Agra | Muhammad Iqbal, The Imam of Masjid Neharwali, spoke about places of worship in today’s Friday sermon. He said that nowadays there is a trend where people feel they must take their religious procession past the mosque and stop there for a moment to satisfy themselves before moving on. I would like to make a request to my fellow countrymen that if you love the mosque, we invite you to come inside. We will welcome you. In Islam, respect for everyone’s place of worship is upheld. Islam does not allow any disrespect towards the worship places of any community. In Hadith No. 3041 of Abu Dawood, it is mentioned that when the Prophet made an agreement with the Christians of Najran, one of the terms was that no church would be demolished, and no religious leader would be expelled. The Prophet always took care of people’s religious feelings and respected places of worship. Another great example is that for about 250 years before the Prophet received Prophethood, and for 21 years after he received Prophethood, the center of monotheism (Tawhid) was known as “the house of idols,” but the Prophet never disrespected it. He waited until the conquest of Mecca, then he purified the Kaaba only by removing the idols. The structure remained the same, and it is still the same today, even though the construction was slightly different from the time of Ibrahim. Yet, no disrespect was ever shown to it. This shows how much respect Islam holds for places of worship. Therefore, everyone should respect each other’s worship places. This is the teaching found in all religions, and we hope everyone will follow it. May Allah grant us the ability to do so. Aameen.
Islam does not permit the desecration of any community’s place of worship : Muhammad Iqbal
