The Ruling on Children Playing in Mosques
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His Eminence the Shaykh: Sometimes, some children cause disturbance in the mosque. Is it permissible for one of the worshippers to break his prayer to stop this, or should he merely turn his head to identify them so he can reprimand them later?
First: It is obligatory for the guardians of these children to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not to allow their children to attend as long as they are playing and fooling around. If it happens that these children come without their fathers’ knowledge, as is the case sometimes, then it is obligatory to say to the father if he is present: “So-and-so! Take your son and go with him to your family.”
If we are unable to prevent their harm except by removing them from the mosque, we remove them. However, breaking the prayer for this reason is not permissible; because when a person enters into an obligatory prayer, he must complete it. The disturbance caused by these children does not lead to the invalidation of the other people’s prayers. If it did lead to the invalidation of the other people’s prayers, then seeking a solution would be a matter for consideration, but it does not lead to the invalidation of the other people’s prayers. So let them be patient until the prayer ends, then they should identify these children and contact their fathers.
Turning one’s head out of necessity is permissible, but the turning should be with the face only, not with the whole body.
And these boys can perhaps be corrected by calming them down and saying: “My sons, this is not permissible, and this is the House of Allah. These are your fathers and brothers; do not disturb them, and do not ruin their prayer.”
First: It is obligatory for the guardians of these children to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not to allow their children to attend as long as they are playing and fooling around. If it happens that these children come without their fathers’ knowledge, as is the case sometimes, then it is obligatory to say to the father if he is present: “So-and-so! Take your son and go with him to your family.”
If we are unable to prevent their harm except by removing them from the mosque, we remove them. However, breaking the prayer for this reason is not permissible; because when a person enters into an obligatory prayer, he must complete it. The disturbance caused by these children does not lead to the invalidation of the other people’s prayers. If it did lead to the invalidation of the other people’s prayers, then seeking a solution would be a matter for consideration, but it does not lead to the invalidation of the other people’s prayers. So let them be patient until the prayer ends, then they should identify these children and contact their fathers.
Turning one’s head out of necessity is permissible, but the turning should be with the face only, not with the whole body.
And these boys can perhaps be corrected by calming them down and saying: “My sons, this is not permissible, and this is the House of Allah. These are your fathers and brothers; do not disturb them, and do not ruin their prayer.”