Those Who Build Masjids

Masjids, like any other building, may be built from bricks and mortar. Still, their establishment as a place of worship, the act of building them up to more than a physical structure, occurs by performing prayers in congregations.

Believers also build their inner world and lives by performing their prayers in a congregation. Our neighborhood, town, city, and country will be revitalized and brought to life to the extent that we manage to become a community, especially in prayer, and come together.

“It is not for the polytheists to maintain the mosques of Allah [while] witnessing against themselves with disbelief. [For] those, their deeds have become worthless, and in the Fire they will abide eternally.” (At-Tawbah, 17) 

“The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakat and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.” (At-Tawbah, 18) 

These verses in the Qur'an about “maintaining Allah's mosques,” which we have explained above, were revealed after the polytheists of Quraysh said:

– We are the inhabitants of Al-Haram, we are the ones who give water to the pilgrims. We are the ones who built the Baytullah. No one can be superior to us!

Allah Almighty declared that only believers who have true faith, obey Allah's orders and those who fear Allah will build Baytullah and other mosques. (Tabari, Jamiu'l-Bayan, XIV, 168)

Although Masjid al-Haram is meant in these verses, the word “masajid” is used, which is the plural form of masjid, because Masjid al-Haram is the qibla and imam (leader) of all masjids. In this respect, the one who reconstructed the Masjid al-Haram is considered to have reconstructed all masjids, for it is stated in the 18th verse of surah Al-Jinn that all mosques belong to Allah.

Qualifications of the developers of masjids

Summarizing the explanations of previous commentators on the interpretation of these verses in his commentary titled “Hak Dini Kur'an Dili,” the late Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır (rahmatullahi alayh) said that believers who build the mosques of Allah have the following qualifications:

• Believing in Allah and the Judgment Day

• Performing prayer correctly

• Giving zakat

• Not being afraid of anyone but Allah

He then expounded on these qualifications:

“Actually, since the word masjid means ‘the place where one performs sajdah,’ it is not rationally possible for those who do not believe in Allah to build a place for worship and sajdah and to be closely involved in the development of this place. Then, since the real benefit of being busy with worshipping Allah will be received in the Hereafter, it is out of the question for those who do not believe in the Hereafter to build a mosque for worship. In that case, it is essential to have faith in Allah and the Hereafter before anything else.

However, this is not enough. It is also essential to pray salah because the primary purpose of building mosques is to pray in them. Those who do not believe in the necessity of salah will not feel the need to build a mosque. Those who do not pray cause the mosques to fall into disuse and dilapidation.

However, praying salah by itself is not enough either. Giving zakat is also a must. There is an aspect of building masjids, both in terms of its structure as a building and its identity as a place of worship, that also depends on wealth and zakat. Those who do not pay zakat, one of the fards of Islam, and do not take care of the poor and orphans cannot be expected to build a mosque. It would be uncharacteristic of them to do so. Similarly, going to mosques and giving zakat to the poor believers is an issue related to the spiritual development of the mosques.

Still, this will not suffice either. We should not be afraid of anyone but Allah. People can be fearful of others for many reasons. However, only people who bear certain qualities can undertake the honorable task of building the mosques of Allah:

• Those who do not hold any fear other than the fear of Allah
• Those who will not give up the work that they do for the sake of Allah due to fear
• Those who do not yield their ground or their cause for fear of any condemnation or oppression they might suffer
• Finally, those who are even not afraid to march into jihad and fight for the cause of Allah when necessary

In short, only those who have an iman that will not waver from Allah's cause due to various fears and anxieties and who have the four characteristics mentioned in this verse can support, add to and work for the betterment of the mosques of Allah.” (Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, IV, 293-294)

Physical and spiritual development

The development of mosques comprises two aspects:

• To maintain and repair mosques, to ensure their cleaning and proper lighting, and to pursue and render such services:

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), who worked in the construction of the Quba Masjid and Masjid an-Nabawi, placed mudbrick stones on the walls of these two mosques with his own hands. He said the following about the construction of mosques:

“Whoever builds a Masjid for (the sake of) Allah, be it small or large, then Allah will build a house for him in Paradise.” (Tirmidhi)

“Whosoever lights a candle in a mosque [for its illumination], the angels and the angels who carry the Arsh will continue to ask for forgiveness for that person for as long as it enlightens that mosque.” (Suyuti, ad-Durru’l-Manthur, IV, 143-144) A black man or a black woman used to sweep the mosque and he or she died. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked about her (or him). He was told that she (or he) had died. He said, “Why did you not inform me? Show me his grave (or her grave).” So he went to her (his) grave and offered her (his) funeral prayer. (Bukhari)

• The second meaning of building masjids is to go to masjids for actions of worship such as prayer, dhikr, and education. Accordingly we must keep them from being used for a purpose they are not intended for, such as speaking about worldly matters.

Going to the mosque for prayers and other acts of worship is vital and does the most to benefit their continuity. The reason for this is that the main purpose of building a mosque is to pray. The building of mosques in a real sense only takes place by frequenting these places of worship for salah. There is even an Arabic turn of phrase that refers to being overly involved with someone as “building someone’s masjid” (Razi, Mafatihu'l-Ghayb, XVI, 8).

In the ayah, salah is mentioned as the first deed after belief in Allah and the Hereafter. In this sense, the following hadith of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) serves as an interpretation of the ayah:

“When you see a man frequenting the Masjid, then testify to his faith.” (Tirmdhi, Tafsir, 10)

To give salah its true meaning by doing it justice

In order to perform salah in its truest sense, it is necessary to fulfill certain requirements. As for how this can be achieved, one needs to learn from the practices of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) because he said, “Pray as you have seen me praying” (Bukhari, 5662). 

Considering the sensitivity of our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) about performing prayers in a congregation and his recommendations on this matter, it becomes evident that the development of mosques is possible by taking his suggestions on congregational prayers into account. Some of his hadiths let us know with how much gravity he emphasized this:

“The congregational prayer of anyone amongst you is more than twenty (five or twenty seven) times in reward than his prayer in the market or in his house, for if he performs ablution completely and then goes to the mosque with the sole intention of performing the prayer, and nothing urges him to proceed to the mosque except the prayer, then, on every step which he takes towards the mosque, he will be raised one degree or one of his sins will be forgiven. The angels will keep on asking Allah's forgiveness and blessings for everyone of you so long as he keeps sitting at his praying place. The angels will say, 'O Allah, bless him! O Allah, be merciful to him!' as long as he does not do Hadath or a thing which gives trouble to the other” (Bukhari).

“If the people knew what (reward) there is in the Isha prayer and fajr prayer, they would come even if they had to crawl.” (Sunan Ibn Majah) 

“Whoever prays Isha in congregation, it will be like spending half the night in prayer (qiyam) and whoever prays Isha and Fajr in congregation, it will be like spending the whole night in prayer.” (Musnad) 

“I considered that I should command my young men to prepare bundles of wood for me and then order a man to lead the prayer for people, and then burn down the houses and those inside of them.” (Muslim)

The shocking statements in this last hadith are meant to stress the monumental significance of attending a mosque and congregation and how ill-advised it is to get into the habit of performing obligatory prayers alone at home. This shouldn’t be misconstrued to mean that this hadith constitutes a command or a recommendation to follow through with such an action.

Masjids, like any other building, may be built from bricks and mortar; however, their establishment as a place of worship, the act of building them up to more than a physical structure, occurs by performing prayers in congregation. Believers also build their inner world and their lives by performing their prayers in a congregation. Our neighborhood, town, city, and country will be revitalized and brought to life to the extent that we manage to become a community, especially in prayer, and come together.

In summary, only those whose hearts are attached to the masjids can perform the public service of building them up as they deserve. In order for the physical development of the mosques to take place, there must be a bond extending from the people’s hearts to the mosque. The bond that binds our hearts to a masjid is manifested when our ears are attentively inclined to the sound of azan, and our feet tread eagerly on the way to the masjid. Inshallah, the preservation of this bond of heart will enable us to stay under a special shade on the Day of Judgment, when there is no other shadow we can take shelter beneath.

Abdulkadir Alioğlu