What is the meaning of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever touches the pebbles has committed idle talk, and whoever commits idle talk has no Friday prayer for him”?
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The questioner : What is the meaning of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): ?
The Shaykh : By pebbles, he means the small stones that are like the stones used to stone the pillars. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mosque was paved with these stones. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) intent with “whoever touches the pebbles” is doing so in a way of playing and fooling around, such as occupying oneself during the sermon by rubbing these pebbles, writing on them, or doing similar things that constitute fooling around.
So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning in this manner of fooling around . The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that idle talk means that a person is deprived of the virtue of Friday, and it is not intended that his prayer is invalid.
Similar to this is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Sahih al-Bukhari 934. The intent is that he is deprived of the reward of Friday, and it is not intended that his Friday prayer is invalid.
And on this occasion, I warn against what some people are lax about, which is talking while the imam is delivering the sermon on Friday. Indeed, that is among the forbidden things, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) compared it to a donkey carrying books.
So if someone says: If the imam is delivering the sermon on Friday, but I do not want to pray with him; rather, I want to pray in another mosque, am I obligated to listen to his sermon?
The answer is: No, you are not obligated. If you pass by a mosque where they are praying Friday and their imam is delivering the sermon, and you are heading to another mosque, you are not required to listen to this imam who is delivering the sermon, because he is not the imam you want to give you advice. Likewise, if you are waiting for the imam to come to the mosque and you hear another mosque delivering the sermon, you are not obligated to listen to his sermon because you do not want to receive guidance from that imam; rather, you want to receive guidance from the imam of the mosque where you are.
And on this occasion, I say: What some people do today of broadcasting the sermon or the prayer from the minaret speakers until they disturb others is an abominable matter that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade when he heard his Companions praying in separate groups, some of them raising their voices in recitation. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 1332Sahih (Al-Albani). And in another hadith: As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 59:118. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made it clear that this is harm, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) is truthful. Indeed, this sound that is heard from outside harms the worshippers in the second mosque and disturbs their listening to their imam. Perhaps they even turn to listening to this outside imam and forget listening to their own imam because the former has a better recitation and a more pleasant voice. And this is harm to their Muslim brothers. Allah the Exalted has warned against harming the believers, saying: [Al-Ahzab 33:58].
So my advice to my brothers who do this is that they repent to Allah Mighty and Majestic and that they stop disturbing their brothers.
In my view, there is no harm in broadcasting the iqamah from the minaret, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Bulugh al-Maram 2:329. This indicates that the iqamah is heard from outside, meaning from outside the mosque. Although some of the brothers have disliked it and said that there is harm in it, which is that the lazy ones, when told: “Stand up for prayer” after the adhan, say: “The prayer has not been established yet; I will wait until the iqamah comes.” But I see that there is nothing wrong with it, if Allah wills, meaning there is nothing wrong with broadcasting the iqamah from the minaret, if Allah wills.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, for this blessed guidance.
Whoever touches the pebbles has committed idle talk, and whoever commits idle talk has no Friday prayer for him
من مس الحصى فقد لغى، ومن لغا فلا جمعة لهThe Shaykh : By pebbles, he means the small stones that are like the stones used to stone the pillars. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mosque was paved with these stones. The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) intent with “whoever touches the pebbles” is doing so in a way of playing and fooling around, such as occupying oneself during the sermon by rubbing these pebbles, writing on them, or doing similar things that constitute fooling around.
So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever touches the pebbles
من مس الحصىhas committed idle talk, and whoever commits idle talk has no Friday prayer for him
فقد لغى ، ومن لغى فلا جمعة لهSimilar to this is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
When the Imam is delivering the Khutba, and you ask your companion to keep quiet and listen, then no doubt you have done an evil act.
إذا قلت لصاحبك يوم الجمعة أنصت والإمام يخطب فقد لغوت ومن لغا فلا جمعة لهAnd on this occasion, I warn against what some people are lax about, which is talking while the imam is delivering the sermon on Friday. Indeed, that is among the forbidden things, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) compared it to a donkey carrying books.
So if someone says: If the imam is delivering the sermon on Friday, but I do not want to pray with him; rather, I want to pray in another mosque, am I obligated to listen to his sermon?
The answer is: No, you are not obligated. If you pass by a mosque where they are praying Friday and their imam is delivering the sermon, and you are heading to another mosque, you are not required to listen to this imam who is delivering the sermon, because he is not the imam you want to give you advice. Likewise, if you are waiting for the imam to come to the mosque and you hear another mosque delivering the sermon, you are not obligated to listen to his sermon because you do not want to receive guidance from that imam; rather, you want to receive guidance from the imam of the mosque where you are.
And on this occasion, I say: What some people do today of broadcasting the sermon or the prayer from the minaret speakers until they disturb others is an abominable matter that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade when he heard his Companions praying in separate groups, some of them raising their voices in recitation. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
One should not trouble the other and one should not raise the voice in recitation
لا يؤذين بعضكم بعضاً في القراءةDo not raise your voices over one another in recitation
لا يجهر بعضكم على بعض في القراءةAnd those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned have certainly born upon themselves a slander and manifest sin.
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًاSo my advice to my brothers who do this is that they repent to Allah Mighty and Majestic and that they stop disturbing their brothers.
In my view, there is no harm in broadcasting the iqamah from the minaret, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
If you hear the Iqamah, you must walk to the prayer (place) with tranquility
إذا سمعتم الإقامة فامشوا إلى الصلاة وعليكم السكينةThe questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, for this blessed guidance.