Q. Back home, children who are at the mosque when congregational prayer is held are forced to stand in a row behind the congregation, while here a child stands next to his father. People at home argue that children may leave during the prayer and cause a disturbance, or that they may not be clean. Please explain.
Q. Muslimah
A. Children who should form a row behind the congregation are those who are able to manage by themselves and are well aware of the meaning of prayer and how to conduct it. These are the ones who are about 10 years of age. Yet there is no harm if they stand within the ranks of the congregation. On the other hand, young children who feel insecure when they cannot reach their parents should stand close to them so that they do not disturb the congregation by crying or running around when the prayer is in progress.
We have a famous Hadith when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was leading the prayer in the mosque and one of his two grandsons mounted him as he was in prostration. The Prophet remained in that situation until the child came down. It took a long time and some people in the congregation feared that something might have happened to the Prophet. When the prayer was over, they asked the Prophet what had happened. He said: “This son of mine rode on my back and I did not like to interrupt his fun. I waited for him to come down.” Needless to say, the child was less than seven years of age. Had he been over seven, he would have been taught to pray and stand in the congregation. He was allowed to play in front of the congregation, near to his grandfather, the Prophet, as he led the prayer. In his play, he was tempted to ride on his grandfather’s back and the Prophet let him have his fun. This may happen to any of us. There is no harm in it. As for children being unclean, no Islamic duty is required of children below the age of seven. As long as there is no visible impurity on the child, we do not need to worry about this issue.