Date : 22-06-2015

Question :

What is the ruling of Sharia on allocating a place outside the Masjid for performing Taraweeh prayer?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



From the view point of Sharia, it is permissible to dedicate a place outside the Masjid for performing Taraweeh prayer, provided that it is sanctioned by the concerned authorities and causes no traffic jams or inconvenience to citizens. However, it is better to pray in the Masjid since praying outside could make people abandon it, and this could also undermine its status and distinctive feature in Islam. "Performing the obligatory prayers in congregation in the Masjid is better as reflected in the following Hadith where the Prophet (PBUH) said: " O people! perform your (voluntary) Salat (prayers) in your homes because the best Salat of a man is the one he performs at home, except the obligatory Salat." This Hadith shows that it is better to pray obligatory prayers in the Masjid because of the Masjid`s high status in Islam, the great congregation, and the fact that praying there reflects the symbols of Islam." And Allah knows best.