Explaining the Ruling on the Construction of Mosques in the Shari'ah

The Shaykh : The point is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has bestowed a favor upon the people of this locality with this mosque, and it is the closest to the Sunnah. I do not say, with regret, that it is in accordance with the Sunnah, for I see in it some things that should not have been done. But I say a word of truth: it is the closest to the Sunnah compared to the other mosques that are built in this time, in which vast sums of money are spent on their construction and decoration, under the assumption that they are honoring the symbols of Allah. The matter is not so, for honoring the symbols of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not by building mosques that are constructed and decorated with decorations that distract the worshippers from focusing on their Lord of the Worlds in their prayer. It has come in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: "When Umm Salama and Umm Habiba returned from Abyssinia, they mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a church they had seen in Abyssinia and described its beauty and the images in it." He said (peace and blessings be upon him): Those are the Christians; when a righteous man died among them, they would build a mosque over him, and they added sin upon sin by painting those images. The intended meaning of those images is the carvings and decorations. Therefore, it came in another hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud and others that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The construction of mosques, meaning raising their buildings above the need required by the worshippers therein. This hadith was narrated by Abu Dawud from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, traced back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as you heard. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ibn Abbas said after narrating this hadith from him (peace and blessings be upon him): "You will decorate them just as the Jews and Christians decorated them." "You will decorate them just as the Jews and Christians decorated them." This statement from Ibn Abbas, on the surface of its chain, is mawquf (stopping at a Companion); it is from his words. It can be said in the scientific terminology of hadith that it is mawquf in the ruling of marfu' (traced to the Prophet). Or it can be said, and this is necessary if the first is not said, that he understood it from the collection of hadiths reported in this regard. From that is the hadith of Aisha when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke and said: It is possible that Ibn Abbas took this statement from such a hadith and from the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) established in Sahih al-Bukhari from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So his saying (peace be upon him): This means ... .