Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

 

assalamalaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu

i heard that it is preferable to use the word masjid insted of mosque because mosque means a place were mosqitoes live or some thing like that . what do u have to say related to this .

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Masjid or mosque

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, I personally have heard and read several people argue at length and in detail regarding this superfluous topic of the origin of the English term ‘mosque’; and frankly in our humble opinion, a ‘masjid’ or literally ‘a place where one does prostration’ called by any other name will still remain a sacred House of Allah Subhanah and a dedicated place of worship for the believers. 

 

It would be best for one who sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day to stay away from such superfluous, unnecessary, and unessential arguments which neither help one get closer to Allah Subhanah, nor help one in doing good righteous deeds….which are the essence of the deen of Islam. 

 

In our humble opinion, if one believes the arguments put forth by the brothers who say that the English term ‘mosque’ was derived from a place where mosquitoes live, they are well within their rights to stop using the term ‘mosque’ and call the sacred Houses of Allah as ‘masjids’; but what they should not do is waste their valuable time in convincing and forcing every believer, who does not suscribe to their argument to do the same!

 

Thus in conclusion, if one wishes to call the sacred Houses of Allah by their proper name ‘masjid’, it is best and most accurate; and if one wishes to call these sacred Houses by their English translated name or ‘mosques’, that too is acceptable.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan