Mosque or Musalla? The status of the mosque

April 11, 2025
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In today’s Western society, many Muslim organizations have their own premises. The premises include bathrooms, kitchens, toilets and a prayer hall, or musalla. In the absence of capital, old industrial or commercial premises, a house, or an apartment are rented where members gather and perform the five daily prayers. Sometimes these are also used for social gatherings, or to invite famous scholars to give speeches. A few have purchased these premises, and call them a mosque. But which of these can be considered a mosque, according to fiqh? First of all, we should agree on the definition of the two terms we have used above. mosque, and musalla.

All praise belongs to Allah, the Almighty. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and may Allah be pleased with all the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his progeny.

Musalla
Literally, musalla means a place where one prays salah. A musalla is also a place that is not yet intended to be a permanent mosque until the Day of Judgment, in other words, a temporary place of prayer and gathering, from which one intends to move out as soon as one has the financial means to find a permanent place. Muslims nevertheless call such places masajid (mosques), which is technically incorrect. A musalla cannot be considered a mosque, and at the same time, there will not be the same level of reward that prayer performed in a mosque would give.

Mosque
A mosque is a holy place, where the reward for a prayer is multiplied up to 27 times or more, and it is a place where Allah’s mercy is concentrated around. It is considered “the best of all places” according to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

“The mosques are the houses of Allah on earth. They shine upon the inhabitants of heaven, just as the stars in the sky shine upon us” (Tabarani)

A true mosque, technically and legally speaking, is a place permanently dedicated to Allah. To be used for salah, Quran recitation, and for His worship. Only a piece of land, which has been decided to be permanently used for prayer, can be called a mosque.

The great Egyptian Hanafi scholar Allama Tahtawi says:
“Know that for it (a piece of land) to be considered a mosque, a building (or any kind of structure) is not necessary” (Tahtawi, Kitab al-Waqf, Ahkam al-masjid and Qadi Khan 4:712).

Once a mosque is built, it will forever be a mosque and the property of Allah. It cannot be returned or made the property of any person, even those who may have paid for its construction.

If all the users of the mosque die, or the mosque becomes deserted and unused, it will continue to be a mosque until the Day of Judgment, according to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Yusuf. (al-Durr al-Mukhtār 3:371).

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The whole earth will disappear on the Day of Judgment, except for the mosques, for they will merge with each other. (Sayyuti, Jam’i al-Saghir)

Now that we have gone through the difference between a mosque and a musalla, let’s delve deeper into the rules that apply to the two types of prayer places. Since one has the honor of being the house of God, there are very special rules and manners that apply to this one.

We can start with the mosque:

Which part of a building should be a mosque must be decided by a committee, or a responsible person who can all agree. In addition, space should be set aside to build toilets, washing areas, a lobby, a storage area and, if necessary, a kitchen. These rooms will not be considered part of the mosque, even if they are in the same building. It is therefore technically possible to use the front half of a hall as a mosque, and the back half as a musalla. When a place is dedicated to become a mosque, everything above and below this part is a shar’i mosque. This means that none of the floors above or below the mosque can be used for anything other than a mosque, and all the rules that apply to a mosque also apply to these areas. Building toilets and bathrooms, or engaging in indecent activities above or below the mosque area will not be permitted. However, it is possible to have toilets and bathrooms on all floors, as long as it is outside the mosque area, but in the same building.

Allama Haskafi writes in al-Durr al-Mukhtār:
“It is disliked to have sex over the mosque. At the same time, it is disliked to urinate or defecate over the mosque, because the mosque points all the way up to the sky.” Ibn Abidin adds: “this also applies to the area directly below the mosque” (al-Durr al-Mukhtār ma’a Radd al-Muhtār 3:370). No part of the mosque that is determined to be a mosque can be changed to something else later. For example, if the management decides to build a small room in the corner of a mosque to use as a warehouse, this will not be permissible. Even if the management may say that they intended to do this before the mosque was built, their statement will not count in a court of law (Radd al-Muhtār 3:371).

Warehouse or water storage
A mosque may have a warehouse above or below the prayer hall. A warehouse under the mosque is permissible to build, as long as it is used exclusively for items used in the mosque, such as prayer rugs, the Quran, or microphones and sound equipment. It is also permissible to have water heaters and the like under the mosque. “If they build a basement under the mosque and it is intended to benefit the mosque, it will be permissible, just as in the mosque in Jerusalem. (al-Durr al-Mukhtār ma’a Radd al-Muhtār 3:370).

Abode or bathroom above the mosque
Although it is permissible to allocate certain parts of the mosque as a room for the imam, a bathroom, or an apartment for the imam, or an office should not be built directly above the mosque. This is because it is forbidden to have sex, defecate, urinate, etc. above the mosque.

Small children and infants in the mosque.
It is haram to bring infants or young children into the mosque if there is a risk that they will soil the mosque grounds. If they wear diapers, and there is less risk of them soiling the mosque, it is still disliked (makruh tanzihan) to bring them, as they may have feces and urine inside their diapers (Radd al-Muhtār ’ala ‘l-Durr 1:441, Al-Ashbah wa ‘l-Naza’ir, al-Qawl fi Ahkam al-Masjid 407). The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Keep your infants and the insane away from your mosques” (Sunan Ibn Majah, babu ma yukrahu fi ‘l-masjid).

Eating and drinking in the mosque
It is disliked to sleep or eat in the mosque, without having the intention of “i’tikaf”, or if one is a traveler far from his homeland and has no other options for eating and sleeping. (al-Ashbāh wa ‘l-Nazā’ir 407).

Call to Prayer
A gathering to perform the five daily prayers in congregation, as well as the call to prayer, is obligatory for a mosque, and procedures must be established as soon as possible. Otherwise, local residents will be guilty of negligence, since it is obligatory to pray the five prayers in the mosque. Regarding the tarawih prayer, which is confirmed to be a sunnah and not wajib, Allama Ibn Abidin said: “The clear conclusion of the scholars of fiqh is that it is a collective sunnah to pray it in the mosque. But if everyone prays tarawih at home, and this results in there being no call to prayer in the mosque, then everyone will be guilty. (Radd al-Muhtār 1:473). The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no valid salah for a neighbor of the mosque, except in the mosque” (Dārqutnī, Hākim from Kashf al-Khafā’).

Conversations in the Mosque
It is disliked (makruh) for one to talk about worldly affairs in the mosque. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had dedicated a special place outside the mosque where people could go and talk.

The Musalla or a Temporary Prayer Place
All of the above restrictions technically do not apply to a Musalla, as it is a temporary place of prayer. It may therefore have apartments, bathrooms and toilets above or below it, or it may also be converted into an apartment when it is no longer used as a place of prayer. It should still be treated as a mosque, as it is used for the same purpose.

A musalla on the third floor of a factory or commercial building, where other activities and business affairs are carried out, cannot be considered a shar’i mosque, but comes under the definition of a musalla. Allama Haskafi writes: “If the basement was dedicated for a purpose other than the use of the mosque, and the owner builds a room above the basement, and makes a separate door for the mosque to the street, then it cannot be a mosque either. It would be like a house owner making a separate room for prayer, and calling to prayer (adhan), which is not considered a mosque.” Allama Ibn Abidin comments on this: “The reason why the place is not considered a mosque is because of the other rooms that exist in the building. These were never built with the intention that they would benefit the mosque.” (Radd al-Muhtār 3:370).

It will be permissible for menstruating women to enter a musalla to attend classes. Praying in a musalla will not have the same level of reward as one would get in a mosque, although the reward will be higher than praying alone in one’s own home. A hadith narrated by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās states that the reward for holding jama’at at home with one’s family members is 15 times higher than praying alone, while praying in the mosque is rewarded up to 25 times more. Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī also concludes that this reward only applies to salah prayed in the mosque in jama’at and not in jama’at at home. See Fath al-Bārī 106, Mirqāt al-mafātīh 3:145, and al-Bahr al-rā’iq 1:346. It will also be permissible to eat, drink, and sleep in a musalla, without intending to do i’tikaf.

Source: various articles on Sunnipath.