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From: SX43@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Wot's a Masjid (Was Re: A look into Islamic banking
Message-ID: <1990Nov20.154110.17454@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 90 15:41:10 GMT
Sender: bes@nntp-server.caltech.edu (Behnam Sadeghi)
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
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Approved: bes@tybalt.caltech.edu

In article <1990Nov15.085941.24105@nntp-server.caltech.edu>,
goer@midway.uchicago.edu (Richard L. Goerwitz) says:
...
>Okay, my Arabic isn't perfect, but can't the word _masjid_ be used of
>synagogues, and even Christian churches as well?  Someone please refresh
>my memory on this.
...
>-Richard

You are quite right. The word 'masjid' comes from the root sjd
and simply means 'place of prostration'. It doesnt take an expert
in arabic to know this much (and nor am I ! :-)

Yusuf Ali clearly meant to express this when he translates masjid
 as temple. I see no greater error in using temple rather than
mosque because both are non-arabic words. Mosque is a french word..
does anyone know how it came into existence ? Just wondering.

Mind you, not many christians or jews do much prostrating nowadays, do
they ? Only muslims seem to have preserved this expression of ultimate
submission in their worship (although if you look in the Bible, there
are plenty of instances of earlier Jews [--and that is also exactly what
the early Christians like Jesus (Peace on him) *were*--] prostrating
to the Lord. Ahmad Deedat mentions this in one of his [many!] leaflets.)

Peace,
      Fazal.