Some young men sit in the courtyards from 'Asr until midnight, some of them go out to pray with the congregation, and others pray in the courtyard
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The questioner : There are young men in a courtyard, O Shaykh, and the distance between them and the mosque is approximately a kilometer or a kilometer minus a quarter, and they pray in the same courtyard. They say: Is the congregational prayer obligatory upon us?
Considering that some of them go out and pray with the congregation, so they become scattered, some praying in the courtyard and some praying outside the courtyard! Then what do you advise them? A lot of time passes for them after 'Asr until eleven or twelve at night, and they are sitting in a way that has no fruit and no benefit?
The Shaykh : This phenomenon mentioned by the questioner: people have now opened what is called rest houses, so they built courtyards with some trees or plants, and they go out to them after the 'Asr prayer until midnight, or close to midnight. The majority of them do not get any benefit except merely wasting time, the company of one another, and the like. And these gatherings may include something forbidden. We have heard that in some of these rest houses there are satellite dishes, the dishes that no one today doubts destroy morals and destroy religions, because they pick up what is shown on the television screen, picking up what is broadcast in the corrupt lands of disbelief and others.
So they have this dish, and then they remain watching what they watch in it of harms and wrongs, so they increase in distance from Allah, may Allah protect us, and the wrong matters become easy for them because they practice them and watch them. It is known that whoever becomes accustomed to something, it becomes light for him, and it is said in the common proverb: "With much touching, feeling decreases". In these rest houses, such harms occur, and another harm also occurs, which is leaving the prayer with the congregation. You find this place is close to the mosque, and yet they do not pray in the mosque, but rather they pray in their place, even though they can go to the mosque with complete ease and return to their place with complete ease. That is to say, they are not like those who are in a work circle; if they went out to the mosque, they would be scattered and distributed, and the work would be disrupted. Or in a school, if the students went out to the mosque, they would be scattered in the mosque, and they would annoy the people of the mosque with their movements, or they would be scattered to their homes and not pray. That is to say, if we excused the owners of offices and the owners of schools if they prayed in their schools and offices, we would not excuse these people, because these people are a limited number who can all go and all return. So in our view, they have no excuse for leaving the prayer in the mosques, even if they pray in congregation, for that is not sufficient in place of attending the mosque, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 548Sahih (Al-Albani), , even though these people may establish the congregation in their place, but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted them to attend the mosque. And he said to a man when he sought his permission to leave attending: Sunan Abi Dawud 552Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani). So if you convey to them, may Allah reward you with good on my behalf, that it is obligatory upon them to pray in the mosque and then return to their place.
And likewise, I direct advice to the one who placed the dish in these rest houses, and I say to him: Fear Allah in yourself, do not be a cause for the destruction of morals and the corruption of religions by what is watched on these dishes.
Also, on this occasion, I warn the owner of every house from placing such a dish in his house, because he will leave it behind after his death. And I ask the one who places the dish in his house, and he sees these wrongs that are broadcast from it: I ask him, is he with this being sincere to his house and his family, or is he deceiving them? The answer will inevitably be: that he is deceiving them, unless he is one of those upon whose heart Allah has sealed, so he does not feel it, then that is another matter. But he will say that he is deceiving them. So I say to him: Remember the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):.
So now, if you die and you have placed for your family this dish that no one doubts is deception in the house, then the house has women in it and foolish young people, who do not avoid the forbidden thing. That is to say, if it were assumed that a sane person has this dish, and there is no one in the house, and he says: I want to look at what is of benefit to me, or look at the news of people, but if the wrong matters come, I will turn it off. If someone said this, we would say: perhaps there is no harm in it, even though he is in danger that his soul will lure him and he will fall into destruction, and he is in danger that if he remains after his death, it will be inherited by one who does not use it except in a bad way. Then he does not know when he will die. Therefore, my advice to my brothers is to stay away from this dish, and to flee from it as they would flee from a lion. Otherwise, how is it fitting for a person to bring something that destroys his morals and the morals of his family? We ask Allah for well-being! O Allah, grant us well-being. Yes.
The questioner : Spending time?
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : How is time utilized?
The Shaykh : As for spending time, you know that the time is long from the 'Asr prayer to close to midnight, especially in the days of summer and the length of 'Asr. So if they had, for example, a swimming pool, they could spend the time swimming, or if they had, for example, targets to shoot at, even with the small gun called "Am al-Habba", and likewise if they spent their time in a foot race, all of this is good work that is relaxing for the soul. Then reading what is easy of the beneficial books of knowledge, or beneficial story books. And more important than all of that is also that they read the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and his Rightly Guided Caliphs. Yes.
Considering that some of them go out and pray with the congregation, so they become scattered, some praying in the courtyard and some praying outside the courtyard! Then what do you advise them? A lot of time passes for them after 'Asr until eleven or twelve at night, and they are sitting in a way that has no fruit and no benefit?
The Shaykh : This phenomenon mentioned by the questioner: people have now opened what is called rest houses, so they built courtyards with some trees or plants, and they go out to them after the 'Asr prayer until midnight, or close to midnight. The majority of them do not get any benefit except merely wasting time, the company of one another, and the like. And these gatherings may include something forbidden. We have heard that in some of these rest houses there are satellite dishes, the dishes that no one today doubts destroy morals and destroy religions, because they pick up what is shown on the television screen, picking up what is broadcast in the corrupt lands of disbelief and others.
So they have this dish, and then they remain watching what they watch in it of harms and wrongs, so they increase in distance from Allah, may Allah protect us, and the wrong matters become easy for them because they practice them and watch them. It is known that whoever becomes accustomed to something, it becomes light for him, and it is said in the common proverb: "With much touching, feeling decreases". In these rest houses, such harms occur, and another harm also occurs, which is leaving the prayer with the congregation. You find this place is close to the mosque, and yet they do not pray in the mosque, but rather they pray in their place, even though they can go to the mosque with complete ease and return to their place with complete ease. That is to say, they are not like those who are in a work circle; if they went out to the mosque, they would be scattered and distributed, and the work would be disrupted. Or in a school, if the students went out to the mosque, they would be scattered in the mosque, and they would annoy the people of the mosque with their movements, or they would be scattered to their homes and not pray. That is to say, if we excused the owners of offices and the owners of schools if they prayed in their schools and offices, we would not excuse these people, because these people are a limited number who can all go and all return. So in our view, they have no excuse for leaving the prayer in the mosques, even if they pray in congregation, for that is not sufficient in place of attending the mosque, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
I thought to give orders for arranging prayer in congregation, and then to have the Iqamah called for it, then to order a man to lead the people in prayer, then to go off in company of the people who have bundles of firewood to those people who are not present at the prayer and then to burn down their houses with fire.
لقد هممتُ أن آمر بالصلاة فتُقام، ثم آمر رجلاً فيصلّي بالنّاس، ثم أنطلق معي برجال معهم حزم من حطب إلى قوم لا يشهدون الصلاة، فأحرِّق عليهم بيوتهم بالنارto people
إلى قومHe asked: Do you hear summons (adhan)? He said: Yes.
هل تسمع النداء؟ قال: نعم، قال: فأجبAnd likewise, I direct advice to the one who placed the dish in these rest houses, and I say to him: Fear Allah in yourself, do not be a cause for the destruction of morals and the corruption of religions by what is watched on these dishes.
Also, on this occasion, I warn the owner of every house from placing such a dish in his house, because he will leave it behind after his death. And I ask the one who places the dish in his house, and he sees these wrongs that are broadcast from it: I ask him, is he with this being sincere to his house and his family, or is he deceiving them? The answer will inevitably be: that he is deceiving them, unless he is one of those upon whose heart Allah has sealed, so he does not feel it, then that is another matter. But he will say that he is deceiving them. So I say to him: Remember the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
No servant whom Allah has entrusted with a group of people, and he dies while he is deceiving them, except that Allah will forbid him Paradise
ما من عبد استرعاه الله على رعية، فيموت حين يموت وهو غاش لها إلا حرم الله عليه الجنةSo now, if you die and you have placed for your family this dish that no one doubts is deception in the house, then the house has women in it and foolish young people, who do not avoid the forbidden thing. That is to say, if it were assumed that a sane person has this dish, and there is no one in the house, and he says: I want to look at what is of benefit to me, or look at the news of people, but if the wrong matters come, I will turn it off. If someone said this, we would say: perhaps there is no harm in it, even though he is in danger that his soul will lure him and he will fall into destruction, and he is in danger that if he remains after his death, it will be inherited by one who does not use it except in a bad way. Then he does not know when he will die. Therefore, my advice to my brothers is to stay away from this dish, and to flee from it as they would flee from a lion. Otherwise, how is it fitting for a person to bring something that destroys his morals and the morals of his family? We ask Allah for well-being! O Allah, grant us well-being. Yes.
The questioner : Spending time?
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : How is time utilized?
The Shaykh : As for spending time, you know that the time is long from the 'Asr prayer to close to midnight, especially in the days of summer and the length of 'Asr. So if they had, for example, a swimming pool, they could spend the time swimming, or if they had, for example, targets to shoot at, even with the small gun called "Am al-Habba", and likewise if they spent their time in a foot race, all of this is good work that is relaxing for the soul. Then reading what is easy of the beneficial books of knowledge, or beneficial story books. And more important than all of that is also that they read the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and his Rightly Guided Caliphs. Yes.