What is the answer to those who claim that prayer niches in the mosque are an innovation, given that the need for them existed during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his successors, yet they were not built?
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The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you. The issue of prayer niches is important, because some of the brothers hold the view you mentioned and have a position on it. Among the things they cite as evidence is that the prayer niches of our time did not exist during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or the Rightly Guided Caliphs.
The Shaykh : And what else?
The questioner : And the Caliphs, meaning, the prayer niches. The reasons for building them were present in their time, yet they did not build them, which indicates that this is not part of the Sunnah, or they say it is an innovation.
The Shaykh : This is not correct. First, they cannot prove that prayer niches did not exist; that is one point, because negation is difficult. Second, the Muslim community has practiced this, and no one has denied it except a few outliers. Third, it can be said that in the time of the Companions, there was no need for prayer niches as there is today, because the mosques of the past were not like the mosques of today. For example, they were square with equal corners, so the qiblah was often indistinguishable. The rows in them might be long, and the direction of the qiblah would be known.
The student: The time has ended.
The Shaykh : The time has ended.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. The time is up, Khalid.
The Shaykh : And what else?
The questioner : And the Caliphs, meaning, the prayer niches. The reasons for building them were present in their time, yet they did not build them, which indicates that this is not part of the Sunnah, or they say it is an innovation.
The Shaykh : This is not correct. First, they cannot prove that prayer niches did not exist; that is one point, because negation is difficult. Second, the Muslim community has practiced this, and no one has denied it except a few outliers. Third, it can be said that in the time of the Companions, there was no need for prayer niches as there is today, because the mosques of the past were not like the mosques of today. For example, they were square with equal corners, so the qiblah was often indistinguishable. The rows in them might be long, and the direction of the qiblah would be known.
The student: The time has ended.
The Shaykh : The time has ended.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. The time is up, Khalid.