(13) The word masajid can mean: 1) the places of prostration, that is, the sites set aside for prayer. These are the dearest spots to Allah, and we are urged to build and equip them. The Prophet said: “Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, even the size of a sand-grouse’s nest or smaller, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.” Allah also says: “The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day” (al-Tawbah 9:18). Such “maintenance” includes both the material aspect—constructing them with brick and furnishing them so they give shelter from heat and cold—and the spiritual aspect—filling them with acts of worship such as prayer, recitation of the Quran and the remembrance of Allah. 2) Masajid may also refer to the seven body parts that touch the ground in prostration: the forehead, nose, two hands, two knees and the toes of both feet, for they all prostrate to Allah. In the verse “and that the masajid belong to Allah” (al-Jinn 72:18), both meanings are encompassed: the places where one prays and the bodily limbs used in prostration belong to Allah alone.