The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page cccxxxvii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION being that a Muslim may say his prayers where he may happen to be when the time of prayers arrives. It is not obligatory upon him to proceed to a church or a temple nor is he dependent for the performance of his worship upon the ministrations of a priest or a person in holy orders. Islam does not countenance an ordained priesthood. It regards every good man as the vicegerent of God and recognizes the competence of every such person to lead the prayers. The Mosques of Islam Muslims make use of mosques for purposes of congregational prayers but this is not due to any feeling that the sites or buildings of these mosques possess any peculiar sanctity for the purposes of Divine worship. A mosque is built to enable the Muslims of the neighbourhood to assemble for the purpose of congregational prayers. Mosques facilitate the performance of collective worship and are used for other religious and social purposes also. No particular ceremony is required for consecrating mosques and dedicating them to the worship of God, as is the case with temples and churches. Any building that is used for the purpose of congregational prayers by the Muslims is a mosque. No structural design has been prescribed for a mosque nor is a mosque divided into naves and transepts, nor does it possess anything resembling an altar. There are no pictures or images in a mosque and no relics of saints. The Muslims gather for Divine worship in the simplest possible manner and Islamic religious services are free from all artistic and emotional distractions. There is no music or singing, no temple dances, no priestly vestments, no burning of candles and no attempt to create an emotional atmosphere by the aid of organs and incense. The light inside a mosque is not dimmed artificially to create an atmosphere of awe and no images of saints divert the attention of worshippers from God. At the appointed hour the worshippers collect in the mosque and arrange themselves in rows to indicate that, having concluded their individual worship in their homes or in the mosque, they are now ready to offer collective worship to God. They praise God and render thanks to Him and offer prayers to Him for their own spiritual, moral and physical advancement and for that of their friends and relations and of the whole of mankind. They do this in a perfectly calm atmosphere undisturbed even by the strains of music. While so engaged no worshipper may look to the right or to the left nor speak to any other worshipper. The rich and the poor stand shoulder to shoulder with each other; the king may find his shoeblack standing next to him; a judge may have as his neighbour an accused person who is on trial before him and a general may be standing next to a private. No worshipper may object to another worshipper standing next to him nor may any worshipper be moved from his station to cccxi