The Mosque
The word mosque or Masjid means prostration. The Mosque is a place of prostration. Prostration is when you kneel before Allah with your forehead touching the ground.
The mosque is a place for prayer and teaching.
A mosque can be a purpose-built building with a dome and a minaret or a converted front room of a house.
Purpose built mosques always face Mecca with the qibla on the wall nearest mecca. Converted buildings always have a qibla that shows which direction Mecca is.
The dome is just an architectural and decorative feature and the minaret is a tall slender tower from which Muslims are called to prayer.
The Imam is the leader of the Mosque
Every mosque will have a place for ablutions which are known as wudu. Muslims must cleanse themselves before worship using these washing facilities. They must wash their face, hands and feet. This is a spiritual ritual and prepares a person for worship and prayer.
The large main room in the mosque is called the prayer hall.
Worshippers remove their shoes when they enter the mosque because it is a sacred place and they do not want to bring the dirt off the streets of the world into Allah’s house.
Women always cover their heads at worship and prayer.
In many mosques women worship from the balcony or are separated in another room away from the men because their beauty is seen as a distraction at worship.
There is no furniture in the prayer hall apart from the pulpit known as a minbar.
The main day for worship in a mosque is a Friday which is called Juminah.
Mosques can also be used for gatherings where food is eaten at the birth or death of someone.
There are over 1600 mosques in the UK.
