The Story of the Mosque of Harm (Masjid al-Dirâr)
Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“Those who have taken a mosque for causing harm, disbelief, and division among the believers, and as an outpost for those who previously fought against Allah and His Messenger, will surely swear, ‘We intended nothing but good.’ Yet Allah bears witness that they are indeed liars.
Do not ever stand in it. A mosque founded upon piety from the first day is worthier for you to stand in. In it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who purify themselves.
Is one who laid the foundation of his building on mindfulness of Allah and His good pleasure better, or one who laid the foundation of his building on the brink of a crumbling cliff, so that it collapsed with him into the Fire of Hell? Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.
The structure they built will never cease to be a source of doubt in their hearts until their hearts are torn apart. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
[al-Tawbah, 9:107-110]
We have already treated the explanation of these noble verses at sufficient length in our book Tafsîr, all praise is due to Allah.¹
Ibn Isḥāq² recounts how this mosque—whose builders wronged themselves—was erected, and how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered it to be demolished on his return from the Tabūk expedition, before he entered Madinah. In summary: a group of hypocrites built the façade of a mosque near the mosque of Qubā’. They hoped that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would lead them in prayer there, thereby lending credibility to their designs of corruption, disbelief, and obstinate defiance. Allah protected His Messenger ﷺ from praying in it, for the Prophet was then about to set out for the campaign to Tabūk. When he returned and halted at Dhī-Awān—a place about an hour from Madinah—revelation came down to him concerning this mosque in the words: “Those who have taken a mosque for causing harm…”
As for Allah’s statement “for harm (ḍirâr),” it is because they sought to rival the mosque of Qubā’. “And disbelief” means it was built for unbelief, not faith. “And division” refers to their intent to split the community away from the mosque of Qubā’. “And as an outpost for those who previously fought against Allah and His Messenger” refers to Abū ʿĀmir the monk—the profligate, may Allah disgrace him. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ invited him to Islam and he refused, he went to the people of Makkah and roused them; they came in the year of Uhud, and what happened there has preceded. When his efforts failed, he traveled to Caesar, the Byzantine emperor, seeking aid against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Abū ʿĀmir had adopted the religion of Heraclius, joining the Arabs who had become Christians, and he used to write to his fellow hypocrites, promising and enticing them—yet Satan promises them only delusion. His letters and emissaries kept arriving to them from time to time, so they built this mosque outwardly—but inwardly it was a base of war, a station for anyone arriving from Abū ʿĀmir, and a meeting place for all who followed their hypocritical path.
Hence Allah said: “And as an outpost for those who previously fought against Allah and His Messenger.” Then He said: “They will surely swear”—meaning those who built it—“‘We intended nothing but good.’” That is, they claim they only sought