Some of the munkaraat (evils) that Muslims must be aware of when visiting Masjid Al-Haraam

1. Decorations in the masjid. It seems like succeeding kings/Princes are competing with their predecessors in building the best extensions, hence: - expensive chandeliers - inscriptions of Quranic Ayaat on walls - lofty minarets - decorated carpets, etc. 2. Male soldiers and police officers imitate the Kuffar in their uniforms. There's no need for this, especially considering the fact that the Sahabah conquered non-Muslim lands in their regular Islamic clothing. - The same with the cleaners. 3. Most of them also shave/trim their beards. 4. As part of their uniform, female soldiers wear trousers which expose their 'Awrah. 5. There is a lot of tabarruj (making a wanton display of beauty) on the part of some women, to the extent where one of the greatest acts of worship for men who visit the Haram is to lower their gaze. 6. Capturing images/pictures of animate beings (tasweer dhawaat arwaah). In fact, some of the scholars (Ash-Shinqeeti I believe) considered this a form of ilhaad (violation) in the sacred House of Allah. [see Surah Al-Hajj: 25] - the most despicable form of Tasweer that I've encountered is some men video calling their wives and showing them around the Haram, not realising that they are exposing their wives (who may be inappropriately dressed) to onlookers. Wallahul musta'aan - I've seen some people watching films inside the masjid. You also find some people flicking through their statuses; some of which contain music and inappropriate content. - people taking selfies while engaged in acts of worship may lead to riyaa (showing off) 7. Not straightening the rows and leaving gaps 8. Unnecessary Free-mixing! Unavoidable free-mixing is beyond our control, but engaging in unnecessary free-mixing is not permissible. 9. Long Qunoot 10. There's someone who repeats the takbeer, etc. after the Imaam during Salah even though there's no need for this because the imaam's voice is audible. There's a concensus that if this is done without there being any need, then this is an innovation. 11. Unnecessary elongation of Adhaan and Iqaamah 12. Unnouncing Salatul Janazah in a melodious tone, using specific words: الصلاة على الأموات يرحمكم الله - and the same with the night prayers: صلاة القيام أثابكم الله 13. Referring to worshippers as Haajis, while they may not have even performed Hajj/Umrah. Even if they've performed Hajj, there's still no evidence for allocating this title in this manner, and this was not known from the Salaf. _ 🔺Note: the objective of this post is to alert the Muslims of these evils so they are not mistaken as being permissible, or even worse, being from the religion; because many Muslims assume that whatever takes place in the Haram is from the religion, as this is where the revelation descended. However, this (everything that takes place in the Haram being from the Deen) is not the case! إن الأرض لا تقدس أحدا وإنما يقدس الإنسان عمله “The sanctity of a land does not sanctify those living thereupon, but rather what sanctifies a person is his own actions.” Thus, the objective is not to stir dissent. Rather, we thank the government of Saudi for their tremendous efforts in catering for the millions of Muslims that visit the holy sites. We ask Allah to reward them in abundance, keep them firm upon Tawheed and Sunnah and rectify their shortcomings.