Author: Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani (Hafizahullah)
Question:
What is the ruling on a person entering or passing through a mosque while in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah)?
Answer:
If it becomes necessary for a person in a state of janabah to pass through a mosque, they may do so out of compulsion, but they should not remain in the mosque while in this state. Allah Almighty has mentioned in the Quran:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا لَا تَقْرَبُوْا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارٰى حَتّٰى تَعْلَمُوْا مَا تَقُوْلُوْنَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِيْ سَبِيْلٍ حَتّٰى تَغْتَسِلُوْا﴾ [النسا: 43]
Translation:
“O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying, nor in a state of janabah, except when passing through, until you have washed yourselves.” [An-Nisa: 43]
Most of the early scholars, such as ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿud (may Allah be pleased with him), Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib, Imam al-Dhahhak, Hasan al-Basri, ʿIkrimah, al-Nakhaʿi, and al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on them), interpret the term "as-salat" here to mean "places of prayer," i.e., the mosques. Imam Ibn Jarir has deemed this interpretation to be the most correct. [Tafsir Ibn Jarir, Maʿalim at-Tanzil 431/1]
This is also the position of the majority of scholars: it is permissible for a person in a state of janabah to pass through a mosque, but it is not permissible for them to remain there.
Authentic narrations indicate that some Companions' houses opened directly into the mosque, such that they could not exit their homes without passing through the mosque. These houses lacked water for performing a ritual bath (ghusl). Passing through the mosque in a state of janabah was difficult for them, and it was under these circumstances that this verse was revealed, as mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir and other sources.
Question:
What is the ruling on a person entering or passing through a mosque while in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah)?
Answer:
If it becomes necessary for a person in a state of janabah to pass through a mosque, they may do so out of compulsion, but they should not remain in the mosque while in this state. Allah Almighty has mentioned in the Quran:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا لَا تَقْرَبُوْا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارٰى حَتّٰى تَعْلَمُوْا مَا تَقُوْلُوْنَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِيْ سَبِيْلٍ حَتّٰى تَغْتَسِلُوْا﴾ [النسا: 43]
Translation:
“O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying, nor in a state of janabah, except when passing through, until you have washed yourselves.” [An-Nisa: 43]
Most of the early scholars, such as ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿud (may Allah be pleased with him), Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib, Imam al-Dhahhak, Hasan al-Basri, ʿIkrimah, al-Nakhaʿi, and al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on them), interpret the term "as-salat" here to mean "places of prayer," i.e., the mosques. Imam Ibn Jarir has deemed this interpretation to be the most correct. [Tafsir Ibn Jarir, Maʿalim at-Tanzil 431/1]
This is also the position of the majority of scholars: it is permissible for a person in a state of janabah to pass through a mosque, but it is not permissible for them to remain there.
Authentic narrations indicate that some Companions' houses opened directly into the mosque, such that they could not exit their homes without passing through the mosque. These houses lacked water for performing a ritual bath (ghusl). Passing through the mosque in a state of janabah was difficult for them, and it was under these circumstances that this verse was revealed, as mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir and other sources.
