Ibn Adam
4th March 2007, 08:32 PM
al-Salamu 'alaykum,
Last night there was a lunar eclipse and so, masha' Allah, the various masajid in KSA made salah al-kasuf.
I wasn't aware it was expected last night and so after the initial panic at thinking I'd slept through the fajr adhan when I heard the recitation from outside, I looked at my clock and noticed it said one a.m.
My house is situated such that I hear about four different adhans at once when salah time comes, to the extent that I often don't repeat behind the mu'athin as the various adhans overlap and the sounds intermingle and can become confusing.
Any broadcast from the masjids comes through very loud. Which is a good thing. al-Hamdu lillah that I live somewhere where I can hear and respond to the adhan.
But I got to wondering if from a fiqhi perspective it is correct to broadcast supererogatory salah in such a fashion, i.e. loud and in the middle of the night.
I'm not talking about the adhan or the fard salah, which I'm all for being broadcasted. I'm asking specifically about something like last night, which was not an individual obligation on everyone to respond to.
I can understand the masjids starting off with an initial announcement of "salah al-jama'ah" over the speakers to make the people in vicinity aware of it but wondered about whether it would be a reasonable practice to have the outside speakers switched off when the actual salah begins. This prayer can be quite long and with the discrepancy of the different masjids in my area it probably lasted in total for around 1.5 to 2 hours. I thought about the various homes in the area with young children who would likely have been woken up by the speakers until it was over.
Then I thought about this hadith which I remember reading years ago:
One night, the Prophet, upon whom be peace, passed by Abu Bakr when he was praying in a very low voice, and he passed by 'Umar who was praying with his voice raised. (Later), when they were together with him, he said, "O Abu Bakr, I passed by you and you were praying in a very low voice." He said, "O Messenger of Allah, the one who I was praying to could hear me." And he said to 'Umar, "O 'Umar, I passed by you and you were praying with a raised voice." He said, "O Messenger of Allah, this was to stop the drowsiness and to drive away Satan." The Prophet, upon whom be peace, said, "O Abu Bakr, raise your voice somewhat. And 'Umar, lower your voice somewhat." (Related by Abu Dawud and Ahmad.)
And I wondered, are we really fulfilling the command in regards to volume by making a non-obligatory night prayer in a way such that it is relayed very loudly through speakers so that all the homes in the vicinity will hear?
Again, I'm not talking about fard salah or the adhan. I just wondered whether this sunnah salah could have been observed without the need to have the actual prayer broadcast to every home at such a time?
Last night there was a lunar eclipse and so, masha' Allah, the various masajid in KSA made salah al-kasuf.
I wasn't aware it was expected last night and so after the initial panic at thinking I'd slept through the fajr adhan when I heard the recitation from outside, I looked at my clock and noticed it said one a.m.
My house is situated such that I hear about four different adhans at once when salah time comes, to the extent that I often don't repeat behind the mu'athin as the various adhans overlap and the sounds intermingle and can become confusing.
Any broadcast from the masjids comes through very loud. Which is a good thing. al-Hamdu lillah that I live somewhere where I can hear and respond to the adhan.
But I got to wondering if from a fiqhi perspective it is correct to broadcast supererogatory salah in such a fashion, i.e. loud and in the middle of the night.
I'm not talking about the adhan or the fard salah, which I'm all for being broadcasted. I'm asking specifically about something like last night, which was not an individual obligation on everyone to respond to.
I can understand the masjids starting off with an initial announcement of "salah al-jama'ah" over the speakers to make the people in vicinity aware of it but wondered about whether it would be a reasonable practice to have the outside speakers switched off when the actual salah begins. This prayer can be quite long and with the discrepancy of the different masjids in my area it probably lasted in total for around 1.5 to 2 hours. I thought about the various homes in the area with young children who would likely have been woken up by the speakers until it was over.
Then I thought about this hadith which I remember reading years ago:
One night, the Prophet, upon whom be peace, passed by Abu Bakr when he was praying in a very low voice, and he passed by 'Umar who was praying with his voice raised. (Later), when they were together with him, he said, "O Abu Bakr, I passed by you and you were praying in a very low voice." He said, "O Messenger of Allah, the one who I was praying to could hear me." And he said to 'Umar, "O 'Umar, I passed by you and you were praying with a raised voice." He said, "O Messenger of Allah, this was to stop the drowsiness and to drive away Satan." The Prophet, upon whom be peace, said, "O Abu Bakr, raise your voice somewhat. And 'Umar, lower your voice somewhat." (Related by Abu Dawud and Ahmad.)
And I wondered, are we really fulfilling the command in regards to volume by making a non-obligatory night prayer in a way such that it is relayed very loudly through speakers so that all the homes in the vicinity will hear?
Again, I'm not talking about fard salah or the adhan. I just wondered whether this sunnah salah could have been observed without the need to have the actual prayer broadcast to every home at such a time?