Question:
What should be done about someone who speaks loudly in the mosque during prayer and causes disturbance to the worshippers? And how can I admonish him without being impolite, considering he has been advised kindly but has not responded?
Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and those who follow them. As for what follows:
Raising one’s voice in the mosque and causing disturbance to the worshipers is prohibited according to Islamic law, as mentioned in the hadith where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Let those among you who are mature and wise stand closest to me, then those who are next to them – three times – and beware of the commotion of the markets.” (Narrated by Muslim).
Imam Nawawi explained: “The commotion of the markets” refers to the mixing, disputes, arguments, raised voices, and the chaos that occurs in them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: “Do not raise your voices over one another when reciting the Quran.” (Narrated by Malik in Al-Muwatta).
Abu Al-Walid Al-Baji commented in Al-Muntaqa: “If raising the voice with the recitation of the Quran is prohibited due to causing disturbance to those praying, then it is even more appropriate and necessary to prevent raising the voice with conversation or other matters. This is because such behavior shows disrespect for the mosques, neglects their due reverence, and contradicts their purpose of being places for the remembrance of Allah. Allah the Almighty says: ‘(In houses which Allah has ordered to be raised, in them His Name is remembered)’ (Quran 24:36).”
If someone raises their voice and disturbs the worshippers, they should be advised gently and kindly, preferably in private to avoid embarrassing them in front of others, so that they are not driven to reject the advice out of pride. If they refuse and persist, scholars have mentioned that people have the right to remove them from the mosque. Al-Qurtubi, when discussing the removal of someone with a bad smell from the mosque, said: “Scholars have said that if the reason for removing someone from the mosque is due to causing harm, then by analogy, anyone who harms their neighbors in the mosque by being foul-mouthed or insulting them… or causing any harm, people have the right to remove them as long as the cause of harm exists.”
Ibn Abdul Barr mentioned: “I have seen our teacher Abu Amr Ahmad ibn Abdul Malik ibn Hisham – may Allah have mercy on him – issue a fatwa regarding a man whose neighbors complained about him unanimously, stating that he harmed them in the mosque with his tongue and hand. After consulting, he issued a fatwa to expel him from the mosque and to prevent him from attending prayers with them.”
We advise that such matters be reported to the relevant authorities so they can take appropriate action to stop the individual from causing disturbance. We do not recommend that worshipers take it upon themselves to expel someone from the mosque, as this often leads to further problems.
And Allah knows best.
