O Abu Hurayrah, for the only real life is the life of the Hereafter.’”
Al-Haythami remarks in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: “Ahmad narrated it, and its transmitters are those relied upon by the two Ṣaḥīḥs.” This blanket statement, however, is not accurate, for this Ibn ʿAbd Allāh—whose name is al-Muṭṭalib—does not appear in either al-Bukhārī’s or Muslim’s Ṣaḥīḥ. Al-Bukhārī cites him only once in his booklet on Qurʾānic recitation. Although he is reliable, he is known for frequent tadlīs (obscuring the immediate source) and for omitting links. The remaining narrators are trustworthy transmitters found in the six canonical collections.
When constructing a mosque, several points should be observed:
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The workmanship must be sound and the building executed well, for the Prophet ﷺ used to order us to build mosques in our dwellings and to improve their workmanship. This directive is transmitted in a ḥadith from one of the Companions with a fair chain; in some reports he is named as Samurah ibn Jundub, as mentioned earlier with its documentation.
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One should not raise the structure to imposing heights, because the Prophet ﷺ said, “I have not been commanded to erect monumental mosques.” This ḥadith is traced back to Ibn ʿAbbās. Its complete wording, as Ibn ʿAbbās related, is: “You will certainly adorn them just as the Jews and Christians adorned theirs.” It was recorded by Abū Dāwūd and likewise transmitted by Ibn Ḥazm and al-Bayhaqī.