Mosques That Do Not Possess a Special Virtue
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Fatwa No. ( 19729 )
Q: I hope you will kindly answer the following question: First: What is the ruling in Islamic law regarding one who comes to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah to pray in al-Masjid al-Nabawi al-Sharif , and then goes to Masjid Quba, Masjid al-Qublatayn, and Masjid al-Jumu'ah and the Musalla mosques ( Masjid al-Ghamamah, Masjid al-Siddiq, and Masjid 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both)) and other historical mosques, and after entering them prays the two rak'ahs of greeting the mosque? Is that permissible for him or not? Second: After the visitor arrives at al-Masjid al-Nabawi al-Sharif , is it permissible for him to take the opportunity to go to the historical mosques in al-Madinah al-Nabawiyyah with the intention of viewing and reflecting on the history of the righteous predecessors and the practical study of the information he read in books of
exegesis, hadith, and history regarding the battles and the dwellings of the tribes of the Ansar . I ask for your guidance.
A: The answer to these two questions requires clarification in the following details: First: By surveying the mosques existing in the city of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), al-Madinah al-Munawwarah – may Allah protect it – it is evident that they are of types. The first type: A mosque in the city of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for which a special virtue has been established, and there are only two such mosques: The first is: the Prophet's Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), which is included a fortiori in the saying of Allah the Exalted[At-Tawbah 9:108] It is the second of the three mosques to which journeys may be undertaken, as the Sunnah has also established this, and it is also established in the clear, authentic Sunnah that prayer in it is better than a thousand prayers in any other place except al-Masjid al-Haram . The second is: Masjid Quba , in which the saying of Allah the Exalted was revealed: [At-Tawbah 9:108] the verse, and in a hadith
of Usayd ibn Hudayr al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:Sunan Ibn Majah 1411Hasan (Darussalam) It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah and others, and from Sahl ibn Hanif (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 1412Hasan (Darussalam) It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah and others, and this is the wording of Ibn Majah . The second type: The general mosques of the Muslims in the city of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). These have what all general mosques have, and no special virtue is established for them. The third type: A mosque built in a place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, or where he designated the place where he prayed that prayer, such as Masjid Banu Salim , and the Eid prayer ground. No special virtue has been established for these, and no encouragement to visit them and pray two rak'ahs in them has been transmitted. The fourth type: Bid'ah (religious innovation) mosques that were invented and attributed to the era of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and were made into places of visitation, such as
the seven mosques, and a mosque on Mount Uhud and others. These are mosques that have no basis in the pure Shari'ah, and it is not permissible to visit them for worship or for anything else; rather, it is a manifest bid'ah. The legal principle is: that we do not worship except Allah, and that we do not worship Allah except by what He has prescribed through the tongue of His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). And by returning to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the words of the Salaf of the Ummah who received this religion from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and conveyed it to us from him, and warned us against bid'ah in obedience to the command of the Bringer of Good News and the Warner (peace and blessings be upon him), where he says in the authentic hadith:Sahih Muslim 1718b, and in another wording: Sahih Muslim 1718a, and he (peace be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4607Sahih (Al-Albani), and he said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3662Hasan (Darussalam), and he (peace be upon him) said when some of the Companions asked him to make a tree for them to seek blessing from and to hang their weapons on, he said:
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and Ibn Wadhih (p. 9) transmitted in his book: (Al-Bida' wa al-Nahy 'Anha) with his chain from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that 'Amr ibn 'Utbah and his companions built a mosque on the back of al-Kufah , so 'Abdullah ordered that mosque to be demolished. Then it was reported to him that they were gathering in a corner of the Mosque of al-Kufah reciting a specific tasbih, saying takbir, and saying tahlil. He said: So he put on a cloak, then went and sat with them. When he realized what they were saying, he removed the cloak from his head and then said: I am Abu 'Abd al-Rahman , then he said: You have either excelled the Companions of Muhammad in knowledge, or you have brought a bid'ah of injustice... etc. He and others warned against innovation, and they urged people to follow those who came before. It is established that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) cut down the tree under which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge of allegiance from his Companions, the Pledge of Satisfaction, when he saw some people – may Allah be pleased with him –
going to it, and when he saw people going in a certain direction, he asked about them and was told: They are going to pray in a place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed while on the way to Hajj. He became angry and said: Only those who came before you perished by following the traces of their prophets. End of quote. It is known that the purpose of building mosques is to gather people therein for worship, and this is a gathering intended in the Shari'ah. The existence of the seven mosques in one place does not achieve this purpose; rather, it is an invitation to division that is contrary to the objectives of the Shari'ah. They were not built for gathering, because they are very close to each other, but rather they were built to seek blessing by praying in them and making du'a, and this is a clear innovation. As for the origin of these mosques with this name, i.e., the seven mosques, there is no historical basis whatsoever for it. Rather, Ibn Zubalah mentioned the Mosque of al-Fath, and he is a liar, and the imams of hadith accused him of that. He died at the end of the second century, then after him came Ibn Shubah the historian and mentioned it. It is known that historians do not care about the chain of narration and its authenticity, but rather they transmit what reaches them and place the responsibility on the one who narrated it to them, as the Hafiz Imam Ibn Jarir said in his (History). As for the legal establishment of this name or of one of these mosques, it has not been known with an authentic chain. The Companions took care to transmit the words and actions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), indeed they transmitted everything they saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) doing, even relieving oneself, and they transmitted the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) coming to Masjid Quba every week, and his praying over the martyrs of Uhud before his death as if bidding them farewell, among other things that filled
the books of the Sunnah. As for these mosques, the scholars of hadith and historians searched for the origins of their names, and the scholar al-Samhudi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I did not find a basis for any of this," and he said after other words: "Although I did not find a basis for this name, nor for the attribution of the two aforementioned mosques, there is no discussion in that regarding al-Mutari ." As for Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), he says: "The point here is: that the Companions and the Tabi'un who were good did not ever build on any of the traces of the prophets, such as a place where he descended or prayed or did something of that sort. They did not intend to build a mosque for the sake of the traces of the prophets and the righteous. Rather, their imams, such as 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and others, forbade intending to pray in a place where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, not intentionally but by agreement. And he mentioned that 'Umar and the rest of the Companions from the Rightly Guided Caliphs, 'Uthman and 'Ali and the rest of the Ten and others like Ibn Mas'ud and Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Ubayy ibn Ka'b , did not intend to pray in those traces. Then Shaykh al-Islam mentioned: that in al-Madinah there are many mosques, and that there is no virtue in visiting them, except Masjid Quba , and that what was innovated in Islam of mosques and shrines on graves
and the traditions are among the religious innovations introduced into Islam, stemming from the actions of those who did not know the Shari'ah of Islam or what Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with, namely the perfection of the oneness of Allah, the sincerity of religion for Allah, and blocking the doors of associating partners with Allah that Satan opens for the children of Adam. End of quote. Al-Shatibi mentioned in his book (Al-I'tisam) that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), when he saw people going to pray in the place where the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed, said: "It is only by this that those before you perished; they followed the traces of their prophets and turned them into churches and monasteries." He also said: Ibn Wadhih said: "Malik disliked every religious innovation, even if it was in good, lest what is not a recommended practice be taken as such, or what is not known be considered prescribed." End of quote. Al-Shatibi also said—may Allah have mercy on him: Ibn Kananah was asked about the traces left in Medina, and he said: "The most established with us is Quba... etc." It is established that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) cut down the tree he saw people going to pray by, out of fear for them of trial, discord or temptation. 'Umar ibn Shubba mentioned in (Akhbar al-Madinah), and after him al-'Ayni in (Sharh al-Bukhari), many mosques, but they did not mention the seven mosques by this name. With this brief presentation, it is known that it is not established by transmission the existence of seven mosques, nor even what is called Masjid al-Fath, which Abu al-Hijja, the minister of the Ubaydis whose school of jurisprudence is known, took care of. And since these mosques have become a destination for many people to visit, pray in, and seek blessing from,Al-Shatibiin his book (Al-I'tisam): that'Umar(may Allah be pleased with him), when he saw people going to pray in the place where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed, said: "It is only by this that those who came before you perished; they followed the traces of their prophets and turned them into churches and monasteries." He also said: Ibn Wadhih said:Ibn Wadhih: "AndMalikHe disliked every religious innovation, even if it was in the form of good, so that what is not a recommended practice would not be taken as such, or what is not prescribed would be considered so. End of quote. And he saidal-Shatibialso—may Allah have mercy on him—: He was askedIbn Kananahabout the sites they left inMadinah, he said: The most established among us isQuba.. and so on. It is established that'Umar(may Allah be pleased with him), cut down the tree he saw people going to pray at, fearing for them lest they fall into trial, and it is mentioned'Umar ibn Shabbain (News ofMadinah) and after him al-'Ayni in (Commentary onal-Bukhari) many mosques, but they did not mention the seven mosques by this name. Through this brief presentation, it becomes clear that it is not established by transmission that seven mosques existed, nor even what is called the Mosque of Conquest, which was attended to byAbu al-Hijjathe minister of the Ubaydids, whose school of jurisprudence is known, and since these mosques have become a destination for many people to visit them, pray in them, and seek blessing from them,
and many of the visitors to the Prophet's Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him) are misguided because of them, so visiting them is a clear bid'ah (religious innovation), and keeping them contradicts the objectives of the Shari'ah and the commands of the Messenger to make worship sincere for Allah, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dictates their removal, where he said:Sahih Muslim 1718b Therefore, their removal is obligatory to avert fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), to block the means to shirk (associating partners with Allah), to preserve the pure creed of Muslims, and to protect the sanctity of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), following the example of the Rightly Guided Caliph, Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who cut down the tree of al-Hudaybiyyah when he saw people going to it, out of fear for them of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), and he explained that previous nations perished by following the traces of the prophets which they were not commanded to follow, because that is legislation for which Allah has not given permission. End of quote. Second: And from what has preceded, it is known that people turning to these seven mosques and other introduced mosques to know the traces, or to worship and rub against their walls and mihrabs, and to seek blessing from them, is a bid'ah (religious innovation) and a type of shirk (associating partners with Allah), similar to the action of the disbelievers in the first jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic age of ignorance) with their idols, so it is obligatory for every Muslim who is sincere to himself to leave this action, and to advise his Muslim brothers to leave it. Third: And with this, it is known that what some weak-souled people do of deceiving pilgrims and visitors, and taking them for a fee to these innovative places, such as the seven mosques, is a forbidden action, and what he takes in
return for it is haram (forbidden) earnings, so it is incumbent upon the doer to leave it.[At-Talaq 65:2-3] And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: I hope you will kindly answer the following question: First: What is the ruling in Islamic law regarding one who comes to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah to pray in al-Masjid al-Nabawi al-Sharif , and then goes to Masjid Quba, Masjid al-Qublatayn, and Masjid al-Jumu'ah and the Musalla mosques ( Masjid al-Ghamamah, Masjid al-Siddiq, and Masjid 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both)) and other historical mosques, and after entering them prays the two rak'ahs of greeting the mosque? Is that permissible for him or not? Second: After the visitor arrives at al-Masjid al-Nabawi al-Sharif , is it permissible for him to take the opportunity to go to the historical mosques in al-Madinah al-Nabawiyyah with the intention of viewing and reflecting on the history of the righteous predecessors and the practical study of the information he read in books of
exegesis, hadith, and history regarding the battles and the dwellings of the tribes of the Ansar . I ask for your guidance.
A: The answer to these two questions requires clarification in the following details: First: By surveying the mosques existing in the city of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), al-Madinah al-Munawwarah – may Allah protect it – it is evident that they are of types. The first type: A mosque in the city of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for which a special virtue has been established, and there are only two such mosques: The first is: the Prophet's Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), which is included a fortiori in the saying of Allah the Exalted
A mosque founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves.
لَمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَقُومَ فِيهِ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَتَطَهَّرُوا وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَA mosque founded on righteousness
لَمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَىof Usayd ibn Hudayr al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:
One prayer in the Quba’ Mosque is like ‘Umrah.
صلاة في مسجد قباء كعمرةWhoever purifies himself in his house, then comes to the Quba’ Mosque and offers one prayer therein, will have a reward like that for ‘Umrah.
من تطهر في بيته ثم أتى مسجد قباء فصلى فيه صلاة؛ كان له أجر عمرةthe seven mosques, and a mosque on Mount Uhud and others. These are mosques that have no basis in the pure Shari'ah, and it is not permissible to visit them for worship or for anything else; rather, it is a manifest bid'ah. The legal principle is: that we do not worship except Allah, and that we do not worship Allah except by what He has prescribed through the tongue of His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). And by returning to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the words of the Salaf of the Ummah who received this religion from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and conveyed it to us from him, and warned us against bid'ah in obedience to the command of the Bringer of Good News and the Warner (peace and blessings be upon him), where he says in the authentic hadith:
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو رد'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردYou must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
عليكم بسنتي وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين من بعدي، عضوا عليها بالنواجذ، وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور، فإن كل محدثة بدعة، وكل بدعة ضلالةStick to the two after me, Abu Bakr and 'Umar.
اقتدوا باللذين من بعدي: أبي بكر وعمرAllah is the Greatest, these are the Sunnahs. You said, by Him in whose hand is my soul, as the Children of Israel said to Moses: "Make for us a god as they have gods"
الله أكبر، إنها السنن، قلتم والذي نفسي بيده كما قالت بنو إسرائيل لموسى: اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌThe Jews split into seventy-one sects, and the Christians split into seventy-two sects, and this Ummah (the Muslim community) will split into seventy-three sects, all in the Fire except one. It was said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: Those who are upon what I am upon today and my Companions
افترقت اليهود على إحدى وسبعين فرقة، وافترقت النصارى على ثنتين وسبعين فرقة، وستفترق هذه الأمة على ثلاث وسبعين فرقة، كلها في النار إلا واحدة. قيل: من هي يا رسول الله؟ قال: من كان على مثل ما أنا عليه اليوم وأصحابيgoing to it, and when he saw people going in a certain direction, he asked about them and was told: They are going to pray in a place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed while on the way to Hajj. He became angry and said: Only those who came before you perished by following the traces of their prophets. End of quote. It is known that the purpose of building mosques is to gather people therein for worship, and this is a gathering intended in the Shari'ah. The existence of the seven mosques in one place does not achieve this purpose; rather, it is an invitation to division that is contrary to the objectives of the Shari'ah. They were not built for gathering, because they are very close to each other, but rather they were built to seek blessing by praying in them and making du'a, and this is a clear innovation. As for the origin of these mosques with this name, i.e., the seven mosques, there is no historical basis whatsoever for it. Rather, Ibn Zubalah mentioned the Mosque of al-Fath, and he is a liar, and the imams of hadith accused him of that. He died at the end of the second century, then after him came Ibn Shubah the historian and mentioned it. It is known that historians do not care about the chain of narration and its authenticity, but rather they transmit what reaches them and place the responsibility on the one who narrated it to them, as the Hafiz Imam Ibn Jarir said in his (History). As for the legal establishment of this name or of one of these mosques, it has not been known with an authentic chain. The Companions took care to transmit the words and actions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), indeed they transmitted everything they saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) doing, even relieving oneself, and they transmitted the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) coming to Masjid Quba every week, and his praying over the martyrs of Uhud before his death as if bidding them farewell, among other things that filled
the books of the Sunnah. As for these mosques, the scholars of hadith and historians searched for the origins of their names, and the scholar al-Samhudi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I did not find a basis for any of this," and he said after other words: "Although I did not find a basis for this name, nor for the attribution of the two aforementioned mosques, there is no discussion in that regarding al-Mutari ." As for Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), he says: "The point here is: that the Companions and the Tabi'un who were good did not ever build on any of the traces of the prophets, such as a place where he descended or prayed or did something of that sort. They did not intend to build a mosque for the sake of the traces of the prophets and the righteous. Rather, their imams, such as 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and others, forbade intending to pray in a place where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, not intentionally but by agreement. And he mentioned that 'Umar and the rest of the Companions from the Rightly Guided Caliphs, 'Uthman and 'Ali and the rest of the Ten and others like Ibn Mas'ud and Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Ubayy ibn Ka'b , did not intend to pray in those traces. Then Shaykh al-Islam mentioned: that in al-Madinah there are many mosques, and that there is no virtue in visiting them, except Masjid Quba , and that what was innovated in Islam of mosques and shrines on graves
and the traditions are among the religious innovations introduced into Islam, stemming from the actions of those who did not know the Shari'ah of Islam or what Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with, namely the perfection of the oneness of Allah, the sincerity of religion for Allah, and blocking the doors of associating partners with Allah that Satan opens for the children of Adam. End of quote. Al-Shatibi mentioned in his book (Al-I'tisam) that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), when he saw people going to pray in the place where the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed, said: "It is only by this that those before you perished; they followed the traces of their prophets and turned them into churches and monasteries." He also said: Ibn Wadhih said: "Malik disliked every religious innovation, even if it was in good, lest what is not a recommended practice be taken as such, or what is not known be considered prescribed." End of quote. Al-Shatibi also said—may Allah have mercy on him: Ibn Kananah was asked about the traces left in Medina, and he said: "The most established with us is Quba... etc." It is established that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) cut down the tree he saw people going to pray by, out of fear for them of trial, discord or temptation. 'Umar ibn Shubba mentioned in (Akhbar al-Madinah), and after him al-'Ayni in (Sharh al-Bukhari), many mosques, but they did not mention the seven mosques by this name. With this brief presentation, it is known that it is not established by transmission the existence of seven mosques, nor even what is called Masjid al-Fath, which Abu al-Hijja, the minister of the Ubaydis whose school of jurisprudence is known, took care of. And since these mosques have become a destination for many people to visit, pray in, and seek blessing from,Al-Shatibiin his book (Al-I'tisam): that'Umar(may Allah be pleased with him), when he saw people going to pray in the place where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed, said: "It is only by this that those who came before you perished; they followed the traces of their prophets and turned them into churches and monasteries." He also said: Ibn Wadhih said:Ibn Wadhih: "AndMalikHe disliked every religious innovation, even if it was in the form of good, so that what is not a recommended practice would not be taken as such, or what is not prescribed would be considered so. End of quote. And he saidal-Shatibialso—may Allah have mercy on him—: He was askedIbn Kananahabout the sites they left inMadinah, he said: The most established among us isQuba.. and so on. It is established that'Umar(may Allah be pleased with him), cut down the tree he saw people going to pray at, fearing for them lest they fall into trial, and it is mentioned'Umar ibn Shabbain (News ofMadinah) and after him al-'Ayni in (Commentary onal-Bukhari) many mosques, but they did not mention the seven mosques by this name. Through this brief presentation, it becomes clear that it is not established by transmission that seven mosques existed, nor even what is called the Mosque of Conquest, which was attended to byAbu al-Hijjathe minister of the Ubaydids, whose school of jurisprudence is known, and since these mosques have become a destination for many people to visit them, pray in them, and seek blessing from them,
and many of the visitors to the Prophet's Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him) are misguided because of them, so visiting them is a clear bid'ah (religious innovation), and keeping them contradicts the objectives of the Shari'ah and the commands of the Messenger to make worship sincere for Allah, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dictates their removal, where he said:
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردreturn for it is haram (forbidden) earnings, so it is incumbent upon the doer to leave it.
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect.
وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا (2) وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَحْتَسِبُ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.