1) Does it go against the sanctity of the masjid to attend it wearing denim jeans and denim long sleeved shirts?
2) Can I enter and remain inside the masjid without ablution?
3) Does it go against the sanctity of the masjid to remain inside it without doing any ibaadat and instead just sit there with my eyes lowered and my mouth shut?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
1) If the jeans and denim shirt are tight fitting and reveal the shape of the body, it will not be permissible to wear them, whether inside the masjid or outside. If they are loose and conceal the shape of the body, it will be permissible to wear them provided that clothes of that type are not exclusively worn by irreligious and sinful people (i.e. practising Muslims do not wear such clothes), as doing so will necessitate resembling irreligious and sinful people, which is not permissible. (See: Imdaadul Fatawa: 4/268; Jadeed Fiqhi Masa’il: 1/232; Ahsanul Fatawa: 8/64)
It is, nonetheless, always recommended to wear clothes of the pious, as one’s attire undoubtedly has an effect on one’s psychology and behaviour.
2) Yes, it is permissible.
3) It is permissible to remain in the masjid without doing any act of worship, although it is preferable to offer two rak’ats of ‘tahiyyatul masjid’ when one enters the masjid.
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Faizal Riza
29/2/2012