What is your opinion on boycotting mosques that contain innovations?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. There are also some young men in Morocco, in the Netherlands, and in other countries who boycott mosques on the pretext that their imams are innovators, for example, praying for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in congregation, reciting the Qur'an in congregation, and what

The Shaykh : So, you mean that they are boycotting the mosques

The questioner : Yes, exactly.

The Shaykh : and not boycotting

The questioner : they do not care about the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)

The Shaykh : They do not follow the imam?

The questioner : They do not care

The Shaykh : They do not care?

The questioner : Yes, about the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)

The Shaykh : For example

The questioner : For example, straightening the rows, meaning saying "Ameen" aloud, and also reciting the Qur'an and the prayer for the Prophet in congregation, and other innovations

The Shaykh : I mean, the imams of the mosques that the group you are talking about has boycotted, are their mistakes that they do not perform the Sunnahs, is that so?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : This is a matter that is considered contrary to the Sunnah, namely boycotting mosques because of the shortcoming of the imams of these mosques in applying the rulings of the Shari'ah and their lack of concern for the Prophetic Sunnah. It is not permissible for those who are eager to follow the Sunnah to boycott mosques, except if they boycott a mosque that has such innovations and go to another mosque that has no innovations. But if the boycott is, as stated in the question, an absolute boycott of all mosques, then its likeness is like that of the one who builds a palace and demolishes a fortress. That is because establishing the prayer, or the five prayers, with the congregation of Muslims in the mosques is obligatory, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to neglect or ignore performing this obligation except for a valid Shari'ah excuse. And it is not an excuse at all to boycott mosques absolutely just because some of the worshippers, even if it is the imam himself, deviates from the Sunnah in much or in little. Except for what I mentioned earlier, that if one leaves the mosque that is, for example, near him and goes to another mosque because it is free from innovation, then this is the obligatory action for those who want to adhere to the Sunnah. That is because a Muslim in this time, if he wanted to scrutinize the imams of the mosques with this level of scrutiny, it would necessitate that he isolate himself from all people, because today you rarely find a mosque that is established upon the Sunnah in all aspects. This is impossible. That is because all mosques, or most of them, first, are built with impure money and are built in ways that are contrary to the Sunnah. You hardly find a mosque today that is not decorated and adorned, even in Makkah and even in al-Madinah, as you know. So where would these people go if they do not want to pray in a mosque that has innovation? It means they would leave the congregations of all Muslims and sit in the corners of their houses and pray there. And here, many hadiths apply to them regarding the one who opposes the congregation; he dies the death of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. We find an excuse for one who might leave a mosque for another mosque with less innovation. I do not say that there is no innovation in it; that does not exist today. But as it was said in the past: "Pity me, some evil is less than some." So a Muslim might find, near or far, a mosque where the prayer is performed according to the Sunnah, but it is all engravings and all decorations, but he does not have the authority to change that. The Muslim today, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in some authentic hadiths: As for seeking the Prophet's Mosque as it was in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he will not find it in this time. And so, does he isolate himself in his house and cut off the relationship between him and the Muslims in the holiest and purest of Allah's lands? And as came in the authentic hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the best of places and the worst of places, and he said: So if a Muslim seeks a mosque that has no Shari'ah violation whatsoever, it means that he will leave the best of places, which are the mosques, and this is not permissible. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as you know, and we do not lengthen the speech on this, encouraged and affirmed praying with the congregation of Muslims in the mosques. Indeed, Allah the Mighty and Majestic commanded that in the Noble Qur'an when He said: And so, these who lag behind or boycott the prayer in the mosques, these are not knowledgeable, because if they were knowledgeable, they would know the rule that when a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the lesser of them, the lesser in evil. So either they pray in these mosques where they can only do enjoining good and forbidding evil, they cannot change the evil by hand, and they may be able to do so with the good word. If they leave the prayer in these mosques for the houses, it means they have left the Shari'ah rule that when a Muslim falls between two evils, he chooses the lesser in evil. But I said that if a Muslim finds a mosque with less deviation from the Sunnah and intends that mosque and leaves the mosque next to him, then this is what we order and strive for within our capability. It is possible for such young students of knowledge, perhaps one of them read, for example, a report in the Sunan of Abu Dawud: He calls for the prayer, saying "Prayer, prayer," in Sham after the adhan, he opens the window and his voice reaches the street: "O worshippers, prayer, O worshippers, prayer," and the mu'adhdhin called "Hasten to prayer, hasten to success." This is a futile act, this is an objection to the Shari'ah. And so, when Ibn 'Umar entered the mosque and heard this man calling for the prayer, he said: And he left it. But this does not mean leave all the mosques; this means go to a mosque that has no innovation. And so, these people have been afflicted by a lack of knowledge and by extremism in the Sunnah and in worship. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to say, advising his Ummah: They flee from some innovations that they cannot rectify, and they fall into a greater innovation that they can cure. And so they fell into the school of Abu Nuwas who said: "And I cured with that which was the disease."