بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
17-2-1438
"The building which they built will never cease to be a cause of hypocrisy and doubt in their hearts, unless their hearts are cut to pieces. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
Allah sent the Qur'an, which is the best book, on the best Prophet ﷺ, through the best angel, in the best language. Although the Qur'an has such a high status with Allah, many Muslims have turned away from reciting it, and even if they recite it, they do not understand it, and even if they understand it, do not act on it. Allah says in Surah Al-Furqan [25:30]:
"And the Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) will say: "O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Quran (neither listened to it, nor acted on its laws and orders)."
Abandonment of the Qur'an takes different forms; it could be abandonment of its
-> Recitation
-> Of Understanding it
-> Of Pondering over it
-> Of Acting upon it
We should not stop at understanding its meaning only, we should act upon it and live according to it.
Allah revealed the Qur'an in order to purify our souls. As-Sa'di explained how to purify ones soul in his intepretation of Verse 9 in Ash-Shams:
"Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself"
1) طهر نفسه من الذنوب - By Purifying himself from sin
2) و نقاها من العيوب - Clean himself from defects
3) ورقّاها بطاعة الله - Soften his soul with obedience to Allah
4) و علّاها بالعلم النافع و العمل الصالح - Elevate it with beneficial knowledge and righteous good deeds
"And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself"
Who is the person who دَسَّاهَا?
دَسَّاهَا means to conceal. The person concealed the good and honourable side of his soul, by hiding and suppressing the good voice. Gloves are called دسوس in Arabic because you hide your hand in it.
There are many ways of purifying our souls through the Qur'an; One way is pondering over the events and stories Allah mentioned in the Qur'an and taking lessons from them. Do not try to purify yourself directly from the verse. You should read that event, ponder over it, then go to the Tafseer Books and see what the interpreters said. You will get the conclusion from the statements of the interpreters.
Surah At-Tawbah [9:107-110] Part 2
(From Tafseer As-Sa'di)
Surah at-Tawbah is all about the hypocrites, and one of the derivations of the word زكى is mentioned in it - in Verse 103. We have to purify ourselves from hypocrisy.
Allah then mentions in Verse 107 something the hypocrites did:
"And as for those who put up a mosque by way of harming and disbelief, and to disunite the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) aforetime, they will indeed swear that their intention is nothing but good. Allah bears witness that they are certainly liars."
The hypocrites built a mosque with the intention of:
1) Harming the Believers
2) Practicing their Kufr
3) Disuniting the Muslims
4) As an outpost for fighting Allah and His Messenger ﷺ
We do not know the intentions of people unless Allah reveals it to us. Allah revealed their intention to Muhammed ﷺ. Upon that, the Prophet ﷺ sent his companions to demolish the Masjid, and it ended up as a garbage dump.
From this we learn that whenever we start any activity, it should be with a good intention; with the intention of gathering the Muslims, and not disuniting them.
Verse 108:
"Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure (i.e. who clean their private parts with dust [i.e. to be considered as soap) and water from urine and stools, after answering the call of nature]."
"فيه رجال يحبون أن يتطهروا" - "In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves."
Allah praised the people of Quba for purifying themselves. When you hear that "و الله يحب المطهرين" - "And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure" you should seek the love of Allah by purifying yourself.
What kind of purification is mentioned here? Purification of the body, and that is by performing Wudhoo before Salat, and Ghusl after the major Hadath. Whenever you purify your body, do so hoping to attain Allah's love for that action. Even if you are taking your habitually daily bath, turn it into an act of worship, by intending to take it seeking the love of Allah; because Allah loves those who purify themselves.
Another kind of purification is the purification of the soul from sins, defects, and all bad characteristics.
In Verse 109:
"Is it then he, who laid the foundation of his building on piety to Allah and His Good Pleasure, better, or he who laid the foundation of his building on an undetermined brink of a precipice ready to crumble down, so that it crumbled to pieces with him into the Fire of Hell. And Allah guides not the people who are the Thalimun"
"آفمن أسس بنيانه على تقوى من الله و رضوان خير" - "Is it then he, who laid the foundation of his building on piety to Allah and His Good Pleasure, better"
Allah compared between the two Masajid in this verse, showing preference of one Masjid over the other- and this preference is according to the intention of the builders. They are all houses of Allah, but one Masjid is more superior than another Masjid, based on the intention of the builder of that Masjid.
The Masajid, the places of Da'wah, Islamic institutes, differ in superiority according to the intention of the builders.
What is required from us when we build any mosque, school, centre for Da'wah?
1) "تقوى من الله" - We should fear Allah and have a truthful, sincere intention. Your concern should be to build this place to teach people Tawheed; the rights of Allah.
2) "رضوان" - Seeking the Pleasure of Allah.
When will a deed be pleasing to Allah? When it is according to the Command of Allah and according to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
So we should:
-> Exert our utmost to benefit the Muslims by building the place sincerely and truthfully for Allah.
-> Follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. We have to ask Allah to make it easy to follow the Sunnah. We should not depend on ourselves when performing a good deed; we should ask Allah to help us.
-> You may be sincere and want to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, but ask Allah to subject assistants who are on the correct Manhaj. Do not bring anyone without making sure that these people are following the Qur'an and Sunnah. You want to protect your construction from Bid'ah. If you bring people who are ignorant of the Sunnah, nor honour it, they will have an effect on you.
People may come to you with advice, saying for example, "Let us have a party for new Muslims, to show people we have many converts so that will know about our centre."
The intention here has changed to Riyaa, and you may be driven away by their advice. They do not know this is a kind of Riya or Sum'ah which will ruin the good deeds you did in the past.
Take care of those working for you. Do not be shy when having an interview with those who are working to ask what their Manhaj is. If they are ignorant, teach them what is right, or tell them to learn and then come. It is important to have assistants on the correct Manhaj.
"أم مِّن أَسّسَ بنيانه على شفا جرفٍ هار فانهار به في نار جَهَنَّم" - "or he who laid the foundation of his building on an undetermined brink of a precipice ready to crumble down, so that it crumbled to pieces with him into the Fire of Hell."
We have a construction built on the Taqwa of Allah and His Pleasure, and another construction built on the edge, ready to collapse into the Hellfire. This is the state of the person who has a confused intention. His intention is not clear. He seeks the countenance of Allah but at the same time he is showing off, seeking reputation, etc.
Allah will not accept that deed; He will not accept except what is purely performed for His sake. This activity will go away, like Masjid Ad-Diraar. And it will take the person to Hellfire, according to the verse. Although the person did something good, it did not benefit him; on the contrary, it took him to hellfire.
"و الله لا يهد القوم الظالمين" - "And Allah guides not the people who are the Thalimun"
What type of ظلم did they perform here? With their intention. Instead of it being for Allah's sake only, they turned it to other than Allah. So they put their intention in the wrong place, which is why it is considered الظلم; putting something in its wrong place.
Allah will not guide them to what will benefit them in their worldly affairs, nor in their religious affairs. The places which are built to cause mischief to the Muslims will be of no use nor benefit.
In Verse 110:
As long as that place which was built on a wrong intention exists, it will increase the person in hypocrisy. The faith of that person will diminish so long as that construction is present.
This verse describes the impact of the building on the heart of the builder. They built it with a bad intention, so look at the effect it had on their hearts.
If a person commits a sin and it has a transitive effect (it does not just affect him, others are affected as well), as long as it exists, as it will have an effect on the heart of the builder. It will diminish his faith, and cause him to have doubts. And the description of the hypocrites is that they are always in doubt. This is the effect of the void or false deed of the slave - his heart will increase in doubt, and he will not stay firm.
باطل (Falsehood) is of two categories:
1) Falsehood which a person commits and the effect vanishes.
2) Falsehood which a person commits and the effect remains. This is the more serious kind.
Allah then mentions an exception: "إلا أن تقطع قلوبهم" - "unless their hearts are cut to pieces"
Allah is opening the gate of توبة (Repentance) for these people out of His mercy, as in the past, people may have done deeds in ignorance.
But not just any kind of repentance is mentioned here; it is a special type of repentance, where the person is in severe remorse and regret over what he has done, with such intense hope and fear of Allah, that it is as if his heart is cut in piece. This is the state where Allah will accept the repentance of the person.
"و الله عليم حكيم" - "And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
No one knows about the hearts except Allah; Allah knows if the person is sincerely repenting to Allah for what he had done or said.
Benefits from the Above Verses:
As-Sa'di then mentioned some of the benefits extracted from the aforementioned verses:
١) أن اتخاذ المسجد الذي يقصد به الضرار لمسجد آخر بقربه، أنه محرم، و أنه يجيب هدم مسجد الضرار الذي أطلع على مقصود أصحابه
1) To build a Masjid which causes harm to another Masjid is Haraam and it is a must to demolish that place.
E.g. Someone, out of jealousy, or because a conflict occured between him and the people of that Masjid, builds another Masjid with the intention of turning the people away from that Masjid to his Masjid. If you come to know that this was the intention of the person, the Masjid should be demolished. Of course we should not be hasty to judge people.
٢) أن العمل و إن كان فاضلاً تغيره النية، فينقلب منهياً عنه، كما قلبت نية أصحاب مسجد الضرار عملهم إلى ما ترى
2) A deed, even if it may be virtuous, can be turned into a prohibited deed due to the intention - as was the case with Masjid Ad-Dirar.
If your intention is wrong, it will spoil your good deed.So before you take an action you need to take account of yourself - ask yourself many times, by making Istikharah, consulting good people, etc. Do not hasten to anything as soon as any idea comes to your mind. You need to wait, think, and make dua. Wanting to do good because everyone else is doing it is not a good intention.
E.g. Everyone is memorizing and competing to have a Sanad when memorizing the Qur'an. Check your intention, why do you want to have it? Be truthful with yourself. Do not do anything just because everyone else is doing it.
Not every apparent good deed means that the intention of the person is good.
No one can judge the matter except Allah, and you (for yourself). So be truthful to Allah. It is better to be truthful to yourself now and repent to Allah now.
٣) أن كل حالة يحصل بها التفريق بين المؤمنين، فإنها من المعاصي التي يتعين تركها و إزالتها
3) Anything that becomes a cause of seperation or sowing discord among Muslims is considered a sin which one should abandon.
This is because Allah forbade the Prophet ﷺ from praying in Masjid Ad-Dirar because it caused dissension.
We should perform and encourage others to perform deeds which cause unity of the Muslims and strengthens love between them. Before you do a good deed, ask yourself if it will cause seperation of the Muslims or unity.
٣) النهي عن الصلاة في أماكن المعصية، و البعد عنها، و عن قربها
3) The prohibiton of praying in places in which disobedience to Allah is practiced. One should stay away from these places and not come close to them.
This is because Allah forbade the Prophet ﷺ from praying in Masjid Ad-Dirar. Generally, places of disobedience of Allah are not proper to obey and worship Allah in.
E.g. Places where people drink wine, churches, temples, places where people are dancing and singing, etc.
There are people who travel to non-Muslim countries and pray in these places; and this is forbidden.
٤) أن المعصية تؤثر في البقاع، كما أثرت معصية المنافقين في مسجد الضرار، و نهي عن القيام فيه. و كذالك الطاعة تؤثر في الأماكن كما أثرت في مسجد قباء
4) Sins have an effect on places, just as the sins of the hypocrites affected Masjid Ad-Dirar and caused the prohibiton of standing in it for prayer. Similarly, obedience has an effect on places, as it had an effect on Masjid Quba.
و لهاذا كان لمسجد قباء من الفضل ما ليس لغيره حتى كان ﷺ يزور قباء كل سبت، يصلى فيه
And it was for this that Masjid Quba has merit which does not exist anywhere else. The Prophet ﷺ would visit it every Saturday and pray in it.
And praying in Masjid Quba gets you the reward of performing Umrah. This Masjid was built 1400 years ago, and look, the Barakah of that Masjid continues until now.
Based on this point, the Scholars said that the reward of praying in an old Masajid is better than in a new Masajid, because a place becomes more virtuous due to the greater number of acts of obedience that was practiced in that place. Obedience elevates and increases its value.
So, if you want your house to be a blessed house, what should you do? You should always practice obedience to Allah, offer voluntary prayers, recite Qur'an, avoid sins, films, music. The more you avoid these and increase in acts of worship, the more blessed the house will be.
When you entertain guests and raise your children upon Islamic values and what is pleasing to Allah, your house will be a blessed house. Your obedience to Allah will affect the house you are living in. And the breasts of the people of that house will be opened because of that. Anyone who enters that house will feel like his heart is opened. If there is disobedience of Allah practiced in a house, it will cause hearts to be constricted, and lots of conflicts and disagreements. Sins have an effect on places.
Even if the owners of the house are praying and fasting, but commit sins, there will still be an effect on their house. Therefore, if you find constriction in your heart or problems, ask Allah to forgive you. You do not know, maybe the sins you committed might be affecting your house. Do not say Shayateen; accuse yourself first. We are the ones committing sins.
But who feels his heart becoming constricted or being opened? No one feels that except the sincere and truthful believer, whose faith is high. He is very sensitive to sins; he feels it immediately. We need to increase our faith.
أنه يستفاد من هذه التعاليل المذكورة في الآية أربع قواعد مهمة و هي:
Based on the aforementioned, four important rulings are concluded:
١) كل عمل فيه مضارة لمسلم أو فيه معصية الله فإن المعاصي من فروع الكفر، أو فيه تفريق بين المؤمنين أو فيه معاونة لمن عادى الله ورسوله فإنه محرم ممنوع منه و عكسه بعكسه
1) Any deed which:
a) consists of harm to the Muslims
b) includes disobedience to Allah
c) sows discord among the believers
d) or includes a help for those who oppose Allah and His Messenger
is a haraam, forbidden action.
And the opposite is true as well;- any deed which helps the Muslims and causes unity is recommended.
In this verse Allah mentions Masjid Ad-Dirar, but it is applicable to any deed or action.
E.g. Those who drive recklessly on the streets. They do not care about the lives of others and may cause accidents. These people are causing harm to other people, and this is forbidden.
٢) أن الأعمال الحسية الناشئة عن معصية الله لا تزال مبعدة لفاعلها عن الله بمنزلته الإصرار على المعصية حتى يزيلها و يتوب منها توبة تامة بحيث ينقطع قلبه من الندم و الحسرات
2) The tangible/transitive action of disobedience to Allah will not stop making its doer farther away from Allah according to the level he persists in it until (its effects) go away and he repents to Allah from it a complete repentance, so that it as if his heart is being cut out of his extreme remorse and regret.
The transitive sin, as long as its tangible effect still is there, will cause the person to increase in doubt and diminish his faith. Whether you built something on a wrong intention, or persist in sin, it will have an effect on your faith, unless you have remorse and repent sincerely and truthfully to Allah, and quit that sin immediately, or demolish that matter.
E.g. There were people who acted in films or had their songs broadcasted over the world, then repented. Or people who sent messages, uploaded pictures, and audios. So long as it remains, it will have a bad effect on their hearts and diminish their faith.
What should they do? Their repentance should be accompanied with destroying everything they did in the past, if they are able. But there are things which are not in their hands anymore, so in this case they need to truly cry to Allah, as if their heart is being cut into pieces. And Allah is عليم حكيم; He knows what is in their hearts and may Forgive them.
And it is a must on the Muslim Community to help these people pay and get back the films and songs they made. We should help people on repentance, in order that evil people will not use this to blackmail them. We should demolish and destroy these matters.
E.g. Someone built a company with people who deal with usury. He quit that company and asked his partners to shut down that company, but they wanted to continue in their dealings. What should he do? He should stay away, repent to Allah, and try buy his share from them.
This is for one who did something in the past and was ignorant. We should help them on repentance to Allah. Allah will not overburden a person beyond his scope; if you want to repent and cannot do anything, Allah will help you.
E.g. In the past, women took pictures without hijab. You do not know whose hands the pictures will fall into after your death. You should destroy these pictures, and take them from everyone who has them. There may be people who refuse to, so you should repent to Allah, and know that this is a test for your faith. Are you truly quitting the sin? From time to time, someone must send you your picture without Hijab, and mobiles are insecure; anyone can take these pictures and expose them to anyone. Do not think this verse is only applicable to those who build a mosque. We should purify our souls from whatever sins we did in the past ignorantly.
It is advisable to talk to those who own these traces of sins. One should do as much as they can to rectify the sin, even if it means paying to get them back.
٣) أنه إذا كان المسجد قباء مسجداً أسس على التقوى فمسجد النبي ﷺ الذي أسسه بيده المباركة و عمل فيه و اختاره الله له من باب أولى و أحرى
3) If Masjid Quba was founded on piety, then what about the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ which he built with his blessed hand?
The reward of offering a prayer in it is more rewarding than in Quba. This is the effect of piety on the places and Masajid.
٤) أن العمل المبني على الإخلاص و المتابعة هو العمل المؤسس على التقوى، الموصل لعامله إلى الجنة النعيم
4) Any action based on sincerity and following the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is an action based on Taqwa (piety) and will lead the person to Paradise in the end.
An action which is built on Bid'ah or ill intentions is the action which will be on the edge which will fall and crumble into Hellfire. This means that any deed based on sincerity and following the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ will remain after your death, and any deed not based on it, will not be beneficial to you after your death nor will it have any good traces in your heart while you are alive. And on the Day of Judgement it will cause you to go to the Hellfire.
Think of what you have done in the past which is similar to Masjid Ad-Dirar and repent to Allah for it.
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