Discussion on the construction of mosques.

The Shaykh : You will find now in many countries, including our own country, that mosques have spread widely, and praise be to Allah, many other countries are envious of this, not because of the builders' boasting, but rather this abundance of mosques being built—do they meet the conditions of righteous work, namely that it be according to the Sunnah and that it be pure for the face of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He? I say, with regret, that most of these mosques do not meet either the first condition or the second. As for the first condition, that its construction be according to the Sunnah, this is the Sunnah that the Rightly Guided Caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered when he said to the builder who was tasked with building the extension that 'Umar added to the Prophet's Mosque: "Shelter the people from heat and cold, but do not make it red or yellow." He pointed to a positive matter and to another negative matter. As for the positive matter for which mosques are built, that is his saying, "Shelter the people from heat and cold." So the construction of mosques is not intended for anything but achieving psychological comfort for those who enter these mosques to pray to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and these mosques protect them from heat and cold. This is the purpose of building mosques. The purpose is not their decoration, this decoration which 'Umar al-Faruq pointed to in his previous words, "and do not make it red or yellow." Where did 'Umar take this from? There are hadiths that you know, such as his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: The construction here is interpreted with two meanings. The first meaning is exaggerating in raising their buildings like palaces. This is a waste of money and does not achieve the purpose which 'Umar explicitly stated, "Shelter the people from heat and cold." And this hadith, when narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah, he said: He said, either quoting from it and making a correct independent legal reasoning from it, or receiving it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, with this text or a text close to this text, where he said after narrating from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: He said, "You will decorate them just as the Jews and Christians decorated them." This is a prophecy that has come true from a long time ago, and very long ago. But with great regret, in this time when the disbelievers have excelled in decorating their worldly lives and many Muslims have imitated them, they have excelled without limit in decorating the mosques, as you are witnessing, and you do not need examples to be cited. But what is the matter with the Prophet's Mosque, about which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said this hadith of Ibn 'Abbas: It is now being constructed, imitating the Jews and Christians, as Ibn 'Abbas said, "You will decorate them just as the Jews and Christians decorated them."
It has come in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim from the hadith of 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Umm Salama and Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with them both), and they are among the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as you know, when they returned from Abyssinia, they mentioned a church they saw in Abyssinia and mentioned—and here is the point—of the beauty and images in it. So he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Now, as for the Muslims, as for the decoration, this means, as it is said, no harm done. But there are some mosques built by those who spend on them, and they have willed to be buried in them. This is as if the Messenger had ordered it. Rather, as you heard in the hadith of 'Aishah mentioned just now, and in other hadiths, he warned with the strongest warning against building mosques on graves. And among them is the other hadith of 'Aishah: And there are more than ten hadiths, all of which revolve around cursing those who take mosques on graves. And one of them, at least, relates to this Ummah, where he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The Hour will not stand except over these people. Therefore, the construction of mosques today, with their abundance which brings good news from one aspect, but in terms of their quality, they do not bring any good news at all, because the two conditions that must be realized in righteous work are not met in them. The first is that it be according to the Sunnah, so these mosques are not according to the Sunnah. Then, did those who built them intend the face of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in this construction? This is what we say: Allah knows best what is in their hearts. But if it is permissible for us to judge by the appearance, and Allah takes charge of the secrets, we say that those who build these mosques and spend thousands, if not millions, appear, and Allah knows best—I say this with caution because I mean what I say—appear, and Allah knows best, that they were not sincere. Why do I exercise caution? Because I am placing a possibility, and this possibility is valid, and I say this in fairness to those who built and died, and to those who are still alive and have not built. I say it is possible that they were sincere, but some bad scholars entangled them, who did not understand the Sunnah and who come with analogies resembling the analogy of Iblis when he said to his Lord, and he was ordered to prostrate: They say, "We decorate our houses today, so the houses of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, are more deserving of being decorated." It is possible that among those who spend these vast sums in building these mosques contrary to the Sunnah, some may have been deceived and truly thought that this is among the deeds that bring them closer to Allah. And whether it is this or that, the truth is that the sweetest of them is bitter. Whether they were not sincere, or they were sincere but their work was not according to the Sunnah, if so, these vast sums went to waste. And in conclusion, I say, reminding every Muslim who wants to draw near to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, that before he comes to a work by which he wants to draw near to Allah, he must first know if it is according to the Sunnah, and second, that he be sincere in it for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, not wanting any reward or gratitude behind it. Otherwise, the saying of our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, will be true of them: This is what was easy for me to deliver on this occasion. And the summary of that is that the research is long and very long, and there must be tapes that are considered a completion for such a speech. That is because the topic of purification and upbringing, as some of our brothers said, requires the composition of a treatise, and I say a book, that clarifies this topic. And may Allah grant success to some of those whom Allah has made beneficial knowledge easy for, if Allah wills, Blessed and Exalted is He. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.