The Ruling on Prayer Niches, the Proximity of Mosques, and the Reward for Removing Nuisances
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Your Eminence the Shaykh, regarding the prayer niches (mihrabs) that existed in the past, did the mihrabs exist in the past?
The Shaykh:
Yes, from the time of the Salaf (the earliest generations), to indicate what I mentioned regarding the imam’s position, and to indicate that it is a mosque.
The questioner:
What is your view, Your Eminence (may Allah preserve you), O Your Eminence the Shaykh, regarding the proximity of some mosques to others in nearby neighborhoods?
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible for them to be close to one another. Rather, it is obligatory to build in the alley or the neighborhood what is sufficient for them. If that is sufficient for them, no mosque is to be built around it, unless there is a large number of people who need a mosque; then another mosque is built if the first one is not sufficient for them. Otherwise, the obligatory course is to be content with one so that they are not divided. If the people around it increase and the prayer does not suffice for all of them, another mosque is built, and this third one, and so on, the fourth, according to the number of people. Yes.
Your Eminence the Shaykh, regarding the prayer niches (mihrabs) that existed in the past, did the mihrabs exist in the past?
The Shaykh:
Yes, from the time of the Salaf (the earliest generations), to indicate what I mentioned regarding the imam’s position, and to indicate that it is a mosque.
The questioner:
What is your view, Your Eminence (may Allah preserve you), O Your Eminence the Shaykh, regarding the proximity of some mosques to others in nearby neighborhoods?
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible for them to be close to one another. Rather, it is obligatory to build in the alley or the neighborhood what is sufficient for them. If that is sufficient for them, no mosque is to be built around it, unless there is a large number of people who need a mosque; then another mosque is built if the first one is not sufficient for them. Otherwise, the obligatory course is to be content with one so that they are not divided. If the people around it increase and the prayer does not suffice for all of them, another mosque is built, and this third one, and so on, the fourth, according to the number of people. Yes.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم [ برنامج إذاعي ]، بداية من باب صلاة التطوع في الكعبة — islamhouse.com (20:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.