Is the smell of sweat an excuse for missing the congregational prayer?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, Sheikh. There is a group in a mosque who want to expel a group of workers who pray with them.
The Shaykh : What do they want?
The questioner : They want to expel the workers who pray with them on the grounds of the smell of sweat and that they dirty the mosque. What encouraged them most to do this is that a student of knowledge issued them a ruling permitting them to prevent these workers from entering the mosque, citing the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered one who had eaten garlic or onions to keep away from the Muslim congregation. What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Our view in this matter is that if the smell is harmful and unbearable, they are prevented from entering the mosque. They are ordered to remove this smell as much as possible and to attend the mosque. This does not mean that we prevent them from entering the mosque and say, "Pray wherever you wish," because if we said that, we would open the doors to laziness for them. Rather, we say, "We prevent you, and at the same time, you clean yourselves and attend." In this way, the desired outcome is achieved and the disliked matter is removed.
The questioner : They cannot, O Shaykh. They are contractors; they come directly from their work sites and return to them after the prayer.
The Shaykh : If they are unable to do so, they are told: "Pray in congregation at your workplace, and leave the mosques of the people for the people."
The questioner : Most of the foreigners, we notice, if they miss the prayer in the mosque, do not pray in congregation; each one prays alone.
The Shaykh : They are taught, they are taught. The cure for every ignorance is knowledge.
The questioner : Some of them leave the midday and afternoon prayers and come with them after the sunset prayer, after they have finished their work.
The Shaykh : They are taught. The cure for everything is knowledge. You find these workers, for example, in their own countries where no one commands them or forbids them, or they are in the outskirts of the country, or in the deserts, and they know nothing. Let them return to their families, benefiting from you in both religious and worldly sustenance.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : What do they want?
The questioner : They want to expel the workers who pray with them on the grounds of the smell of sweat and that they dirty the mosque. What encouraged them most to do this is that a student of knowledge issued them a ruling permitting them to prevent these workers from entering the mosque, citing the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered one who had eaten garlic or onions to keep away from the Muslim congregation. What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Our view in this matter is that if the smell is harmful and unbearable, they are prevented from entering the mosque. They are ordered to remove this smell as much as possible and to attend the mosque. This does not mean that we prevent them from entering the mosque and say, "Pray wherever you wish," because if we said that, we would open the doors to laziness for them. Rather, we say, "We prevent you, and at the same time, you clean yourselves and attend." In this way, the desired outcome is achieved and the disliked matter is removed.
The questioner : They cannot, O Shaykh. They are contractors; they come directly from their work sites and return to them after the prayer.
The Shaykh : If they are unable to do so, they are told: "Pray in congregation at your workplace, and leave the mosques of the people for the people."
The questioner : Most of the foreigners, we notice, if they miss the prayer in the mosque, do not pray in congregation; each one prays alone.
The Shaykh : They are taught, they are taught. The cure for every ignorance is knowledge.
The questioner : Some of them leave the midday and afternoon prayers and come with them after the sunset prayer, after they have finished their work.
The Shaykh : They are taught. The cure for everything is knowledge. You find these workers, for example, in their own countries where no one commands them or forbids them, or they are in the outskirts of the country, or in the deserts, and they know nothing. Let them return to their families, benefiting from you in both religious and worldly sustenance.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.