In Ramadan, we see many children coming to the masajid. Is it permissible?
The answer is yes. The answer is yes, it is encouraged to actually bring your children to the masjid and to get them used to coming to the houses of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. However, if the child is making a big noise or crying or yelling, it is your duty to ensure that you try your best to protect the rest of those who are fulfilling Salah from being disturbed for a prolonged time. If there is a little bit of crying, it’s fine. But if there’s prolonged crying, that’s going to disturb everyone, you need to use your common sense that listen, this is my child, because the child is really yelling, you want people to actually concentrate on their prayer and perhaps on the words that are being recited.
So if you have a child who’s that is yelling and screaming for such a prolonged time, and you’re like, nothing’s happening now it’s I’ve just brought the kid to the masjid and so on, the people around you are going to be upset, and naturally, so they’re going to be so upset. It’s not like they don’t like the children in the Masajid. But this is stretching it a little bit. So please use your common sense. When you bring your children to the masjid. Make sure they are not screaming and yelling and running amok in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Many times obviously there are different rulings. If the children are of understanding age, the men would stand and then the children would stand. But there are scholars who have said that if it’s a big masjid, and if you know that your child will be very well behaved standing right next to you, you put them right next to you in the surf, it’s fine.
However, my brothers and sisters, the original ruling is the men would stand and then the children would stand and the women would stand. And that’s the sofuf and the lining of the masjid in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
So, if you are at a masjid, that has a rule, and the rule is pasted on the door of the masjid children below this age are not allowed. Please follow that rule. The reason is, sometimes the Masajid they have had experiences that have been very negative with several people and they’ve had to come up with a blanket rule. And for an exception, you might want to see someone look I have a child, I’d like to bring the child because of x y Z we don’t have anyone else, we don’t have a babysitter and so on.
And you can communicate with them. I’d also like to encourage those who are running masajid to say don’t just make a ruling to say no children allowed, that’s unfair, to be honest with you, even the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him both the children meaning he he bought the noise that they made, and at the same time, he was very patient with them. And at the same time he encouraged us to get the children used to the Masajid in the houses of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
So there will be a little bit of crying sometimes, you know, little babies as well. I know in Masjid An-Nabawi in Madina Munawwara In fact, that’s where I am right now. Masjid An-Nabawi, Madina, Munawwara they have a rule that little children cannot go in certain parts of the masjid, even the women section. certain age groups are not allowed in certain places because they have a quiet area, an area where perhaps people don’t want to be disturbed so much. And sometimes little children yell and scream and they run around all of that we need to take heed, make sure that your children are relatively disciplined.
It is the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu Sallam to shorten the prayer when he heard children crying in the background and we’re taught this. So you hear children crying in the background, you do something known as takhfif as an Imam, you’re an imam. You can shorten your prayer a little bit because you know that the children are making a noise and they require attention. That is not a green light to allow kids to just misbehave. As we’re progressing. In the years. I’m noticing the children are becoming more and more unruly. And unfortunately, it’s becoming ridiculous at times. I’ve had a child with a mobile phone of a parent and they were listening to something totally unrelated. Salah going on. This is the house of Allah. And the parent was like so happy that at least my child is occupied with the phone and not yelling and screaming but the disturbance coming from that phone was absolutely unacceptable.
It was something you would never like to play. Just on a normal day, let alone in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. So sometimes parents are also ridiculous, it don’t use an Islamic ruling, in order for you to just do as you please and say but it’s allowed. It’s permissible. There is something known as common sense.
You wouldn’t like the curse of 1000 people in the masjid just because you didn’t even take care of your own child. May Allah Almighty help us.
Then the last point I want to raise is if you are a person fulfilling Salah in the masjid. Make sure that you understand that. Be patient with those who have children. That is a sunnah. And after the Salah completes don’t look at them and give them daggers. But rather, you are patient, you can smile and you can make the child feel comfortable because that child needs to come to the masjid throughout its life. So Alhamdulillah we ask Allah Almighty to grant us ease. I thought I’d address this matter because many people are questioning complaining about coming to the masjid and when they do come, they don’t know the balance and so on. Here goes, may Allah bless all of us and help our children to grow in a way.
That they love the house of Allah. They love the scholars and they want to hear from them and they want to sit with them and appreciate what is being taught.
