Mosque manners: Balancing parenthood with spiritual devotion
The ruling on bringing children to the mosque has differing views.
SHAH ALAM – It is advisable not to bring young children who may disrupt congregational prayers to the mosque.
Former Federal Territories mufti Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said that if the children do not cause disturbance but parents were concerned about them, then they can be placed next to their parents during prayers.
"We recommend that in such situations, parents pray at the end of the row (end of the saf), and their children are placed at the very end.
"If they are capable of standing independently, it is preferred to place them in the children's row.
"Supervision should be provided to oversee or guide the children during prayers so that they can pray properly, give advice and teach them to respect the mosque," he said.
He said this through a sharing on the official website of the Federal Territories Department entitled Bayan Linnas Series 63: Mosques and Children.
Previously, a video went viral showing an elderly man, who is also a committee member of the Al-Falah Mosque in Jempol fell after a young boy pulled off the chair he used to pray.
The individual, Mohd Kassim Maarof, 63, said he was not aware that his chair used for prayer had been pulled when he was about to prostrate, however, he had forgiven the child.
More recently, another video lasting 30 seconds on platform X showed a child behaving aggressively by climbing on the backs of female congregants and kicking the bodies of other congregants in a mosque, causing the incident to become a topic of discussion among netizens.
Dr Zulkifli also said that the ruling on bringing children to the mosque was considered permissible according to Imam asy-Syaukani, but there were different views from the Maliki, Hanbali, and Shafi'i schools of thought, where the category of non-mumayyiz (those who have not reached the age of puberty) were prohibited or not allowed to be brought into the place of worship.
"This is based on the hadith narrated by al-Baihaqi, 'Keep your mosques away from your young children.'
"The opinion of Imam al-Hafiz Ibnu Hajar al-Asqalani, Imam asy-Syaukani and others is that children are allowed to attend the mosque.
"Based on the hadith narrated by Muslim, 'I saw the Prophet leading the prayer while carrying Umamah binti Abi al-As, who is the daughter of Zainab binti Rasulullah. When he bowed, he put her down, and when he rose from prostration, he lifted her again," he added.
