Are the minarets built on mosques an innovation?
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The questioner : And the minaret, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The minaret could have been permissible in the past, before this era. It could be said to be a dispensation based on a general benefit, because it achieves a Shari'ah objective. This is unlike the thread, which undermines the Sunnah of ordering the rows, aligning the rows, and the worshippers' care in aligning the rows, as we mentioned earlier. As for the minaret, there was no other means to carry the voice to the farthest possible place. So this minaret was established, especially when buildings began to multiply in some cities or capitals, and some of them became tall, so the mu'adhdhin's voice from the roof of the mosque no longer reached where it should reach. Thus, this means was found.
But today, it has become, as they say, "without a subject", because no one climbs it to call the adhan from it and reach the people. Rather, it has become a symbol of the mosque today. And I see that as long as the loudspeaker exists, it is not permissible to build a minaret for two reasons:
The first reason is that the minaret originally has no basis. We said it was permissible to adopt it at that time because it achieved a general benefit. Now, the loudspeaker achieves a general benefit. So it is not permissible to build a minaret, especially in the manner followed in many mosques, where they boast of it through its construction and the height of its structure, and the like of that, which is not free from extravagance, waste, and squandering of money. Especially if these funds are endowment funds or people who donated on the basis that a mosque is to be built with these funds. In that, there is a known merit in some hadiths, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Ibn Hibban 9:170. And if much of this money goes to waste without benefit. In the past, we said it was for achieving a general benefit. But with this great height, there is no benefit at all in that at that time. Rather, it should be to a certain height according to the buildings surrounding the mosque.
But today, there is no benefit at all in building a minaret, except for the prevailing custom that indicates to the stranger that this is a mosque. So there is no harm in adopting a very small minaret at the least cost, because we said that the loudspeaker suffices for those minarets. I have a statement related to this topic, but I want to go out now to relieve myself.
The Shaykh : The minaret could have been permissible in the past, before this era. It could be said to be a dispensation based on a general benefit, because it achieves a Shari'ah objective. This is unlike the thread, which undermines the Sunnah of ordering the rows, aligning the rows, and the worshippers' care in aligning the rows, as we mentioned earlier. As for the minaret, there was no other means to carry the voice to the farthest possible place. So this minaret was established, especially when buildings began to multiply in some cities or capitals, and some of them became tall, so the mu'adhdhin's voice from the roof of the mosque no longer reached where it should reach. Thus, this means was found.
But today, it has become, as they say, "without a subject", because no one climbs it to call the adhan from it and reach the people. Rather, it has become a symbol of the mosque today. And I see that as long as the loudspeaker exists, it is not permissible to build a minaret for two reasons:
The first reason is that the minaret originally has no basis. We said it was permissible to adopt it at that time because it achieved a general benefit. Now, the loudspeaker achieves a general benefit. So it is not permissible to build a minaret, especially in the manner followed in many mosques, where they boast of it through its construction and the height of its structure, and the like of that, which is not free from extravagance, waste, and squandering of money. Especially if these funds are endowment funds or people who donated on the basis that a mosque is to be built with these funds. In that, there is a known merit in some hadiths, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever builds a mosque, even if it is as small as a sparrow's nest, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.
من بنى مسجداً ولو كمفحص قطاة بنى الله له بيتاً في الجنةBut today, there is no benefit at all in building a minaret, except for the prevailing custom that indicates to the stranger that this is a mosque. So there is no harm in adopting a very small minaret at the least cost, because we said that the loudspeaker suffices for those minarets. I have a statement related to this topic, but I want to go out now to relieve myself.