Masjid Adab

"The most beloved places to Allah are the masajid" (Muslim 671). The masjid is His house — entered with wudu, calm and reverence. These are the Prophet's ﷺ etiquettes for being in it.

Before you go

Wudu at home, walk with calm.

• ◆Make wudu before you set out — every step you take to the masjid raises you a rank and wipes away a sin.Muslim 666.
• ◆Walk calmly and with dignity; do not run, even if the prayer has already begun."When the iqamah is called, do not come running; come walking with calmness. Pray what you catch and complete what you missed" — Bukhari 636, Muslim 602.
• ◆Dress well and clean — "Take your adornment at every masjid" (7:31).

Entering

Right foot first, with the du'a.

• ◆Enter with your right foot first — the Prophet ﷺ loved to begin with the right in every noble act.Bukhari 168.
• ◆Say the du'a of entering, asking Allah to open the doors of His mercy for you.

Tahiyyatul Masjid

Two rak'ah before you sit.

• ◆When you enter, pray two rak'ah — Tahiyyatul Masjid — before you sit down."When one of you enters the masjid, let him not sit until he prays two rak'ah" — Bukhari 444, Muslim 714.
• ◆This greets the House of Allah. It applies whenever you enter, outside the few times when prayer is disliked.

Reverence inside

A house for remembrance, not the world.

• ◆The masjid is built for the remembrance of Allah, prayer and the Qur'an — not for the business of the world.
• ◆Do not buy or sell, or call out for lost property, inside it."If you hear a man announcing something lost in the masjid, say: may Allah not return it to you" — Muslim 568.
• ◆Lower your voice, silence your phone, and avoid idle talk and arguing.
• ◆Do not step over people's necks or disturb anyone who is praying.

Cleanliness & no offense

Come clean, cause no harm.

• ◆Whoever has eaten raw garlic or onion — or smells of smoke — should keep away until the smell is gone; the angels are harmed by what harms people.Bukhari 853, Muslim 564.
• ◆Keep the masjid clean; removing something harmful from it is an act of charity.
• ◆Never leave litter. The Prophet ﷺ treated even spittle in the masjid as a sin whose expiation is to bury it.Bukhari 415.

Before the rows

Sutrah, and never pass in front.

• ◆Pray towards a sutrah (a barrier) where you can, so others may pass beyond it without disturbing you.
• ◆Never walk directly in front of someone who is praying."If the one passing in front of a praying person knew the sin, waiting forty would be better for him than to pass" — Bukhari 510.
• ◆If someone tries to pass in front of you as you pray, gently prevent them.

Straighten the rows

Filled, shoulder to shoulder.

• ◆Straighten the rows and close the gaps — straightening the rows is part of the perfection of prayer.Bukhari 723, Muslim 433.
• ◆Complete the first row before the next; stand shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, leaving no gaps for the shaytan.

Leaving & lingering

Left foot, du'a, and the reward of waiting.

• ◆Leave with your left foot first, saying the du'a and asking Allah of His bounty.
• ◆As long as you sit waiting for the prayer, you are "in prayer", and the angels keep asking Allah to forgive you."The angels invoke blessings on one of you as long as he is in the place where he prayed: O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, have mercy on him" — Bukhari 445 & 659.
• ◆Do not prevent the women servants of Allah from the masajid of Allah.Bukhari 900, Muslim 442.