In this ḥadith and the one that precedes it we find a clear disapproval of embellishing the mosques—covering them with ornamental patterns, red and yellow paint, or anything else that distracts the worshipper and diverts him from khushūʿ (devout concentration), which, as al-Sanʿānī observes, is the very soul of the body of worship. Beyond that, such decoration is an outright waste of wealth that brings no benefit to the mosque itself. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—explicitly forbade idle gossip, excessive questioning, and the squandering of money. The sole purpose of building mosques is to shelter people from heat and cold, as ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—stated before; adorning them has nothing to do with that aim. Hence ʿUmar warned, “Beware of coloring them red or yellow.”

Ibn Baṭṭāl said:
“It seems ʿUmar derived this ruling from the Prophet’s returning of the striped cloak (khamiṣah) to Abū Jahm because of the markings on it; the Prophet said, ‘It distracted me from my prayer.’”

Al-Ḥāfiẓ added:
“It is also possible that ʿUmar possessed specific knowledge on this very issue.”

He then cited the previously mentioned ḥadith traced back to ʿUmar with the wording:
“Whenever a people’s deeds become corrupt, they adorn their mosques.”

Al-Bukhārī, Abū Dāwūd, Aḥmad, and—reporting from him—al-Bayhaqī relate from Ibn ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with them both:
“During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—the mosque was built of adobe, its roof was palm-frond stalks, and its columns were palm-trunks. Abū Bakr added nothing to it. ʿUmar expanded it, rebuilding it exactly as it had been in the Prophet’s time, with adobe and palm-fronds, and he replaced its columns with timber. Later, he—i.e., ʿUthmān—altered it further.”