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:

There is mosque close to my house, however, in this particular mosque they recite salam in respect of Prophet (SAWS) before they give azaan and also before they say aqaamah. A friend of mine said to me that I should not be going to this mosque as my prayers will not be acceptable by Allah owing to the fact that the bid`aa of salam was being followed.

Please guide me if I should discontinue going to this mosque and go to another mosque which is one km away from my house. 

(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:

Durood before adhaan

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.

To the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no evidence in the authentic and established records of hadith whereby the Prophet (saws) or his noble companions after him endorsed the recitation of the durood along with the Adhaan or the Iqamah of prayer.

If someone invents the ritual of reciting the durood before every Adhaan and/or Iqamah, indeed it would constitute an innovation or ‘bida’, and every single innovation in the deen of Islam is an error in the Sight of the Lord Most High!

Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: “The best speech is that which is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”

Your Question: Please guide me if I should discontinue going to this mosque and go to another mosque which is one km away from my house. 

Respected brother in Islam, you obviously are well within your rights to choose to go to any House of Allah for your worship, but to abandon or discontinue going to a designated masjid because the guardians of that particular masjid have invented a ritual of declaring the durood before the Adhaan and Iqamah would only increase the ‘fitnah’ and disunity amongst the believers.

In our humble opinion it would be more useful in you attended the masjid, and if you have access to the guardians/moderators of the masjid, advise them with wisdom and with patience to abandon the ‘bida’ and strive to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujuraat verse 10:

10 The believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your (contending) brothers: And fear Allah that ye may receive Mercy.

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