The Ruling On Loud Recitations Other Than The Azan That Disturb Others?

The Ruling On Loud Recitations Other Than The Azan That Disturb Others?

Question: Dr MAZA, there have been objections from some people regarding loud recitations—other than the azan (call to prayer)—played over mosque loudspeakers. It is said to disturb those living nearby. This issue has caused anger among some Muslims who feel they are defending the mosque. What is your view on this? – Nasir, Penang.

Answer: I do want to comment briefly on the issue of recitations—other than the azan—that use external loudspeakers and disturb the public. These recitations have confused non-Muslims, making them think it is the actual azan. Some sides try to defend the practice, arguing that it is the Quran or zikir (remembrance of God) which should be honored. They think their stubborn stance on this matter is a "struggle to defend Islam." I would like to comment on this as follows:

1.    What Islam actually commands us to raise our voices for is only the azan. Aside from that, there is no Islamic text (nas) that tells us to make our voices loud enough to disturb others. In fact, the Prophet (peace be upon him) strictly forbade this action. Furthermore, in Islam, the peace of other people must be protected, unless there is a specific exception allowed by Islamic law (syarak).

2.   Although reading the Quran and zikir are excellent deeds, we cannot force other people to listen to our reading. Other people might want to read the Quran themselves, or they might be praying voluntary prayers (nafilah) alone at home, or they might want to read it at another time. Some might be sick, have small children sleeping, be non-Muslims, or be busy with work that should not be disrupted by loud noises.

3.Imagine if someone else aimed a loud Quran recitation or sermon directly at the house of the person who plays things loudly, disrupting their household affairs. Surely that person would not agree if their small child was disturbed, a sick member of family could not rest, or their work was disrupted. So why they do it to others?

4. Many non-Muslims confuse the azan with other loud recitations broadcasted through the loudspeakers. They think these extra recitations are part of the azan commanded by Islam, which leads them to think badly of this naturally peaceful religion. It is worse because these recitations take a long time, whereas the actual azan does not take more than five minutes.

5.  In fact, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself forbade people from reading the Quran too loudly inside the mosque if it disturbed other worshippers. In a Hadith, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri narrated: 

اعْتَكَفَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ، فَسَمِعَهُمْ يَجْهَرُونَ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ، فَكَشَفَ السِّتْرَ، وَقَالَ: «أَلَا إِنَّ كُلَّكُمْ مُنَاجٍ رَبَّهُ، فَلَا يُؤْذِيَنَّ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا، وَلَا يَرْفَعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ

"When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was performing itikaf (seclusion for worship in the mosque), he heard the people reciting aloud while he was in his place of worship. So, he pulled back the curtain and said: 'Behold, every one of you is privately praying to his Lord, so do not harm one another. And do not raise your voices above one another in recitation during prayer.'" (Narrated by Abu Daud with an authentic chain).

In this Hadith, the Prophet forbade raising one's voice in the mosque if it disturbs others who are worshiping or if it hurts people. If those who are already inside the mosque—and ready to worship—are not allowed to raise their voices and ruin each other's concentration, how can it be permissible to blast recitations through loudspeakers to disturb people outside the mosque? Those outside might have small babies, sick people, and the like.

6.   

6. A great modern scholar, Al-Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him), commented on this Hadith by saying: "The reality today shows exactly what this Hadith mentions. We see people doing this by broadcasting prayers through external loudspeakers. If they cause harm to those around them, they are sinning... without a doubt, stopping this practice is better because it actually serves no purpose. This is because people do not pray with those outside the mosque; they pray with those inside the mosque... therefore, we advise our brothers, especially the mosque Imams, not to do this... it could be that some people have already prayed and need to sleep and rest, or someone is sick and gets disturbed by this noise, or the mosque is close to houses during summer and little children are disturbed by the loudspeaker. In short, this issue has troubled some people to the point that they harm the neighbors of the mosque or their homes for something that has no benefit." (Ibn Uthaimin, Syarh Riyadh al-Salihin).

Imagine, this statement was issued by a famous, great scholar in Saudi Arabia, where the entire population is Muslim. What more for a country like ours?

7.    Scholars from the past also warned about this, stating that other recitations from mosque minarets are forbidden because they disturb the public. Al-Imam al-Hafiz Ibn Jauzi (died 597H) once said:"Among the tricks of Iblis (Satan) is when people mix the azan with reminders, praises (tasbih), and advice. They use the azan as a tool and mix them together. The scholars dislike anything added to the azan. We see many people waking up at night to give reminders and advice from the azan minarets. Among them are those who read the Quran in a loud voice, preventing people from sleeping and disrupting the prayers of those performing night prayers (tahajjud). All of that consists of objectionable acts (munkar)." (Ibn Jauzi, Talbis Iblis, 159. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah).

This was a prohibition by scholars in an era before loudspeakers even existed, back when the disturbance was limited. Imagine if they saw the state of loudspeakers in our time!

8.The Perlis State Fatwa Committee (36th meeting / 2018) on the date: 23-24 July 2018 issued a statement regarding the “Use Of External Mosque Loudspeakers”, stating: “Islam teaches its followers to respect the rights of others. Therefore, all mosques in the state of Perlis are forbidden from using external loudspeakers for anything other than the Azan (call to prayer) and Iqamah (second call to prayer) if it disturbs public peace. This includes broadcasting the Quran, playing lectures, and similar activities. The use of external mosque loudspeakers is strictly for the Azan to mark the start of obligatory prayer times, and for the Iqamah only. It is also allowed for short announcements that involve public interest.”