Is It Permissible To Wear Earphones Without Audio To Block Noise While Praying Publicly?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it permissible to wear earphones without listening to anything to block noise while praying in public places?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is permissible to wear earphones with the sole intention of blocking noise while praying in public, if the place is distracting and wearing earphones does not take away from one’s focus in prayer or cause them to have to do many movements while praying. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

This is especially true if the noise in the public place is above and beyond what is normally expected, and one has no other, quieter place to pray. [Ibid.]

That said, if one can pray in a quiet/er place and doing so is reasonably within their ability, it would be disliked to choose to pray in a loud place. [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Note: It remains better to avoid this, given the possibility of the headphones moving in prayer–and thereby leading to distraction or unnecessary movements. This is especially true of earphones. – [Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.