The earth made a place of prayer and purity

Summary

Sha'rawi holds that God made the whole earth a place of prayer and purity for the community of Muhammad, to widen the means of meeting God, and that barring God's name from mosques or wrecking them is a great wrong. ¹ ²

Easing worship for the community

Before Islam, Sha'rawi says, the followers of each religion prayed only in a place set apart for their faith. God then made the whole earth a place of prayer, so that prayer and voluntary prayers are valid in any place and at any time. ¹ He cites the hadith of five gifts from Jabir, among them that the earth was made a place of prayer and purity. ²

Thanks in prostration

Sha'rawi holds that the discovery of hidden laws in creation calls for prostration in thanks, and that people should not come to rely on causes instead of the Creator. He gives the example of live images and events that people now see as they happen. ² ³

The sanctity of mosques

Sha'rawi counts barring God's name from mosques and seeking their ruin as the greatest wrong. He says that God brought shame on the Jews of Medina in this world for such acts, and that the punishment in the next world is great. He adds that a believer who keeps silent or fails to defend the mosques shares in the sin. ⁴ ⁵

Limits of this block

These are Sha'rawi's views alone, from these pages. The jurists' rulings on the sanctity of mosques and on wrecking them, the academic view and other views are not yet entered.

Opinions on the question

The question: What does it mean that the whole earth is a place of prayer, and what is the ruling on barring the remembrance of God in mosques or wrecking them?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The whole earth is a place of prayer and purity to ease worship; mosques carry greater sanctity and wrecking them is a wrong

Sha'rawi says that before Islam a religion's worship was valid only in a designated place, and that God made the whole earth a place of prayer and purity to widen the means of meeting Him; he cites the hadith of the five gifts from Jabir. He counts barring God's name from mosques and seeking their ruin as the greatest wrong, and says a believer who keeps silent shares in it {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-pp-501-1000 p.537}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-pp-501-1000 p.538}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-pp-501-1000 p.541}.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (1)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The rules on mosque sanctity, on what invalidates prayer there and on the penalties for wrecking a mosque are not yet entered from a source

The jurists' rulings on the sanctity of mosques, the penalties for wrecking them and barring worship in them, the academic view and other views are not yet entered.

Al-Aqiq: the valley as a place of ihram and the carnelian stone in law (aqiq)

In the lexicon, al-aqiq is a valley cut by a torrent and a red stone used for the settings of rings; several places in Arabia bear the name. As the valley it matters for ihram: the Shafi'is prefer that people of the east begin ihram from it, while the Malikis and Hanbalis hold that the station for the people of Iraq is Dhat 'Irq. As the stone, the majority do not allow tayammum with it, while the Hanafis allow it because it belongs to the kind of earth; the majority hold that it carries no zakat unless it is held for trade, while the Hanbalis require zakat on it; it is not subject to riba; the schools differ on advance sale of it; and most jurists allow men to wear it as an adornment.

The earth made a place of prayer and purity

At a glance

Summary

Easing worship for the community

Thanks in prostration

The sanctity of mosques

Limits of this block

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Ideas

Al-Aqiq: the valley as a place of ihram and the carnelian stone in law (aqiq)