Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates this statement of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: "Whoever makes the mosque his home for performing prayer or for the remembrance of Allah (i.e., he stays there), then Allah is as pleased with that person as the family of a person who was absent is pleased upon his return." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) When the Arabs intend to describe a quality by way of analogy between two different things, they use both together with the word of either one of them, even though in reality their meanings are different from each other. As Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: In the blessed era of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, our food consisted of two black things: dates and water. Here, he used the word for one of them for both, even though they are two things. And this is just as it is said: "equal to these two ages," so here, by using the word of one of the two, both are meant. So, Allah's being pleased with a servant because he has fixed his place in the mosque for prayer and goodness means that Allah looks towards him with His kindness, mercy, and love, which is due to his action. Its example is like the statement of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, which he narrated as the statement of Allah: "Whoever comes near to Me by a handspan, I come near to him by an arm's length." This means that whoever attains My closeness by a handspan through obedience and goodness, then I come near to him by an arm's length with kindness and mercy. There are many such examples, which we will soon mention in the chapter related to its specific place, if Allah makes it easy and facilitates it.