Thinking of church as house of worship does not require expiation

9-3-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuhu. I was reading the newspaper, and there was an article about a woman who did some moral crime in the parking lot of a church. While reading that, I made a shocked face and thought: they do not respect their churches. I was thinking that what she did was more terrible because she did it near a 'place of worship'. Right after that, however, I remembered that churches are not actually considered good places/places of worship in our religion. Should I offer an expiation for what I did, or is there no blame upon me here because I acted out of forgetfulness? I was fasting that day; is my fast for that day valid, or do I have to repeat it?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

There is no doubt that your fast was valid, and you are neither sinful nor have to offer any expiation.

It seems that your question is a result of Waswaas (obsessive whisperings); if this is the case, then we warn you against Waswaas and against getting carried away with it as this leads to a great evil.

Allah knows best.