Singapore's Masjid Al-Istighfar has added a temporary prayer facility as part of an upgrading plan to alleviate the need for more prayer space, both at the mosque and in eastern Singapore in general.
The temporary prayer facility, equipped with loudspeakers that will convey movements of the imam, is next to the mosque and will accommodate up to 500 congregants.
Islamic scholars have discussed the matter and concluded that congregational prayer at such a facility is deemed valid if the distance between the imam and the congregation outside of the mosque area is reasonable, said the Islamic Council of Singapore (Muis) on its Facebook page. The maximum distance as applied under the Shafi'i Madhhab* (شافعي مذهب, a school of Islamic law founded by Abū ʿAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī, locally termed the Syafie mazhab) is 150 m.
The Office of the Mufti is of the view that as long as the people inside and outside of the mosque can follow the movement of Imam, and is separated by a distance of not more than 150 metres, the 'saf' or space for prayer is regarded as connected and their congregational prayers are valid.
Members of the public are however advised to perform the congregational prayer at the temporary prayer facility only when the space in the mosque area has been exhausted.
Associate Professor Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs of Singapore, thanked the mosque management, staff and volunteers, as well as Muis and Warees for working on the project on his Facebook page. "I also urge congregants to
consider going to other mosques which are not as crowded, especially
during our weekly Friday prayers and Hari Raya, to ensure ease and
comfort for all," he said.
Interested?
The Masjid Al-Istighfar is at 2 Pasir Ris Walk, Singapore.
Hashtag: #yaacobibrahim
*According to the Amman Message, there are several schools of Islamic jurisprudence, or madhhab, which are recognised in Islam. The others in Sunni Islam are Hanafi, Hanbali and Maliki.