Renovation and Expansion of Masjid Nabawi ﷺ
The blessed mosque of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (Masjid al-Nabawi) during his blessed era was built with bricks, with a roof made of palm branches and leaves. The pillars were also made from palm trunks. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه did not make any additions to it.
Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه made some expansions, but he constructed it according to the original design of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, using bricks and palm leaves or branches, and pillars made from palm trunks.
Then Hazrat Uthman رضي الله عنه greatly expanded it, building its walls with carved stones and lime, and its pillars also from carved stones. He had the roof made from teak wood. These words are from the hadith of Hazrat Ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما recorded in Sahih Bukhari
. Similarly, it is narrated from Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri رضي الله عنه.
Regarding Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه, it is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari that when he renovated and expanded Masjid al-Nabawi, he said:
أكن الناس من المطر
I protect people from the rain.
إياك أن تحمر وتصفر فتفتن الناس
Beware of painting the mosque red or yellow; it will be a cause of discord among the people.
Imagine that during the blessed era of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, when the wealth of the entire world was at his feet, and if he wished, he could have built the most magnificent mosque. Yet, he had the mosque built with mud bricks and palm trunks and leaves. Hazrat Siddiq رضي الله عنه did not make any significant changes to it.
Then, when the era of Caliph Farooq رضي الله عنه came, due to the decay of the palm leaves and trunks and the increase in the number of Muslims, the need for renovation and expansion of Masjid al-Nabawi was felt. Despite countless victories and the wealth coming from distant lands, Hazrat Farooq رضي الله عنه also had the mosque built with the same materials that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had used.
If he wished, with the wealth of the entire world at his feet, he could have built such a magnificent mosque that the world would have seen. But not only did he not do that, he strictly forbade the architect from using red or yellow paint so that such colors and decorations would not become a cause of discord among the people. That is, so that attention during prayer would not be distracted, and they would not disturb the concentration and humility in prayer. The commentator of Bukhari, Ibn Battal رحمه الله, said that Hazrat Umar Farooq رضي الله عنه seemed to have returned the striped or spotted cloak of Abu Jahl to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and said:
إنها ألهتني عن صلاتي
It distracted me from my prayer.
From this, Hazrat Farooq رضي الله عنه understood that it was necessary to keep the mosque free from decorations and colorful patterns, which is why he had such a mosque built and gave such instructions to the architect.
And Hafiz Ibn Hajar رحمه الله says:
It is also possible that Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه had some special knowledge related to this matter.
Accordingly, in Sunan Ibn Majah, it is narrated from Amr bin Maymun from the Commander of the Faithful Hazrat Umar Farooq رضي الله عنه in a marfu’ narration:
ما ساء عمل قوم قط إلا زخرفوا مساجدهم
When a people begin to commit evil deeds, they start decorating their mosques.
All narrators of this hadith are trustworthy except Jabbarah bin Mughlis, about whom hadith scholars have spoken critically.
Anyway, when the era of Hazrat Uthman رضي الله عنه came, there was still a lot of money in the treasury. So he also expanded and renovated the mosque, and changed some of the materials used in the construction compared to before. For example, previously the walls were made of mud bricks, but he had them built with carved stones. Also, the pillars of the mosque were previously made from palm trunks; Hazrat Uthman رضي الله عنه had them made from carved stones. Previously, the roof of Masjid al-Nabawi was also made of palm branches or leaves, but Hazrat Uthman رضي الله عنه had the roof made from teak wood found in India, as mentioned in Sahih Bukhari. Apparently, this was not an unnecessary embellishment or extravagant decoration, but there was a clear difference compared to before.
And since this introduced some element of adornment instead of the prophetic style of simplicity, it was somewhat displeasing to the noble spirits of the Companions رضي الله عنهم and the Tabi‘in رحمهم الله, and they criticized this renovation and expansion and did not view it favorably. According to the research of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in
, most of the Companions and Tabi‘in did not agree with the expansion and renovation by Hazrat Uthman رضي الله عنه.
Similarly, in Fath al-Bari, mention is made of the disapproval of some Companions رضي الله عنهم
and explicitly on the same volume
, with the honorable name of Hazrat Ka‘b al-Ahbar رضي الله عنه specifically mentioned. This shows that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Rightly Guided Caliphs رضي الله عنهم, and the general Companions رضي الله عنهم preferred simplicity in the construction of mosques just as in their daily lives, and they disliked embellishment of mosques. The adornment of mosques began in the later period of the Companions رضي الله عنهم, and the first to introduce decoration and ornamentation in mosques was Walid bin Abdul Malik. Due to fear of discord, most scholars remained silent.
Departure and Ceremony
And some scholars have permitted the decoration and adornment of mosques, among whom is Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him. However, he also imposed these conditions for it:
Firstly: It should not be for pride, boasting, or display, but this act should be done purely out of respect and reverence for the mosque.
Secondly: The wealth for decorating and adorning the mosque should not be spent from the Muslims’ public treasury (which is meant for essential needs), rather it should be spent from one’s own personal money. This is also the opinion of the esteemed Imam, as stated by a commentator of Bukhari, “Al-Badr Ibn Al-Munir.” He says:
لما شيد الناس بيوتهم وزخرفوها ناسب أن يفعل ذلك بالمساجد صونا لها عن الاستهانة
When people built tall houses for themselves and decorated them, it is now appropriate to do the same with mosques so that their dignity and respect are not diminished.
And a fatwa with exactly the same meaning and content also came to our attention, which was published a few months ago in a religious newspaper. The fatwa writer was probably Maulana Hafiz Abdul Sattar Al-Hammad.
While quoting Ibn Al-Munir’s statement, the commentator of Bukhari, Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, followed up, which can also be considered a follow-up to Hafiz Al-Hammad. In it, the author of Fath al-Bari writes:
إن المنع إن كان للحق على اتباع السلف فى ترك الرفاهية، فهو كما قال، وإن كان لخشية شغل بال المصلي بالزخرفة فلا لبقاء العلة
If the reason for prohibiting designs and decorations in mosques was to follow the abandonment of luxury by the pious predecessors (Salaf al-Salih), then it is as the author said. But if the reason was that these distract the worshipper’s attention, then their statement is not correct because this reason still exists today.
And if one thinks a little more deeply, then following the author of Fath al-Bari, both reasons mentioned — following the abandonment of luxury by the pious predecessors and the distraction of the worshipper by designs and decorations in mosques — can be used to determine that the prohibition of floral and other designs was not merely to follow the abandonment of luxury by the pious predecessors, but in fact it was for the other reason that these distract the worshipper’s attention and affect humility and concentration. These are things of special importance for prayer. Indeed, prayer without humility has been described as “a body without a soul.”
“A prayer in which there is no humility and concentration is like a lifeless and soulless corpse.”
And for the second reason for this prohibition, evidence can be drawn from the hadiths we mentioned in previous pages, among which are:
➊ One in which the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, ordered Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, to remove the curtain after prayer.
➋ According to another narration, he himself pulled it down.
➌ The third hadith mentions the Prophet returning Abu Jahm’s cloak, which had floral or striped patterns, saying that it distracted him during prayer.
From these three hadiths, especially the one mentioning that the images of that curtain kept appearing before him during prayer, it can be inferred that this prohibition is to prevent distraction during prayer, not merely to follow the abandonment of luxury by the pious predecessors.
The evidences for prohibiting embellishment or designs in mosques have been mentioned. This is also the stronger and more correct opinion. Those who permit it have also presented some arguments, but they are quite weak.
Even Imam Shawkani said about their arguments in “Nayl al-Awtar” that such arguments might work in a livestock market but are of no use in the field of knowledge.
Since their position is like this, why prolong the discussion by mentioning them? However, one thing that needs to be said here, which creates some agreement and harmony between both the opponents and proponents, is that one may build as large a mosque as needed without making it a means of pride or boasting. They may also make it beautiful in the style of modern architecture so that these mosques do not seem inferior compared to large and well-built buildings.
However, their mihrabs or walls should be painted in only one color, which should be white or cream, and no floral or vine patterns should be made anywhere on them or on the ceilings. Instead, they should remain simple without gilding or floral work. In this way, the mosque will be beautiful, simple, and also outside the limits of prohibition. Regarding this, we are satisfied with the mosques in those Gulf countries. كثر الله امثالها فى بلادنا .. آمين
