“…a mosque founded upon piety from the very first day.” (Qur’an 9:108) He also refuted the view of those who parse the phrase as meaning “from the day it was first established.”(1)
It is an honored and meritorious mosque, concerning which the Almighty revealed:
“A mosque founded upon piety from the very first day is worthier that you stand therein; within it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who purify themselves.” (Qur’an 9:108)
We have already demonstrated this point in our Tafsīr and cited the ḥadīth found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim(2) that identifies the verse with the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, together with the response to that opinion. We likewise mentioned the ḥadīth(1) transmitted by Imām Aḥmad(3): Ḥusayn(4) ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; Abū Uways(5) narrated to us; Shuraḥbīl narrated from ʿUwaym ibn Sāʿidah, who related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to them in the Mosque of Qubāʾ and said:
“Indeed Allah has praised you for the purification you observe in the story of your mosque. What is this purification by which you cleanse yourselves?”
They replied, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we know of nothing except that we had neighbors from among the Jews who used to wash their private parts after defecating, so we washed as they washed.”
Ibn Khuzaymah also recorded it in his Ṣaḥīḥ,(6) and it has additional supporting chains. It is likewise reported from Khuzaymah ibn Thābit, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām, and Ibn ʿAbbās.
Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah(7) related—through Yūnus ibn al-Ḥārith, from Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Maymūnah, from Abū Hurayrah—that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“This verse was revealed about the people of Qubāʾ: ‘…within it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who purify themselves’ (Qur’an 9:108). They used to cleanse themselves with water, so this verse was sent down concerning them.”
Al-Tirmidhī then remarked, “Gharīb through this chain.”
I say: Yūnus ibn al-Ḥārith is weak—Allah knows best.
Among those who maintained that the ‘mosque founded upon piety’ refers to Qubāʾ is the report transmitted by ʿAbd al-Razzāq from Maʿmar, from al-Zuhrī, from