Praying at times square new york?
Almost all worship ordered by Allah SWT has a positive impact and benefits for humans. The benefits are not only felt by the people who do it but also have an impact on other people. In prayer services, for example, in the Qur’an, it is stated that prayer prevents evil and evil deeds (Surah al-‘Ankabut: 45). If the purpose of this prayer is manifest in the behavior of Muslims, of course, this will provide comfort and peace to others.
Because the purpose of worship is good and noble, the implementation of worship should also pay attention to the benefit of others. Do worship as it should and try not to disturb the comfort of others. Don’t just think we want to worship, but instead interfere with other people’s activities. For example, prayer is the best practice between creatures and their god, but it will be a different story if praying is not in place so that it affects the level of specialness and the validity of our prayers to Allah. Recently, a viral video has circulated showing worshipers offering tarawih prayers on public roads, precisely in New York’s Times Square. Then what is the law of their prayer? whether it is according to the rules so that their prayers are valid.
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It would be nice to pray in a place that does not interfere with the activities of others or a place that has been devoted to prayer. Based on this reason, Imam al-Nawawi in al-Majmu’ Syarah al-Muhadzab forbids praying on public roads. This immorality certainly does not have an impact on the cancellation of prayers. He said:
“Do not pray on public roads because the hadith of ‘Umar mentions that there are seven places that are forbidden to pray, one of which is a public road. Praying on public roads is prohibited because it blocks the way of others and the solemnity of prayer is disturbed because people are passing by. However, prayers performed on public roads are still valid, because the prohibition here is caused by loss of solemnity and disturbing the path of others. These two things certainly do not have an impact on the cancellation of prayers.”
According to Imam al-Nawawi, there are two reasons it is forbidden to pray on public roads: first, to hinder the journey of others, especially if the prayers are held on the highway or in public; second, to disturb the concentration and solemnity of prayer. Like the highway in general, it is never empty of vehicles or pedestrians. This of course results in an unfocused mind. Praying in the mosque alone is difficult, especially on public roads.
He added, that if the prayer is performed on a road that is not passed by many people, such as a road in the forest or the Sahara field, then praying is permissible. He said:
“Some scholars added that ‘Allah is prohibited from praying on the street because there is najis. Therefore, they also make prayers on the road that is in the Sahara desert (even though no one is passing by). But if we say ‘illahnya because of the loss of solemnity, then it is not permissible to pray in the Sahara field, because there are no (rare) people passing by.”
Thus, the implementation of prayer should not disturb the comfort of others. Moreover, in the context of Indonesia, there are still many mosques and prayer rooms. It is different if the mosque can no longer accommodate many congregations or there is no mosque at all, as is the case with Muslims in minority areas. In this condition, of course, using the road as a place of prayer is an alternative. Wallahu a’lam
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