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:

Salaams,

Are we allowed to pray in Mandir or any other temple of other religion in case if any person challenges that you cannot pray in mandir etc... ?

(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:

Can Muslims pray in Mandir?

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 no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah has blessed the whole earth to be a ‘masjid’ for the believers. Thus there is absolutely no harm if one prays in a temple, church, synagogue, or any other place of worship. But one must be careful to make sure that there is no idol, or pagan photo which the idolaters worship, etc. directly in front of them! As long as the place itself is pure and clean, one is allowed to pray; and that prayer will be valid in the sight of Allah Subhanah.

It is obvious, that if a believer is praying in some other people’s place or worship or house, that he would take their permission to pray there; otherwise, there might be a conflict. If the people who own the place do not allow you to pray, a believer can always go out on the streets and worship his Lord and Creator. The whole earth is a ‘masjid’ for the believers!

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

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan