Mosque or ‘Masjid’ literally means ‘a place for self-prostration’, that is, a place formally designated for saying the prayers. According to a hadith, the Prophet of Islam observed: “The masjid is a house of God-fearing people.” The mosque is a place where people develop reverence, learn piety, and prepare for a life devoted to God. It is designed as a place where people can read the Book of God, engage in prayer silently to remember their Creator, and listen to His commandments on how to live their lives in accordance with His will. According to a hadith the Prophet advised the building of mosques in a simple style (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith no 448), so that there should be no dissipation or dilution of the true religious and spiritual atmosphere.
The most important of all these activities is the saying of prayers, a ritual to be carried out five times a day as prescribed by Islam. This act of worship, the greatest means of instilling a sense of awe in the devotee, may be carried out at any place, but ideally, is performed in an organized manner, in congregation, within the mosque. The worshippers stand in orderly rows behind a single prayer leader, known as the Imam. (The acceptance by the group of just one individual to lead the congregation avoids any dissension, which might arise from there being more than one.) The number of worshippers maybe ten or ten thousand: all have to stand in rows behind the Imam. This emphasizes the values of unity and discipline. However, prayer (namaz) is fundamentally a personal act of worship. Each individual recites their prayer and is rewarded based on the purity of one’s intention and devotion with which it is performed.
Besides the five daily obligatory prayers, there is a weekly Friday prayer, which is necessarily offered in the mosque. In practice and content it is just like any other prayer, but since a larger number of people gather on this occasion, a sermon (khutba), giving religious guidance, is also preached by the Imam before the prayers begin. In this, he reminds worshippers of their accountability to God, of the commandments pertaining to Islamic character and of the proper way to deal with others in society. In this way, the Friday sermon refreshes the memory of religious commitments. The mosque, initially intended as a place of worship, has come to be built to serve other related purposes, such as housing the madrasa, library, lecture hall, guesthouse, dispensary etc.
Source: Principles of Islam
