Making our home a Masjid

04/09/2013| IslamWeb

A Muslim's home should be an embodiment of Islam, with all its goodness and blessings; and it is from the guidance of the Prophet, , that we have in our homes a Masjid; and that Muslim men make it a habit to pray the voluntary prayers at home. The Prophet, said: "O people, pray in your homes (meaning voluntary prayers), for the best of prayers are a man's prayers in his home, except the obligatory prayers." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

 

Performing prayers at home spreads within the home a sense of worship and obedience to the commands of Allah The Almighty. The Prophet, , said: "Perform a portion of your prayers at home, and do not make your homes graves." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. He, , also said: "If any of you completes his prayer in his Masjid [that is nearest to his home], then he should leave a portion of his prayers for his home; for Allah will make his prayer at home much better."[Muslim]. In this way, blessings will prevail and welfare and goodness shall increase in that house.

 

For a woman all her prayers – obligatory and voluntary – when performed at home are better than if she were to pray them in the Masjid; for in that is her preservation and safety. It was narrated that Umm Humayd As-Saa‘idiyyah came to the Messenger of Allah, , and she said, "O Messenger of Allah, I like praying with you." The Prophet, said: "I know, and your prayer in your home is better for you than your prayer in the Masjid of your people; and your prayer in the Masjid of your people is better for you than your prayer in the Masjid [assigned] for congregational prayers." [Ahmad and At-Tabaraani]

 

How beautiful it is for the Muslim family to have in their home a Masjid (a special corner for prayers and worship); and the Muslim family knows very well that to come nearer to Allah The Almighty is not just by performing prayers; rather, worship is a very wide field, when all the members of that home are often in remembrance of Allah The Exalted, observing the specified morning and evening Athkaar (remembrance). The Prophet, , said: "The analogy of a home that has the remembrance of Allah in it and the one that does not have the remembrance of Allah in it, is that of he who is living, and he who is dead." [Muslim]

 

How wonderful it would be for the members of a household to gather to read the Quran,and finish reading it at least once every month. It would also be praiseworthy for each family member to meet once a week to learn matters related to religion, reading from the books of the Sunnah (tradition), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and the biography of the Prophet, ; so that the bright examples of the homes of the Prophet's Companions may return. Sounds that resembled the buzzing of bees used to be heard from their homes as they read the Quran and prayed during the night, and as they shed their tears while they stood before Allah The Exalted.

 

The Muslim family ought to take advantage of the special blessed times, such as the month of Ramadan, the first ten days of Thul Hijjah . and so on, investing these times in worship, educating the children about [the importance of] these occasions and their precedence over other occasions, and giving them the information and rulings related to them.