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11/10/09

Things on my mind... Mosques, hadiths, life and death

Assalam alaikum & Peace to all

I have so many things on my mind lately...and a few blogger posts out there have made me think about things too.  Firstly I am well Alhamduillah, and baby is Mashallah doing well from last scan and testing...inshallah everything will stay well!
Secondly my Aunt is very sick and close to death...please keep her and her family in your dua's that she passes easily and that the family is comforted during this time...ameen. 

So now on to the blog post that got me to thinking... one of them is about the state of Mosques
(this is the link to the post- my-suggestion-to-all-mosques)
I hope she doesn't mind me linking (if you do please let me know I'll remove it)

Talks about her suggestions of how to improve a Mosque...and I can't agree more with it! So many of the comments were spot on.  I wrote about something like this in a previous blog (or at least I think I did...well if not I've wanted to for a while!) about how differently Mosques are from - for example - Catholic churches. Ok, of course they should be different but I'm not meaning theology wise, but how they are run and used, etc.  We have all seen so many unruly children in the Mosque (if you haven't then, mashallah the parents and community are doing well!) I just cannot imagine being a child and running up and down along the pews of a church! Not to mention when prayer is being said!! 
I had one instance at the Mosque of a child kneeling right in front of me while I was in prostration and smiling at me.  I mean yeah it was cute...but I really wanted to concentrate on my prayer, especially while in prostration.  Then there are those children running around the prayer hall making all kinds of noises while people try to pray, etc. I mean really ...its just sad.  I can understand that Mosques will not have money for proper facilities and such, but this issue of the kids running around is the parents duty.  I guess some people feel that children should be allowed to 'run free', I think it maybe because of a hadith that said that the Prophet Mohammed was praying and allowed a child to play on his back, but he continued to pray.  Somehow I feel this is different.  (someone correct me if that is not a hadith and just hearsay)

On the topic of Hadith's there was another blogger who posted about Hadith

I remember when I was first learning about Islam and when I realized what Hadith's were I kind of got a 'bad' feeling.  Now, don't all jump at me and say "how can you have a bad feeling about Hadith's"  What I mean about 'bad' in this context is that I when I realized they were 'man made words, not directly from God' I got nervous that there could be mistakes in them.  I later found out that yes, there are 'weak' hadiths as well as 'strong' ones.  Hence my bad feelings. 
I mean let's be honest, as a convert or anyone for that matter who does not look up and study a Hadith, we can believe a 'weak' one easily - I mean how would we know?
Some one says, 'oh this and this is a hadith, so we have to believe it'  Well, yeah ok it's a Hadith, but it may be a weak one!?  I felt very early on that I wanted to be a 'Quran' only believing Muslim, apparently there are such Muslims, but they are 'looked down upon' in the community.  Now once again, I realize that the Hadiths are there to compliment the Quran.
For example, prayer is mentioned in the Quran several times, but the actual way to do it is in the Hadith's or Sunnah (ways) of the Prophet.  So, yes I realize we need Hadith's on how to proceed with our daily lives, etc.  My only problem is when people seem to put Hadiths ahead of Quran.

I feel that I cannot go wrong if I live my life by the teachings of the Quran, and inshallah Allah will guide me to the right ways in life, and forgive me when I make mistakes and show me the right from the wrong.

So what do you all have to say about these 2 topics? I would love to hear some ideas that you have!





4 comments:

Ma Vie & Etc said...

I agree with everything you said. I can't concentrate on my prayers when there is too much noise around me. But parents really should keep their kids under wraps. I too get a little weary around hadiths, because i heard so much bad things about how some hadiths are false and have quoted some untrue things. I would rather go straight to the Quran.

MUJAHIDA said...

As salamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

I'm an italian revert sister, please share it and support your brothers and sisters in Italy. Barak'Allahu fikum.

http://www.mpacuk.org/story/111109/italian-mp-calls-prophet-paedophile.html

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. I'm actually surprised more people haven't commented since you have a bunch of followers. ;) I will stick my neck out and comment on this very touchy subject.
Well first of all, my feelings about the masjids run along the same line as Organica's.
I was thinking that the masjids here in the US (the bigger ones, at least) should have some sort of room for the kids to play in, and the women or girls can volunteer to watch over them during prayer time. That's how it was at the church I attended growing up - the cleaning and nursery was staffed by volunteers.
For now though, I don't see that happening. I mainly stay home to pray because of the setup. I know I'm not required to go and pray jummah, but I think it's important for the Muslim community here to have more of the togetherness time as we're not in a Muslim country.

The hadiths are a touchy subject for many Muslims, and I don't normally bring it up because when I have I'm told it's a sin to question them. I say that the Qur'an says we are supposed to use our reason, not follow blindly. Anyway, I agree with you - the Qur'an is the Criterion and the hadiths should be held against it - not the other way around. There are 'weak' and 'strong' hadiths - but not 'weak' and 'strong' Qur'ans.

And as for praying - the Qur'an does say it's complete and fully detailed. So that leaves us to question if the exact details of salaat is what is important. That's one thought.

Sister has Style said...

Asalamu alaikum sisters,

At my local masjids the imam often makes requests about children, probably daily during taraweeh. The best thing we can do in my mind is to ensure our own children are behaving properly (or stay at home if they cannot), and make du'a for the forgiveness and increase in understanding for the parents of those children who are not. One masjid I went to the other day had a separate closed off room specifically for mothers with children to pray in, which I think was a great idea.

Please check out my own new blog http://sisterhasstyle.blogspot.com/

thanks,
Sr. Michelle

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