By Ifham Nizam
Asiff Hussein, Vice President- Outreach of the Centre for Islamic Studies Harmony Centre and author of the book ‘Iconic Masjids of Ceylon’ speaks about the role of mosques in the Muslim community and the importance of mosque tours in reaching out to people of other faiths.
Q: The Mosque is often thought to be the centre of the Muslim community. How far is this true?
A: The Mosque is no doubt the centre of the Muslim community. It is here that the faithful gather to pray to God, not once, but five times a day. The prayer which is no doubt the most active form of prayer found anywhere in the world consists of cycles of standing, bowing and prostrating before the Almighty. It is from the all important position of prostration known as Sajdah, where one humbles oneself before the Almighty, placing one’s head on to the ground and utterly surrendering oneself to the Divinity that the mosque takes its name. The Arabic word for mosque Masjidis derived from the word Sajdahor ‘Prostration’ and literally means ‘Place of Prostration’.
In the early days of Islam which were its best days, mosques were the very centre of community life. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the mosque served as an assembly for the community and public announcements were often made there. Women too had free access to the mosque but prayed behind the men. In fact the Prophet clearly prohibited women from being denied entry to the mosques, calling them The handmaidens of God. In a hadith he has stated: “Do not bar the handmaidens of God from God’s Places of Worship”. Sadly this command is observed in the breach today except for festival days when women attend for festival prayers. Cultural norms and ideas of ceremonial impurity of women arising from their monthly periods had a lot to do with this attitude, but fortunately it’s changing and there are mosques today that let women attend and conduct prayers.