What is the ruling on using a mobile phone or telephone in the mosque for the one in i'tikaf? And what are the conditions for that if it is permissible?
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The questioner : He says: Your Eminence, what is the ruling on using a mobile phone or telephone in the mosque for the one in i'tikaf? And what are the conditions for that if it is permissible?
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with the one in i'tikaf using a mobile phone or telephone in the mosque, provided it does not disturb the people. If it disturbs the people, then it should not be used, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to his Companions one night while they were praying in the mosque in groups and raising their voices in recitation. He said: and he ordered them not to raise their voices so that they would not harm one another. So if these mobile phones or beepers disturb the worshippers, it is obligatory for a person to turn them off or silence them so that he does not disturb his brothers.
On this occasion, I would like to remind my brother imams who pray with a microphone and turn it on at the edges of the mosque or in the minaret. This disturbs the people in nearby mosques and disturbs the people in their homes who are praying alone. It may even lead to harming the people in their homes. A sick person may be longing for sleep, but the noise drives the sleep away and he is harmed by it. So I call upon my brother imams to turn off the microphones in the minarets during prayer, because it is a nuisance without a doubt, and there is no benefit in it, neither for the worshippers, because the worshippers have already made do with the internal amplifiers, nor for those outside the mosque, because if those outside the mosque hear the recitation and think the imam is close to bowing, they hurry and run to catch the bowing, and in doing so they go against the Sunnah. Also, some people—and this has been complained to us—stay in their homes and say, "The first rak'ah is long." When a person catches up with a rak'ah of the prayer, he has caught up with the prayer. Then he stays until only one rak'ah remains, and he may catch up with that rak'ah or he may not.
Yes.
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with the one in i'tikaf using a mobile phone or telephone in the mosque, provided it does not disturb the people. If it disturbs the people, then it should not be used, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to his Companions one night while they were praying in the mosque in groups and raising their voices in recitation. He said:
Do not harm one another in your recitation, for each of you is conversing with his Lord.
لا يؤذين بعضكم بعضاً في القراءة كلكم يناجي ربهOn this occasion, I would like to remind my brother imams who pray with a microphone and turn it on at the edges of the mosque or in the minaret. This disturbs the people in nearby mosques and disturbs the people in their homes who are praying alone. It may even lead to harming the people in their homes. A sick person may be longing for sleep, but the noise drives the sleep away and he is harmed by it. So I call upon my brother imams to turn off the microphones in the minarets during prayer, because it is a nuisance without a doubt, and there is no benefit in it, neither for the worshippers, because the worshippers have already made do with the internal amplifiers, nor for those outside the mosque, because if those outside the mosque hear the recitation and think the imam is close to bowing, they hurry and run to catch the bowing, and in doing so they go against the Sunnah. Also, some people—and this has been complained to us—stay in their homes and say, "The first rak'ah is long." When a person catches up with a rak'ah of the prayer, he has caught up with the prayer. Then he stays until only one rak'ah remains, and he may catch up with that rak'ah or he may not.
Yes.