluids came while sleeping in the Masjid one should leave the Masjid except in a case if one wasn�t able to leave or was afraid that if he/ she leaves the Masjid something or somebody might hurt him/her.

****As for women who are having their menses or those who just gave birth to children some took a rule that it is Haram according to a weak Hadeeth which narrates that the prophet said I don�t allow this Masjid to anyone having menses or didn�t wash from sexual intercourse. This Hadeeth is very weak and can�t be taken as evidence for making it Haram for women not to enter the Masjid and staying in it. So it is allowed for women mentioned above to enter the Masjid under the condition that they are secure that nothing of the blood will pollute the Masjid. And in applying this we are making it easy for those who go to Mecca For Hajj or Omrah who accompany their spouses and it happens that they have their menses in that time. It is allowed for them to secure themselves and enter the Masjid in the intention of staying and making Tasbeeh whether they were in Mecca or Madinah, and Allah knows the best.
2. taking anything out of the Masjid is not allowed whether it was part of its structure or furniture or books. The Prophet (pbuh) said, �The small stone asks the one who is taking it outside the Masjid not to take it out.� This doesn�t apply for cleaning the masjid from dirt.

May Allah make us from among those who listens and follow the best of what they listen to.

Ahmad and Linda

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