MUSLIMS around the world go to masjid primarily for daily five times prayers, prayers on Eid days, and sometimes for weddings or prayers for those who have died. During Ramadan, mosques premises are used to organise parties for Iftar, Taraweeh prayers, and religious discourse. All in all, a masjid is mostly a place for rituals. Some of those rituals have a purpose that is more than just rituals.
Prayers, such as five obligatory daily prayers help the worshipers to strengthen their spirituality. A worshiper may use a masjid as a premise for different forms of prayers and dhikr (remembrance) to engage in spiritual enlightenment - connecting themselves and the creator - in a silo or in a congregation.
Other community-engaging rituals such as iftar parties, weddings, and prayers for those who passed at a masjid premise can help to rebuild social engagement. In fact, mosques can play more roles than ritual-based engagement for the sustainable development of the community.
In addition to teaching recitation of the Noble Quran as well as learning Arabic, the mosque premise can be used to teach other languages such as English, Mandarin, and Tamil to children and youths. Community members can play the role of trainers voluntarily. This will help to reinforce the acceptance of diverse cultures among Malaysians.
Imagine a mosque hosts a library with books not only on religions but also on historical, social, and scientific issues written in a popular format. That will encourage members of the community including children to come to learn contemporary issues along with the knowledge from Islamic texts. Thus a masjid could play the role of a house of wisdom. All that is needed is to build a library at the masjid premise that hosts books with valuable knowledge and skills.
The mosque premises can be used for voluntary healthcare services using the experts of the community. Once on a weekly or monthly basis, a healthcare expert can use the mosque premise to listen to the health issues and complaints from the rest of the community at an individual level. If not for a complete intervention, volunteer community healthcare professionals can engage themselves to improve the healthy lifestyle of the worshipers and the rest in the community.
From a spiritual perspective, such a voluntary service for the community is worth expecting a great reward as an act of Sadaqah Jariyah - the same act would strengthen bonding among the community members too.
Historically, Kaba at the center of Masjid-al haram in the Makkah Mukarramah has been a place of business and trade not only for the people of Makkah but also for the people from as far as Syria and some parts of Africa. Following that model of the mosque as a center of business and trade, the mosque premise at the current time could be opened for business and trade for daily commodities including food. Given the infrastructure and other physical resources, items for business and trade could be chosen based on priority.
In the context of today’s reliance on internet-based search engines, it is also important to bring all masjids under the umbrella of an online network where users can find detailed information about the masjid including the events and activities organised by each mosque. This will also greatly benefit travelers to locate a masjid in the neighborhood of their destination and during the journey.
Thus a mosque - beyond the boundary of its limited and traditional use for rituals - could be more useful for the community to address the health, financial, and education of the community members engaging their volunteer members. A masjid as a garden of spirit, a house of wisdom, and a hub of civilization can play a critical role in community development and nation-building.
Datuk Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff is the executive director for Universiti Malaya's International Institute of Public Policy & Management (INPUMA), while Professor Dr Mohammad Tariqur Rahman is the deputy executive director. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.