Listening to the Qur’an in the Mosque from a Tape Recorder

Question

The imam of our Jami‘ mosque says that the tape recordings coming from outside nowadays contain, besides religious talks, recordings of the prayer, the adhan and so on. So in blessed Ramadan, on the odd nights of the last ten days, the imam placed one in the mosque and played it to the public. Some people objected to this and said, “Place it outside the mosque and play it.” The imam said that it may be placed in the mosque and played. Is his action correct or not?

Answer

One strong fear in this is that people will content themselves with merely listening to the tape recorder and satisfy their eagerness with that alone, and will not themselves turn to recitation. There is also the possibility that other people will begin playing things of a wrong kind and will cite this as their proof.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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