Q. Nowadays many people carry their mobile or cell phones wherever they go. When they come into a mosque most people switch off their mobiles, or put them on the silent mode. Inevitably, however, some may forget, particularly if they come late and the congregation has already started. If there is a call and the phone rings the person concerned is embarrassed. Some people suggest that he should reach the phone and switch it off without holding it. Is this permissible?

M. Ishaq

A. The worry seems to me to be connected with the movement involved, or perhaps with the distraction that this causes. But then we have to understand that Islam deals with human situations and takes into account human failings. It does not put people into embarrassing or difficult situations and then requires them to act as if there is no embarrassment or no difficulty. On the contrary, God has given us so many concessions in order to make things easy for us. Whenever offered a choice between two alternatives, the Prophet always chose the easier one, unless it involved something forbidden.

What a person whose mobile rings when he is in prayer should do is to switch it off. If this means reaching into his pocket and taking it out, looking at it so that one presses the right button, then so be it. He should do it straightaway, so that he does not prolong the disturbance. This does not affect the validity of his prayer. It remains valid, and no harm is done.

Consider the alternative: The mobile will still be ringing, and some mobiles are set so that the second and third rings are louder. Some have a musical tone, and some are set with popular music pieces. So, if the mobile is allowed to ring on while the congregational prayer is in progress, the disturbance is really bad. Moreover, when it is not answered, the caller may think that he dialled wrongly, and may call again after a short interval. Where does this leave us, particularly if two or three mobiles ring in succession?

Taken from the practical point of view, this situation prompts a ruling that anyone whose mobile rings in prayer should switch it off straightaway without interrupting his prayer. If this means an extended movement, as in the case of the mobile being in an inner pocket of his clothes, there is no harm in that.

Yet all this argument would have been discarded if there were any Hadith or ruling by the Prophet that such an action will invalidate prayers. Hence, we need to verify it against the Prophet’s statements and actions. What we should look for is the type of movement the Prophet and his companions made while praying. Abu Qatadah reports: “The Prophet prayed while carrying Umamah bint Zaynab, his daughter, on his neck. When he bowed (i.e. did his ruku’), he put her on floor, and when he rose from his prostration, he put her back on his neck.” Ibn Jurayj, a leading Hadith scholar of the second century, says that he learned that this was in Fajr prayer. (Related by Ahmad and Al-Nassaie). Here we see the Prophet carrying his granddaughter over his shoulder in an obligatory prayer, when he was leading the congregation in the mosque. This requires more careful attention than we need to take for switching off a mobile phone.

Aishah reports: “The Prophet was praying at home, with the door closed. I came and knocked. He walked to the door and opened for me before returning to his praying position.” (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Al-Nassaie and Al-Tirmidhi). She clarifies that the door was in the same direction as the qiblah. On the basis of this Hadith, scholars rule that walking a couple of steps during prayer, for a valid reason, is permissible and does not affect the validity of prayer. However, all scholars agree that a long walk invalidates prayer. Moreover, the walk should not involve turning away from the direction of the qiblah.

There are situations where greater movement is done, but these apply in special situations. I have chosen situations which have no emergency factor. The child could have been put on the floor before the start of prayer, but the Prophet carried her throughout, in every rak’ah. The person at the door could have waited or turned back, but the Prophet walked a couple of steps to open, and a couple more to return.

Arab News Islam 20 October 2003