The Proliferation of Mosques, Their Proximity, and the Amplification of the Takbir
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
It is not the Shaykh. I do not know what you mean by the number of mosques, so I will give you a general answer. There is only one building and one fitnah (trial or discord) associated with it.
Answer:
Yes, this phenomenon is not good. The proximity and proliferation of mosques is an undesirable phenomenon. It is obligatory that mosques be built according to the needs of the Muslims in the distant neighborhoods. As for building a mosque in every nearby place, so that mosques are adjacent to one another, disturbing each other, and splitting the congregation, this is not permissible.
What is required is that Muslims gather whenever possible. Whenever they gather in large numbers, it is better and more excellent. Whenever they are scattered, it is worse. So, if there is an excess of mosques beyond the need, the competent authority should intervene in this matter and not permit the establishment of a mosque except in a suitable location, not according to the whims of the people or the one who is in charge. When he wants to build in a place, he builds immediately according to his own desire. The responsible authority must intervene and not permit the establishment of any mosque except in a suitable location where no harm comes to the other mosque and where the worshippers are not scattered. This is what is required. Yes.
In our present time, there is also an apparent concern, which is the loudspeakers. These loudspeakers cause disturbance to the mosques. The nearby mosque experiences more interference, to the extent that the worshippers do not know what their imam is saying. Perhaps they follow the imam who is outside their mosque. They are confused and think it is the voice of the imam, or perhaps one is inattentive, so when he hears the takbir, he bows and prostrates without verifying whether it is the voice of his imam or not. This causes many harms. This is one of the negatives of the proximity of mosques in the Friday prayer and at other times. Yes.
It is not the Shaykh. I do not know what you mean by the number of mosques, so I will give you a general answer. There is only one building and one fitnah (trial or discord) associated with it.
Answer:
Yes, this phenomenon is not good. The proximity and proliferation of mosques is an undesirable phenomenon. It is obligatory that mosques be built according to the needs of the Muslims in the distant neighborhoods. As for building a mosque in every nearby place, so that mosques are adjacent to one another, disturbing each other, and splitting the congregation, this is not permissible.
What is required is that Muslims gather whenever possible. Whenever they gather in large numbers, it is better and more excellent. Whenever they are scattered, it is worse. So, if there is an excess of mosques beyond the need, the competent authority should intervene in this matter and not permit the establishment of a mosque except in a suitable location, not according to the whims of the people or the one who is in charge. When he wants to build in a place, he builds immediately according to his own desire. The responsible authority must intervene and not permit the establishment of any mosque except in a suitable location where no harm comes to the other mosque and where the worshippers are not scattered. This is what is required. Yes.
In our present time, there is also an apparent concern, which is the loudspeakers. These loudspeakers cause disturbance to the mosques. The nearby mosque experiences more interference, to the extent that the worshippers do not know what their imam is saying. Perhaps they follow the imam who is outside their mosque. They are confused and think it is the voice of the imam, or perhaps one is inattentive, so when he hears the takbir, he bows and prostrates without verifying whether it is the voice of his imam or not. This causes many harms. This is one of the negatives of the proximity of mosques in the Friday prayer and at other times. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 51 من 175 /شرح بلوغ المرام/الصلاة/المساجد/صالح الفوزان/الحديث/كبار العلماء — youtube.com (54:38)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.