and His saying:

“The Day when a man will flee from his brother, his mother and his father, his wife, and his children” (ʿAbasa 34),

and His saying:

“By those that scatter [dust] far and wide” (al-Dhāriyāt 1)

(1)

“then those that bear heavy loads” (al-Dhāriyāt 2)

(2)

“then those that glide with ease” (al-Dhāriyāt 3)

(3)

“then those that distribute matters” (al-Dhāriyāt 4),

and there are many similar passages.

Likewise, His—Most High—word:

“monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s name is much mentioned would surely have been demolished” (al-Hajj 40).

Thus He—glorified is He—makes clear that, were it not for Allah’s repelling some people by means of others, the places of worship would have been destroyed. Such destruction is corruption when the one who tears them down does not replace them with something better. The least of these sanctuaries are the hermitages, for a hermitage serves one person or a small handful. He therefore began with the humblest of temples and concluded with the noblest of them—the mosques in which Allah’s name is frequently remembered.

In sum, the ruling that applies to these sanctuaries follows the ruling of their people. Before revelation was abrogated or altered, their adherents were believing Muslims, and demolishing the sanctuaries of believing Muslims is corruption. After abrogation and alteration, if the People of the Book are overpowered by those worse than they—such as the Magians or the idol-worshippers—and those victors demolish their sanctuaries, that too is corruption; whereas if they are demolished by those better than they—namely the Ummah of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)—and the latter replace them with mosques in which