Some people say that all mosques are the ‘houses of Allah’ and that they all deserve the same respect. Hereunder we will Insha Allah see proof from the Holy Qur’an and Ahadith that this is actually incorrect. There are some mosques that do not deserve any respect at all, and in fact Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) once actually ordered the Blessed Sahaabah to burn and demolish a Masjid known as Masjid-e-Diraar.
To learn more about the incident involving Masjid-e-Diraar, we turn to the Glorious Qur’an, in which Allah Ta’ala states, “And those who have built a mosque in order to commit mischief and spread infidelity and to cause dissension among Muslims, and as an ambush for him who is already against Allah and His Messenger from before. And they will surely swear that we desired only good. And Allah bears witness that they are certainly liars.” [Surah 9, Verse 107]
Some hypocrites (Munaafiqeen) of Madina Munawwarah built a mosque called Masjid-e-Diraar near Masjid-e-Quba with the intention of decreasing the congregation at this blessed mosque. Also, their evil intention was that whenever the sinful priest Abu Amir came secretly to Madina Shareef he would inwardly plot against the Muslims, but outwardly tell Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) that we have built this mosque for the convenience of the old and the sick. He even requested Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to perform one Salaah in it to bless the mosque. Almighty Allah stopped His Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) from doing
this. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) then gave the order to demolish this mosque. According to his command it was demolished and burnt. From this we learn that one should not perform Salaah in unlawful mosques. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan]
The intention of the hypocrites was that those who came to Masjid-e-Quba to perform their Salaah should become disunited, so that some Muslims should go to their mosque, thereby decreasing the congregation in Masjid-e-Quba. The hypocrites should gather in this mosque of theirs to plot against Islam and it was to be a mosque during the day and a committee house at night.
From this issue it can be deduced that without any valid religious reason one should not build another mosque in close proximity of an existing mosque as this can cause the first mosque to be deserted. We further learn that the mosques should not be built for the purpose of conspiring against one another, as such a mosque would be considered under the law of Masjid-e-Diraar. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan]
Due to the evil intentions of the hypocrites, Allah Ta’ala told His Beloved Habeeb (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), “You never enter that mosque. No doubt, the mosque whose foundation has been laid on righteousness from the very first day is worthy that you may stand therein. There are such people who desire to be well purified and Allah loves the pure.” [Surah 9, Verse 108]
Allah Ta’ala states in this verse that the mosque built on evil intentions is not worthy of the Beloved Habeeb’s (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) blessed presence. Therefore He stopped His Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) from even entering Masjid-e-Diraar, which would be beyond the pure and exalted status of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
“The mosque whose foundation has been laid on righteousness” refers to Masjid-e-Quba which is situated in the old section of Madina Shareef. Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) himself laid the foundation of this mosque and until the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) stayed there, he continued to perform his Salaah therein. Then, after moving to the new section of Madina Shareef he would go to Masjid-e-Quba every Saturday. In the Hadith Shareef it is stated that performing Salaah in Masjid-e-Quba is equivalent to the reward of one Umrah. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan]
From this verse we learn that we should not perform Salaah in the mosques of infidels, hypocrites, apostates etc. as these are not Islamic mosques. These would not be given the respect of mosques. If any infidel grants a large sum of money to a believer who then builds a mosque out of that money, it would be permissible to do that because that believer is now the owner of that money and the change of ownership brings about a change in the law that applies. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan]
It is further stated that if any mosque is built for the sake of pride, showing off etc. and not for gaining the sole pleasure of Almighty Allah, or built with unlawful money, it would also be regarded like Masjid-e-Diraar. Mosques should therefore be built in a spirit of sincerity and out of lawfully earned money. [Tafseer Madaarik]
Allah Ta’ala then says in the Holy Qur’an, “Then is he better who laid the foundation upon the fear of Allah and His Pleasure or he who laid his foundation on the brink of a falling pit and then fell with it in the fire of hell? And Allah does not give way to unjust people.” [Surah 9, Verse 109]
“Who laid the foundation upon the fear of Allah and His Pleasure” refers to the Ansaars of Masjid-e-Quba, whose piety and fear of Allah Ta’ala has been testified in the Holy Qur’an and that these people built this mosque in a spirit of sincerity which was accepted by Allah Almighty. If anyone doubts their faith and piety, they are rejecting this verse. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan]
“Who laid his foundation on the brink of a falling pit” refers to the foundation of Masjid-e-Diraar and to the outward Salaah and fasting of those hypocrites who had been responsible for the building of Masjid-e-Diraar. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan] We see today the same hypocrisy in the Wahaabis who go around inviting people to Salaah, Fasting, Hajj and Zakaat yet in their hearts they hold corrupt and blasphemous beliefs and aim only to insult the exalted dignity of our Beloved Master Muhammad Mustafa (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
We also learn that all the deeds of the hypocrites are like the hollow structures of Masjid-e-Diraar which would cave in and be destroyed. The mosque of the hypocrites and the hypocrites themselves are like those who would cave into the fire of hell. Hazrat Jabir (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) says that when this mosque was being demolished at the instruction of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), “I saw smoke of hell emanating from it!” [Tafseer Roohul Bayaan]
We further learn from this that one should not accept a person’s piety merely from his sweet talk and outward piety. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan] This is in fact the aim of the Wahaabis, who try to mislead the Muslims with their false outward piety. May Allah Ta’ala protect us from their fitna! Lastly, Allah Ta’ala says about the hypocrites and their Masjid, “The building which they have built will continue to waver in their hearts until their hearts may be cut into pieces. And Allah is All Knowing, Wise.” [Surah 9, Verse 110]
By this is meant that the hypocrites will feel the sorrow of the demolition of their mosque until death and they will feel the pain until their hearts are crushed from the embarrassment of their hypocrisy. We learn from this incident that one has to remove the real cause of mischief, even if it presents itself in a beautiful image. This building of the hypocrites, though it was in the form of a mosque, was the root cause of mischief hence it had to be demolished. [Tafseer Noorul Irfaan]
Therefore we learn from this incident that not all mosques deserve the same respect. We can also understand why A’la Hazrat Imam Ahle Sunnat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) said that the Masjid built by the Wahaabis is similar to a house. [Al Malfooz Shareef, Vol. 1] His statement was based on the Qur’an and Hadith, as we have seen above, that the Masjid of the hypocrites does not deserve the respect of a Masjid.
May Allah Ta’ala in His Infinite Mercy grant us the Taufeeq to stay away from the Mosques of the hypocrites and may He save us from the fitna of the corrupt and misled sects, Ameen.