SECTION ON PRAYER · 22 – The Undesirability of Spitting in the Mosque
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "It is an error to spit in the mosque. Its expiation is to remove it."
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “It is an error to spit in the mosque. Its expiation is to bury it.”
Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, said: "To spit into a mosque is [a sin]." The narrator transmitted a similar report to the preceding one.
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever spits or ejects phlegm into this mosque, let him dig a pit and bury it. And if he does not dig a pit, let him wipe it with his garment, then let him leave the mosque.”
Tarık ibn Abdullah al-Muharibi, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "When someone stands for prayer or any one of you prays, let him not spit in front of him or to his right, but if it is empty, he should spit to his left or beneath his foot, then let him wipe it." [323]
According to a narration from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) was delivering a sermon one day when he saw phlegm in the direction of the qibla within the mosque. He became angry at the people and cleaned it. Hammad said, “I think the next sentence was said by Ayyub.”
Ibn ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) requested some saffron and rubbed the place with it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: "One of you is facing Allah like this [meaning, in prostration]. Let him not spit in front of him.” [324]
Abu Dawud said: This hadith was narrated by Ismail and Abd al-Warith from Ayyub, who narrated it from Nafi’.
Malik, ‘Ubaydullah, and Musa bin Ukba narrated it from Nafi’, like Hammad. However, they did not mention the weaknesses of the narrators. Again, this hadith was narrated by Ma’mar from Ayyub, and in his narration he mentioned saffron.
Yahya bin Suleym narrated from ‘Ubaydullah, who narrated it from Nafi’ (instead of saffron), “haluk” (a type of fragrance).
Abū Sa’īd al-Hudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) would take pleasure in a stick made from the stem of a date palm and he did not leave it far from his hand. One day, he entered the mosque and saw phlegm at the qibla. He cleaned it and then turned to the people with anger, saying: “Would any of you like it if someone spat in your face? When any of you turns towards the qibla, he has truly turned towards Allah, who is Exalted and Majestic. Angels are on his right. Let him not spit to his right or to the qibla, but let him spit to his left or under his foot. And if it is compressed and he hastens to dispose of it, then let him do so,” Ibn al-Aʿlā explained to us. He said: “Spitting into a cloth and wiping with one part of it upon the other is permissible.”
From Abu Sahla, from Sa'id bin Hallad, through Ahmed bin Salih to Abu Sahla:
He said, “Among the companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was a man who led a congregation in prayer and spat towards the qibla. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was looking on. When the imam finished the prayer, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the congregation: ‘Let this man not lead you in prayer.’ After that, when this man wanted to lead that same congregation, the people prevented him and informed him of the words of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. So he said to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: ‘Did you say that?’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: ‘Yes.’ And I think the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said to him: ‘Because you caused distress to Allah and His Messenger.’ [326]
According to the narration of Abdullah ibn Mutarraf (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
(One day) I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was praying. He spat beneath his left foot.
Abu al-Ala narrated on the same meaning as the preceding hadith from his father (Abdullah), may Allah be pleased with him, adding: "Then he rubbed it with a stirrup."
Abu Sa'id, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: I saw Wail ibn 'Aska spitting on a reed mat in the Sham (Damascus) Mosque and then wiping it away with his foot. They said to him, "Why did you do that?" He replied, “I have seen the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, doing so (wiping it away with his foot).”
COMMENTARY:
Buri: Refers to a reed mat.
‘Ubādah bin Sāmit, may Allah be pleased with him, relates:
(One day) we came to the home of Jābir (bin ‘Abdullāh). He was in his own mosque.
He narrated to us: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to this mosque holding a twig from a cluster of dates.
He saw some phlegm had been spat out, so he immediately went to it and wiped it away with the twig in his hand, and said:
“Which of you likes Allāh to turn away from him?” Then he said:
“Whenever one of you stands up for prayer, Allāh, Exalted be He, is directly before him. So let him not spit towards his face, or to his right, or to his left, or under his feet. If something of phlegm or mucus compels him to haste, then let him do so with his garment,” and he placed his garment to his mouth. He rubbed it, and said: “Bring me something fragrant.” A young man from the tribe of Banī Hāshim, who was attached to his family, stood up and brought a little *haluk* in the palm of his hand. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, applied that fragrance to the twig he held and rubbed it over the place where the phlegm had been. Jābir said:
“Thus you use *haluk* in your mosques.”