The Muslim Home – 40 Recommendations by Sheikh Munajjid
Learning the Islamic rulings with regard to houses
Praying in the house
With regard to men, the Prophet (saws) said: “The best of prayer is a man’s prayer in his house – apart from the prescribed prayers” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, no. 731).
It is obligatory to pray (the five daily prayers) in the mosque, except if there is a valid excuse. The Messenger of Allah (saws) also said: “A man’s voluntary prayers in his house will bring more reward than his voluntary prayers at other people’s places, just as his obligatory prayers with the people are better than his obligatory prayers alone” (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2953).
With regard to women, the deeper inside her home her place of prayer is, the better because the Prophet (saws) said: “The best prayer for women is [that offered] in the furthest part of their houses.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3311).
A man should not be led in prayer in his own home, and no one should sit in the place where the master of the house usually sits, except with his permission. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “A man should not be led in prayer in his place of authority, and no one should sit in his place in his house, except with his permission” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2772). (I.E. no one should go forward to lead him in prayer, even if they recite Qur’an better than he does, in a place that he owns or where he has authority, such as a householder in his home, or an imam in a mosque. Similarly, it is not permitted to sit in the private spot of the head of the master of the house, such as a bed or mattress, etc, except with his permission.)
Seeking permission to enter.
“O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them, that is better for you, in order that you may remember. And if you find no one therein, still, enter not until permission has been given. And if you are asked to go back, go back, for it is purer for you. And Allah is All-Knower of what you do” [al-Noor 24:27-28].
“. . . so enter houses through their proper doors. . .” [al-Baqarah 2:189].
It is permissible to enter houses that are empty if one has some legitimate business there, such as a house prepared for guests. “There is no sin on you that you enter (without taking permission) houses uninhabited (i.e, not possessed by anybody), (when) you have any interest in them. And Allah has knowledge of what you reveal and what you conceal” [al-Noor 24:29].
Not feeling too shy to eat in the houses of friends and relatives, and in houses of friends and relatives and others to which one has the keys, if they have no objection to that. “There is no restriction on the blind, nor any restriction on the lame, nor any restriction on the sick, nor on yourselves, if you eat from your houses, or the houses of your fathers, or the houses of your mothers, or the houses of your brothers, or the houses of your sisters, or the houses of your father’s brothers, or the houses of your father’s sisters, or the houses of your mother’s brothers, or the houses of your mother’s sisters, or (from that) whereof you hold keys, or (from the house) of a friend. No sin on you whether you eat together or apart . . .” [al-Noor 24:61].
Telling children and servants not to barge in to the parents’ bedroom without permission at the times when people usually sleep, (before Fajr, at siesta time, and after ‘Isha) lest they see something inappropriate. If they see something accidentally at other times, this is forgivable, because they are tawwaafeen (those who go about in the house), and it is difficult to stop them. Allah says, “O, you who believe! Let your legal slaves and slave-girls, and those among you who have not come to the age of puberty ask your permission (before they come to your presence) on three occasions: before Fajr prayer, and while you put off your clothes for the noonday (rest), and after the ‘Isha prayer. (These) three times are of privacy for you; other than these times there is no sin on you or on them to move about, – attending (helping) you each other. Thus Allah makes clear the ayat (verses of this Qur’an, showing proofs for the legal aspects of permission for visits, etc.) to you. And Allah is All-K nowing, All-Wise” [al-Noor 24:57].
It is forbidden to look into the houses of other people without their permission. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Whoever looks into someone’s house without their permission, put his eyes out, and there is no diyah or qisaas [blood money or retaliation] in this case” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/385; Saheeh al-Jaami, 6046).
A woman who has been divorced by talaaq for a first or second time [and could still go back to her husband] should not leave or be made to leave her home during the ‘iddah, and she should still be supported financially. Allah says, “O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them at their ‘iddah (prescribed periods), and count (accurately) their ‘iddah (periods). And fear Allah your Lord (O Muslims), and turn them not out of their (husband’s) homes, nor shall they (themselves) leave, except in case they are guilty of some open illegal sexual intercourse. And those are the set limits of Allah. And whoever transgresses the set limits of Allah, then indeed he has wronged himself. You (the one who divorces his wife) know not, it may be that Allah will afterward bring some new thing to pass (i.e, to return her back to you, if this as the first or second divorce)” [al-Talaaq 65:1].
It is permissible for a man to forsake his rebellious wife inside or outside the home, according to the interests prescribed by shari’ah in any given case. The evidence for forsaking her inside the home is the ayah: “. . . refuse to share their beds . . .” [al-Nisa’ 4:34]. With regard to forsaking women outside the home, this is what happened when the Messenger of Allah (saws) forsook his wives, leaving them in their apartments and staying in a room outside the houses of his wives. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Talaaq, Baab fi’l-Eelaa’).
One should not stay alone overnight in the house. Ibn ‘Umar (ra) reported that the Prophet (saws) forbade being alone and said that a man should not stay overnight alone or travel alone (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 2/91). This is because of the feelings of loneliness etc. that come from being alone, and also because of the possibility of attacks by enemies or robbers, or the possibility of sickness. If one has a companion, he can help fight off attacks and can help if one gets sick. (See al-Fath al-Rabbaani, 5/64).
Not sleeping on the roof of a house that has no protecting wall, lest one fall. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Whoever sleeps on the roof of a house that has no protecting wall, nobody is responsible for what happens to him” (Reported by Abu Dawood, al-Sunan, no. 5041; Saheeh al-Jaami, 6113; its commentary is in ‘Awn al-Ma’bood, 13/384). This is because one who is asleep may roll over in his sleep, and if there is no wall he may fall off the roof and be killed. In such a case, nobody would be to blame for his death; or his negligence would cause Allah to lift His protection from him because he did not take the necessary precautions. The hadeeth may mean either.
Pet cats do not make vessels naajis (impure) if they drink from them, or make food naajis if they eat from it. ‘Abd-Allah ibn Abi Qutaadah reported from his father that water was put out for him to make wudoo’, and a cat came and lapped at the water. He took the water and did wudoo’ with it, and they said, “O Abu Qutaadah! The cat drank from it.” He said, I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: ‘Cats are part of the household, and they are among those who go around in your houses.’” (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/309; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3694). According to another report he said: “They [cats] are not naajis; they are among those who go around [al-tawwaafeen wa’l-tawwaafaat – refers to children, servants, etc.] in your houses.” (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/309; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2437).
Removing anything that may distract the worshiper
Anas (ra) said: “ ‘A’isha had a decorated, colorful curtain which she used to cover the side of her house. The Prophet (saws) said to her, ‘take it away from me because its decorations keep distracting me when I pray’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath al-Baari, 10/391).
Al-Qaasim reported that ‘A’isha (ra) had a cloth with decorations on it, which she used to cover a small sunken alcove (used for sleeping or storage). The Prophet (saws) used to pray facing it, and he said, ‘Take it away from me, because its decorations keep distracting me when I pray.’ So she took it away and made pillows out of it” (Reported by Muslim in his Saheeh, 3/1668).
Another indication of this is the fact that when the Prophet (saws) entered the Ka’bah to pray in it, he saw two rams’ horns. When he had prayed, he told ‘Uthmaan al-Hajabi, “I forgot to tell you to cover the horns because there should not be anything in the House to distract the worshiper.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2030; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2504).
This also includes avoiding praying in places where people pass through, or where there is a lot of noise and voices of people talking, or where they are engaging in conversations, arguments etc, or where there are visual distractions.
One should also avoid praying in places that are very hot or very cold, if possible. The Prophet (saws) told us to delay praying Dhuhr in summer until the hottest part of the day was over. Ibn al-Qayyim (ra) said: “Praying when it is intensely hot prevents a person from having the proper khushoo’ and presence of mind, and he does his worship reluctantly, so the Prophet wisely told them to delay praying until the heat had lessened somewhat, so that they could pray with presence of mind and thus achieve the purpose of prayer, having khushoo’ and turning to Allah.” (Al-Waabil al-Sayib, Daar al-Bayaan edn. , p. 22)
Not praying in a garment that has decorations, writing, bright colors, or pictures that will distract the worshiper
‘A’isha (ra) said: “The Prophet (saws) stood up to pray wearing a checkered shirt, and he looked at the patterns in it. When he had finished his prayer, he said, “Take this shirt to Abu Jaham ibn Hudhayfah and bring me an anbajaani (a garment with no decorations or checks), because it distracted me when I was praying.” According to another report: “These checks distracted me.” According to another report: “He had a checkered shirt, which used to distract him whilst he was praying” (Reports in Saheeh Muslim, no. 556, part 3/391).
It is better not to pray in a garment that has pictures on it, and we should be especially careful to avoid garments with pictures of animate beings, like many garments that are widely available nowadays.
Not praying when there is food prepared that one wants to eat
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Do not pray when there is food prepared.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 560).
If food has been prepared and served, or if it is offered, a person should eat first, because he will not be able to concentrate properly and have khushoo’ if he leaves it and gets up to pray when he is wanting to eat. He should not even hasten to finish eating, because the Prophet (saws) said: “If the dinner is served and the time for prayer comes, eat dinner before praying Salat al-Maghrib, and do not rush to finish your meal.” According to another report: “If dinner has been put out and the iqaamah has been given for prayer, eat dinner first and do not rush to finish it.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Adhan, Baab idhaa hadara al-ta’aamu wa uqeemat al-salaah; Muslim, no. 557-559).
Not praying when one needs to answer the call of nature
No doubt one of the things that can prevent proper khushoo’ is praying when one needs to go to the washroom. The Prophet (saws) forbade praying when one is suppressing the urge to urinate or defecate. (Reported by Ibn Maajah in his Sunan, no. 617; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 6832).
If anyone is in this position, he should first go to the bathroom and answer the call of nature, even if he misses whatever he misses of the congregational prayer, because the Prophet (saws) said: “If any one of you needs to go to the toilet, and the prayer has begun, he should go to the toilet first” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 88; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 299).
If this happens to a person whilst he is praying, he should stop praying, go and answer the call of nature, purify himself then pray, because the Prophet (saws) said, “There is no prayer when there is food prepared or if one is suppressing the urge to expel waste matter” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 560). Without a doubt, this trying to suppress the urge takes away khushoo’. This ruling also applies to suppressing the urge to pass wind.
Not praying behind someone who is talking (or sleeping)
The Prophet (saws) forbade this; he said: “Do not pray behind one who is sleeping or one who is talking” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 694; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 375). He said, a hasan hadeeth, because one who is talking will distract the worshiper with his talk, and one who is sleeping may expose something that will distract the worshiper.
Al-Khattaabi (ra) said: “As for praying behind people who are talking, al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal considered this to be makrooh because their talk distracts the worshiper from his prayer” (‘Awn al-Ma’bood, 2/388).
As regards not praying behind someone who is sleeping, a number of scholars thought that the evidence for this was weak (including Abu Dawood in his Sunan, Kitaab al-Salaah, Tafree’ Abwaab al-Witr, Baab al-Du’a’, and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari, Sharh Baab al-Salaah khalf al-Naa’im, Kitaab al-Salaah).
Al-Bukhaari, may Allah have mercy on him, quoted the hadeeth of ‘A’isha in his Saheeh, Baab al-Salaah khalf al-Naa’im: “The Prophet (saws) used to pray whilst I was lying across from him on his bed . . .” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Salaah).
Mujaahid, Taawoos and Maalik thought it makrooh to pray facing someone who was sleeping, lest he expose something that would distract the worshiper from his prayer (Fath al-Baari, ibid.).
If there is no risk of that happening, then it is not makrooh to pray behind someone who is sleeping. And Allah knows best.
Not occupying oneself with smoothing the ground in front of one
Al-Bukhaari (ra) reported from Mu’ayqeeb (ra) that the Prophet (saws) said concerning a man’s smoothing the ground when he prostrates, “if you have to do that, then do it only once” (Fath al-Baari, 3/79).
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Do not wipe (the ground) when you are praying, but if you have to, then do it only once” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 946; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 7452).
The reason for this prohibition is so as to maintain khushoo’, and so that a person will not make too many extra movements in prayer. If the place where one is going to prostrate needs to be smoothed, it is better to do this before starting to pray.
This also applies to wiping the forehead or nose when praying. The Prophet (saws) used to prostrate in water and mud, which would leave traces on his forehead, but he did not bother to wipe it off every time he raised his head from sujood. It remained there because he was so deeply absorbed in his prayer and his khushoo’ was so strong that he took not notice of it. The Prophet (saws) said: “Prayer is an occupation in itself” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath al-Baari, 3/72). Ibn Abi Shaybah reported that Abu’l-Darda’ said: “Even if I were to get red camels, I would not like to wipe the gravel from my forehead.” ‘Ayaad said: “The salaf did not like to wipe their foreheads before they finished praying” (al-Fath, 3/79).
Just as a worshiper should avoid anything that will distract him from his prayer, by the same token he should avoid disturbing others. This includes:
- Not disturbing others with one’s recitation
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “All of you are speaking to your Lord, so do not disturb one another, and do not raise your voices above one another when reciting” or he said, “in prayer” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2/83; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 752).
According to another report, he said, “do not compete with one another in raising your voices when reciting Qur’an” (Reported by Imam Ahmad, 2/36; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1951).
- Not turning around during prayer
Abu Dharr (ra) said: “The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Allah continues to turn towards His slave whilst he is praying, so long as he does not turn away, but if he turns away, [Allah] turns away from him” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 909; Saheeh Abi Dawood).
- Turning away during prayer is of two types:
- The turning away of the heart to something other than Allah.
- The turning away of the eyes.
Both of them are not allowed, and are detrimental to the reward for the prayer. The Messenger of Allah (saws) was asked about turning away during prayer, and he said: “It is something that Shaytan steals from a person’s prayer.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Adhaan, Baab al-Iltifaat fi’l-Salaah).
The one who turns away with his heart or his eyes during prayer is like a man who is called by the ruler and made to stand before him, and when the ruler starts to address him, he turns away, looking to the right and the left, not listening to what the ruler is saying and not understanding a word of it because his heart and mind are elsewhere. What does this man think the ruler will do to him?
The least that he deserves is that when he leaves the ruler, he is hated and no longer valued. One who prays like this is not equal to one who prays with the proper presence of mind, turning to Allah in his prayer in such a way that he feels the greatness of the One before Whom he is standing, and he is filled with fear and submission; he feels too shy before his Lord to turn to anyone else or to turn away. The difference between their prayers is as Hassaan ibn ‘Atiyah said: “The two men may be in one congregation, but the difference in virtue between them is as great as the distance between heaven and earth. One of them is turning with all his heart towards Allah, whilst the other is negligent and forgetful” (Al-Waabil al-Sayib by Ibn al-Qayyim, Daar al-Bayaan, p. 36).
As for turning away for a genuine reason, this is OK. Abu Dawood reported that Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyyah said: “We started praying – Salat al-Subh (Fajr) – and the Messenger of Allah (saws) was looking at the ravine.” Abu Dawood said: “He had sent a horseman at night to guard the ravine.” This is like when he carried Umaamah bint Abi’l-‘Aas, and when he opened the door for ‘A’isha, and when he came down from the minbar whilst praying in order to teach them, and when he stepped back during Salat al-Kusoof (prayer at the time of an eclipse), and when he grabbed and strangled the Shaytan when he wanted to interrupt his prayer. He also ordered that snakes and scorpions should be killed even during prayer, and a person who is praying should stop and even fight one who wants to pass in front of him whilst he is praying. He told women to clap during prayer [if they spot a mistake on the part of the imam], and he used to wave or gesture to people who greeted him whilst he was praying. These and other actions may be done in cases of necessity, but if there is no necessity, then they are just idle gestures that cancel out khushoo’ and are therefore not allowed during prayer. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 22/559).
