Announcing a Missing Person in the Mosque
One of the etiquettes and rulings of mosques is to announce lost children or other items in a mosque. And in those Arab countries, Alhamdulillah, the state of public security is such that there is no occasion for such announcements in mosques; neither are children abducted, nor has there ever been a commotion about a disappearance. This is how it is in countries where justice is easily accessible and the rule of law prevails. And it should be so. But what can be said about the many countries that are deprived of these blessings of peace and security.
Anyway, since such countries do exist, and in fact in abundance, where incidents of children going missing continue to occur—whether it is a genuine disappearance or the result of traffickers’ deeds—and losing any other item can happen anywhere and anytime. Therefore, announcements about missing children or other items become necessary. For this, obviously, the most effective means of communication and announcement can only be television, radio, and daily newspapers.
For such immediate action, locally one can also rent a vehicle, fit a loudspeaker on it, and announce the missing person or item at important places, colonies, neighborhoods, and streets throughout the city. This is a more effective and quicker method, whereas the media method, although somewhat delayed, covers a much wider scale. However, in our subcontinent countries, instead of this direct approach, what happens is that if someone’s chicken goes missing, after a little inquiry here and there, they go to the Imam of the mosque and say, “Mian Ji, Qari Sahib or Maulvi Sahib, our chicken is missing, or such and such thing is not found. Please announce it through the mosque’s loudspeaker.” Whether the item is found or not, that respected person makes the announcement and thus seemingly retires from this duty.
So let us inquire from the Shariah whether such announcements are permissible or not. What instructions did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) give us in this regard? Accordingly, in Sahih Muslim and other books of Hadith, there are very clear texts and explicit instructions narrated directly from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on this subject that such announcements in the mosque are not legally correct.
The First Evidence of Prohibition:
And among the evidences of this prohibition, the first evidence is the hadith narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih Muslim
, similarly in Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, and Sahih Ibn Hibban, in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
من سمع رجلا ينشد ضالة فى المسجد فليقل: لا ردها الله عليك فإن المساجد لم تبن لهذا
Whoever hears someone announcing their lost item in the mosque, let him say to him: May Allah not return that thing to you. Because mosques were not built for this purpose.
Second Evidence:
And the second proof regarding the issue of the impermissibility of announcements about lost items is the hadith which is on the very next page of Sahih Muslim where the mentioned hadith is found. It is also narrated in Sunan an-Nasa’i, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musannaf Abdul Razzaq, Ibn Abi Shaybah, Tayalisi, and Bayhaqi. In it, Hazrat Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) states:
إن رجلا نشد فى المسجد فقال من دعا إلى الجمل الأحمر فقال النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لا وجدت، إنما بنيت المساجد لما بنيت له
A man announced in the mosque that if anyone had seen his lost red camel. Upon this, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: You will not find your camel, because mosques were built for certain purposes, and they are for those purposes only.
And what are the purposes for which mosques were built? The explanation of this is also given by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself in the incident of a Bedouin urinating in the mosque. Accordingly, there is a hadith in Sahih Bukhari, as well as in Sahih Muslim
, Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawood, an-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, ad-Darimi, and Musnad Abi Awana, in which according to Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), the purposes of mosques are explained by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who said:
إنما هي لقراءة القرآن، وذكر الله والصلاة
These mosques are built only for the remembrance of Allah, performing prayers, and recitation of the Holy Quran.
Thus, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), by explaining the purposes of mosques and through his statements and actions in the first two hadiths, has clearly issued a prohibition regarding announcements of lost items. Imam Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in his commentary on Sahih Muslim on the explanation of these first two hadiths that many rulings can be derived from them, one of which is the prohibition of announcing lost items in the mosque.
Third Argument:
And the third argument for this is the hadith narrated in Sunan Ibn Majah
, in which the narrator, a companion of the Prophet, states:
نهى عن النشاد الضالة فى المسجد
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade announcing lost items, including animals and others, in the mosque.
And not only did the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbid such announcements, but he also cursed the person who made such an announcement, saying: “May you never find that thing from anywhere.” He also commanded those who heard the announcement to pray the same curse upon that person. Imam Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that this curse and the instruction to do so is an immediate punishment for that person’s action, as he disobeyed the command and instruction of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Fourth Argument:
In Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Khuzaymah, Sharh al-Sunnah al-Baghawi, and Musnad Ahmad, there is a fourth evidence in which Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) states:
نهى عن الشراء والبيع فى المسجد وأن ينشد فيه ضالة وأن ينشد فيه شعر ونهى عن التحلق قبل الصلاة يوم الجمعة
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade selling, buying, announcing lost items, and reciting (non-beneficial) poetry in the mosque. He also forbade forming circles in the mosque before the Friday prayer.
This hadith prohibits not just one but several things. Among them, selling and buying in the mosque and poetry recitation will be discussed in more detail later. For now, keep in mind that according to this hadith, announcing lost items in the mosque is also prohibited.
Fifth Evidence:
And in Sunan an-Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Al-Mustadrak Hakim, it is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came and announced a lost item in the mosque, so the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
لا وجدت
So do not find it.
Sixth Evidence:
Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Al-Hakim have narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
إذا رأيتم من يبيع أو يبتاع فى المسجد فقولوا لا أربح الله تجارتك وإذا رأيتم من ينشد ضالة فقولوا لا ردها الله عليك
When any one of you sees someone buying and selling in the mosque, let him say: May Allah not make your trade profitable and beneficial. And when anyone sees someone announcing a lost item, let him say: May Allah not return that item to you.
And the great muhaddithin and fuqaha, when citing these ahadith in their works, have also categorized them in a way that shows that such announcements are considered prohibited acts according to them as well. For example, in Sahih Muslim, Imam Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) has categorized the ahadith as follows:
النهي عن نشد الضالة فى المسجد
Statement on the prohibition of announcing lost items in the mosque
Imam Abu Dawood’s categorization is:
باب فى كراهية إنشاد الضالة فى المسجد
Statement on the dislike (and prohibition) of announcing lost items in the mosque
Imam Tirmidhi’s categorization is as follows:
باب ما جاء فى كراهية البيع والشراء وإنشاد الضالة فى المسجد
And Imam Nasa’i has categorized it as:
باب النهي عن إنشاد الضالة فى المسجد
And Imam Ibn Majah has categorized it in two ways:
➊ باب النهي عن إنشاد الضوال فى المساجد
➋ باب النهي عن إنشاد الضالة فى المسجد
And the meaning and implication of all are the same.
This is the legal status of such announcements in the light of clear ahadith.
Proponents and Their Arguments
Some people, while removing a nail from a linguistic context or peeling off the skin of a hair, have said that the ضالة mentioned in the hadiths refers to lost animals. Therefore, if a child goes missing, announcing it would not be prohibited. Others, raising the point of self-preservation and respect for humanity, have relied on a jurisprudential principle الضرورات تبيح المحظورات. They have extended the permissibility of announcing about children. And there are some who justify it based on public interest (masalih mursalah). However, upon examining these three types of linguistic and analogical arguments carefully, it becomes clear that they lack substance. Rather, they are trying to grasp at straws. So let us take a brief look at their arguments. Accordingly:
First Argument:
In this regard, some people want to prove as their first argument by discussing the literal meaning and implication of the word ضالة that the word ضالة mentioned in the hadiths regarding the prohibition of announcements refers to lost animals. For example, camels, sheep, goats, etc. Therefore, the prohibition in the hadiths is about announcements of lost animals.
Whereas a human child is a different matter. And if a child goes missing, then announcing their disappearance in the mosque is permissible.
Review:
Since their first argument is merely a linguistic discussion, we will also examine it with reference to dictionaries. In this regard, it is stated that the meaning of ضالة is not limited to lost animals or beasts only. Rather, it is also applied to other lost items besides animals. Accordingly, in Arabic lexicons, in the book “Al-Mu’jam Al-Waseet,” the meaning of ضالة is written as follows:
كل ما ضل أى ضاع وفقد من المحسوسات والمعقولات أو من البهائم حاضة
That is, ḍāllah (lost) refers to every lost thing, whether it relates to tangible objects or intangible concepts, or specifically, this word is used for animals.
So generally, it is for animals, but its application extends to other tangible and intangible things as well. Accordingly, some hadiths indicate that this word has also been used for wisdom and knowledge, as in Sunan Tirmidhi
, and Sunan Ibn Majah
, and in Al-Du’afaa’ Ibn Hibban there is a hadith:
الكلمة الحكمة ضالة المؤمن فحيث وجدها فهو أحق لها
The chain of this hadith is weak.
Wisdom and knowledge are a lost treasure of the believer; wherever they are found, that place is their rightful owner.
But since here only the literal meaning and implication of the word ضالة is required, this hadith can also be taken as support that the word ضالة has been used for wisdom and knowledge as well. So, the application of this word to intangible things mentioned in “Al-Mu’jam Al-Waseet” is also confirmed by the words of this hadith. And from studying the Holy Quran, it is evident that this word or its verb form has also been used for the disappearance of humans. For example, in Surah As-Sajda, verse 10, Allah Almighty quotes the disbelievers saying:
﴿وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَإِنَّا لَفِي خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ﴾
And they say, “When we have died and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected?”
Similarly, in Surah Al-A’raf, verse 37, at the time of death, when Allah’s angels ask the deniers of truth about those whom they used to call besides Allah, they will reply:
﴿قَالُوا ضَلُّوا عَنَّا﴾
They will say, “They have vanished from us.”
In these verses, the past tense form of the word under discussion is used regarding the disappearance of humans. For details on the various meanings in which this word and its derivatives have been used in the Quran, studying
will be beneficial.
Similarly, in
and
, there is a hadith mentioning an incident of a man from Bani Israel who advised his children to burn his body after his death and scatter his ashes in the air, explaining the reason by saying:
لعلي أضل الله تبارك وتعالى
Perhaps (by doing so) I may remain hidden from Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, and avoid appearing before Him.
Thus, the usage of this word in the Quran and hadith indicates that the word ”ضل“ is also used for human disappearance, although its primary use is for going astray or deviating from the right path. Therefore, these words are generally translated as “going astray” or “misguidance.”
In light of this entire linguistic discussion and detail, it can be said that the argument based on the linguistic meaning, which is used to justify the permissibility of announcing missing children in mosques, is baseless from the outset. Therefore, relying on this argument, such announcements cannot be considered permissible.
Second Argument:
Some scholars have raised the point that in view of the preservation of life and respect for humanity, the announcement of missing children should be permissible. Then they try to bring it under a jurisprudential principle, which states:
الضرورات تبيح المحظورات
Necessities make prohibited things permissible.
But their argument is similar to the previous one.
Review:
Like the first argument, their second argument is also just the same. Because this principle applies only when there is no other alternative arrangement possible, but generally and mostly there is no such legitimate necessity or compulsion here. On the basis of which we would violate the explicit prohibitive command found in the hadiths and declare this matter permissible. Because a reasonable arrangement can be made outside the mosque. As we mentioned several methods for this at the beginning of this topic.
Yes, if there really is such a compulsion and it is impossible to arrange it outside the mosque, then the allowance for this announcement may arise. But since this is not among the impossibilities, therefore merely creating a necessity to save money and benefiting from the principle of ”الضرورات تبيح المحذورات“ would be an improper use of this principle.
Third Argument:
And for the justification of such announcements, some scholars also resort to Masalih Mursalah as a third argument. Keeping this term in mind, they consider the announcement of missing children permissible.
Review:
In this regard, it should be noted that in today’s modern issues, undoubtedly “Masalih Mursalah” is a very useful concept. However, relying on Masalih Mursalah in opposition to explicit texts is like opening a back door. Because one of the most important conditions mentioned by the jurists for resorting to Masalih Mursalah is that it should not contradict a Shariah ruling established by a text or consensus. Also, the necessity or benefit should be definite and general or definite and collective in nature. If this is not the case, then it is impossible to specify general texts with it, let alone abandon or suspend those texts. Furthermore, deciding based on Masalih Mursalah is itself a separate issue. The majority of Usul scholars reject it. But if it is to be considered, at least its conditions must be fulfilled. Since this is a purely Usuli (principles of jurisprudence) issue, we will not go into its details here.
Those who want details should refer to Usul al-Fiqh books. For example, Sheikh Muhammad Khudri al-Misri’s book
, Dr. Abdullah Turki, director of Jami’ah Imam Muhammad bin Saud al-Islamiyyah Riyadh’s book
, Imam Shawkani’s book
, and
,
, and
are especially noteworthy in this regard.
Keep in mind here that if every small or big necessity is considered and Masalih Mursalah is resorted to even in the presence of texts, then it is equivalent to opening a back door. Through this, all kinds of worldly, commercial, and non-commercial announcements would become permissible. Mosques would become arenas of chaos and disorderly noise. In fact, as a result of such fatwas by some of our people, nowadays such announcements are frequently observed in our countries, even daily, which is contrary to the sanctity and respect of the mosque. This was a brief review of the proponents’ arguments.
A Suitable Solution:
Now let us see that if such announcements from mosques are impermissible, then is there any other suitable solution or not? In this regard, it should be noted that, as mentioned at the beginning of the topic, there are many other ways which are permissible, useful, and effective. They just require some expense. Well, what can be more precious than a child? And if it is considered impractical for some people, then another suitable solution to this issue is that the villagers or neighborhood residents cooperate mutually to arrange this outside the mosque but adjacent to it. Just as arrangements for ablution areas and water taps for worshippers are considered mosque facilities, similarly arrangements for such announcements should be made outside the mosque. Because the instructions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, require that they be adopted keeping their original context in mind.
And by making some permanent arrangement, this requirement will also be fulfilled. The spirit of self-preservation and respect for human dignity will also be practiced. And there will be no occasion to break the conditions of Masalih Mursalah and use it impermissibly. Nor will there be a need to resort unnecessarily to definitive and general texts ”الضرورات تبيح المحذورات“.
Yes, if a lost item is found outside, then informing the worshippers about it, God willing, will not be blameworthy. Because this is not an announcement for searching a lost item and does not fall under the prohibitive ahadith. Although the better and more appropriate approach is to try to avoid even this. As some reports about Hazrat Umar Farooq, may Allah be pleased with him, indicate that he ordered the announcement of a found lost item at the mosque’s door. As mentioned in
.
