Is it permissible to pray in a mosque built for boasting and showing off over the other mosques?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, if a mosque is built for boasting, showing off, and distinguishing itself from the other mosques in the town, is it permissible to pray in it?
Answer:
Yes, it is permissible to pray in it, and the sin is upon its owner. It is not your concern, and you do not know the intentions of people. You do not know the intentions of people. What makes you think that this was built for showing off and seeking fame? You have not left this behind. As long as there is a mosque prepared for you to pray in, praise be to Allah. And secrets are known only to Allah the Exalted. Do not have a bad opinion of people either. I mean, some people have a bad opinion of the doers of good, saying, "He did this only for showing off," or "He did this like..." just as the hypocrites said about the Companions, "This is showing off." When a man came with a large charity, they said, "This is showing off." And when a man came with a small charity, they said, "By Allah, he is rich and does not need this charity." So Allah the Exalted revealed:[At-Tawbah 9:79] regarding the charities [At-Tawbah 9:79]. Do not have a bad opinion. We leave this to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, if a mosque is built for boasting, showing off, and distinguishing itself from the other mosques in the town, is it permissible to pray in it?
Answer:
Yes, it is permissible to pray in it, and the sin is upon its owner. It is not your concern, and you do not know the intentions of people. You do not know the intentions of people. What makes you think that this was built for showing off and seeking fame? You have not left this behind. As long as there is a mosque prepared for you to pray in, praise be to Allah. And secrets are known only to Allah the Exalted. Do not have a bad opinion of people either. I mean, some people have a bad opinion of the doers of good, saying, "He did this only for showing off," or "He did this like..." just as the hypocrites said about the Companions, "This is showing off." When a man came with a large charity, they said, "This is showing off." And when a man came with a small charity, they said, "By Allah, he is rich and does not need this charity." So Allah the Exalted revealed:
Those who criticize the contributors among the believers
الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَand [criticize] the ones who find nothing [to spend] except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allah will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment.
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [2859- 4717] هل تجوز الصلاة في مسجد بني للمباهاة والتفاخر عن بقية المساجد؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.