He did not command that mosques be built in every location; rather, he ordered that they be erected in the dūr (tribal quarters). It is therefore evident that what he forbade is different from what he commanded. In light of this, the right of building mosques is exactly as the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—clarified through his words and actions. He said: “and only in the same measure that he himself built them—for the dūr are the local neighborhoods….” Their mosque is the one whose mu’adhdhin’s call they can answer for the five daily prayers without hardship. Anything beyond that, or any shortfall, that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—did not himself do is invalid and reprehensible, and every reprehensible matter must be removed.… He also said: “Ibn Masʿūd demolished a mosque that ʿAmr ibn ʿUtbah had built on the outskirts of Kūfah and directed its people back to the congregational mosque.” (1)
(1) In his work Islah al-Masajid min al-Bidaʿ wa-l-ʿAwaʾid (“Reforming Mosques from Innovations and Customs”), Shaykh Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi, pp. 103–104, cites:
Al-Suyuti, in al-Amr bi-l-Ittibaʿ wa-n-Nahy ʿan al-Ibtidaʿ (“The Command to Follow and the Prohibition of Innovation”): “Among the reprehensible innovations is the proliferation of mosques within a single district. This fragments the congregation, scatters the worshippers, weakens the bond of unity in worship, diminishes the splendour that comes from large numbers of devotees, multiplies voices and divergent inclinations, and conflicts with the purpose of congregational prayer—namely, uniting voices in the performance of worship and enabling mutual benefit and assistance. It may also harm the original mosque, or nearly so, arise from the love of fame and ostentation, and direct funds to what is unnecessary.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, in Tafsir Surat al-Ikhlas, pp. 172–173, after referring to Masjid al-Dirar, adds: “For this reason the early Muslims disliked praying in anything resembling that mosque and deemed the old mosque superior to the new: the former is less likely to have been built out of harmful intent, whereas the latter may still raise such fears. The antiquity of a mosque is praiseworthy; hence the verses, ‘Then its place of sacrifice is at the Ancient House’ and ‘Indeed, the first House established for mankind was that at Bakkah.’ Its precedence entails frequent acts of worship there, and that abundance further augments its merit.”