Planning your visit

 

VISITING THE MASJID

Visiting the Masjid can be exciting for new members of the community. It is our intention to make your visit as comfortable as possible. The following may be helpful pointers:


  1. If you are coming here to pray, click here for the local prayer times and the iqama times at the Masjid.

  2. Dressing appropriately will make this a comfortable experience for you and remove awkwardness for regular worshippers.

    a.Muslims dress modestly, especially to the Masjid. For men, this means covering the torso and the lower extremities up to below the knees. Muslim women will cover themselves so their arms and legs are completely covered, in addition, using loose clothes so their form is not apparent. Most will also cover their heads, and those who do not ordinarily cover their heads, nevertheless usually do so during their visits to the Masjid.

  3. If you enter the prayer area before it is time for salah, you may encounter people doing zikr (remembrance of God), reading the Quran, or performing non-obligatory prayers. Saying salaam (greeting the worshippers) at such a time may disrupt their worship. Please consider reserving such niceties for after the prayers when you exit.

  4. For our non-Muslim friends and neighbors-
    a.The Friday afternoon service is the most revealing of our practices and rituals. A lecture in English starts at 1:40 pm and the Azan or Call to prayer occurs at 2 pm. We recommend that you be here by 1:30 pm to find comfortable parking. It is the best attended of all the worship services and you will have an opportunity to meet with and ask the Imam (prayer-leader) questions as well. You are certainly welcome to any other 5-times-a-day prayers.
    b. Women and men sit and pray in separate areas. In the main prayer hall, these areas are separated by a screen.
    c. Generally unrelated men and women may not come in physical contact. Please do not take offense if a person of the opposite gender does not shake hands with you.

  5. Our prayers and practices conform with the Ahl-al-Sunnah wa’l Jama’a (the Traditional School) but we do not as an organization subscribe to any particular Madhab (a formal school) considering all equal and valid.

  6. Wudu or ablution can be performed in the bathrooms on the basement level. We are renovating the bathroom areas at this time. For a glimpse of these plans, please look for the display in the Masjid foyer.