When in the Masjid

Umm Travis from Tea Break Thoughts tagged me! Sorry for the late reply sister, I was off today and was out visiting friends and family.
The Rules:
Link back to the person who tagged you.List 3 ahadith you’d like to pin up in your masjid and why.Tag some of your fellow bloggers by linking to them in your post and don’t forget to post a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been tagged.

The aHadeeth:

1-Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle (p.b.u.h) said,
“When the Imam is delivering the Khutba, and you ask your companion to keep quiet and listen, then no doubt you have done an evil act.”

Sometimes, it is very frustrating to listen to the Friday Khutba at my masjid. My local mosque is in downtown DC, so most people come there straight from work on Fridays and it gets very crowded. The women have an entire section to themselves dowsntairs and a big TV screen that displays the Imam live so we can see what's happening in the main room upstairs. Sounds great right? well....except that women chat as loudly as if they were in a coffee shop, laugh outloud during the khutba, yell at their kids, sometimes even fight among themselves. There was an incident when one sister was talking so loud that another one asked her to keep quiet and she refused and started screaming and talking in a foreign language and they were going back and forth while the Imam was delivering the Khutba. Mind you, these were not young people either, but the regular 'aunties' who think the mosque is part of their backyards. Subhanallah, is this the way to behave in a mosque? Shouldn't we have a better adab while at the mosque especially during the khutba?

Imam Asi (on the picture) outside of the mosque on Fridays.............>
2-Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Umar:
Allah’s Apostle said, “A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection .” Bukhari
It breaks my heart to enter the mosque on Fridays while I see Imam Mohammad Asi praying on the side-walk with his followers. Rain or shine, summer or winter, Imam Asi does his khutba and jummah prayers on the side-walk because the Saudis banned him from entering the mosque for the past 25 years. The only Eid when he tried praying inside the mosque, he was arrested and charged on counts of “unlawful entry into the mosque” and “disturbing a religious service” and spent Eid in Jail. Subhanallah, did they forget that muslims have a God-given right to enter the masjid? Muslims of all creeds are free to enter any mosque. Even non muslims visit the mosque, why aren't they allowing Imam Asi, a muslim brother to enter the mosque? So, on Fridays after praying inside, I always try to stop by the side-walk facing the opposite side of the mosque to listen to Imam Asi's khutba. With his clear voice he denounces corruption, denounces the behavior of those who have put him in this situation for the past 25 years. Sometimes, it will be snowing and Imam Asi will be there praying on the cold floor, making dawah using his mike, reciting the Quran with his beautiful voice that makes pedestrians stop and wonder why this old man would be praying outside of a mosque with about 10 or 15 people....May Allah reward Imam Asi for his struggles, sabr and perseverance. If you wanna know more about Imam Asi's situation, you can click HERE

3-It was narrated by Abu Malik al-Ash'ari that the Messenger of Allah saw said:'Cleanliness is half of faith and Alhamdulillah fills the scale, and SubhanaAllah and Alhamdulillah fill up what is between the heavens and the earth. Salah is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.'[Muslim]

It is just such a beautiful hadith that sums up so many characters and behaviors of a good muslim.Here,the Prophet saw is telling us that cleanliness is half of faith, therefore it should not be taken lightly. Yet, how many Muslim brothers/sisters go to the masjids to offer their salahs, and annoy their brothers, their Lord, and His Angels, by not taking care of their smell/appearance/socks/clothing/cleanliness?
It is very important for us to keep our persons clean especially when going to the masjids. Our level of cleanliness should go beyond the outer self to touch our hearts and souls.The areas outside the masjid are littered with paper and garbage, yet this is where we stand and pray. How can we pray in filth? This is not the way of the Prophet saw. If we see litter, let's pick it up, and know that our reward is with Allah swt inshallah.

I think these 3 hadiths would help us ponder on our behavior in the mosque and also on our behavior towards each other. Our muslim brothers and sisters have a right upon us, and we also have a right upon ourselves. We will be a better ummah if we learn to accept and give rights when they are due.

I will tag the following blogs:

Mona
UmmIsmail
Muslimahh
Banafshe
Malizea
Sister Safiyyah
Halal Honey
Cecilia
Naima Umm Khadija
And Anyone who is up to it, feel free....