Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 107

(Ayah 107) {وَ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّخَذُوْا مَسْجِدًا ضِرَارًا …: } This mentions another vile act of the hypocrites: that they could not find a suitable place to gather and keep their secrets hidden in order to devise plans and conspiracies against Islam and the Muslims, so they built a mosque right next to Masjid Quba. Allah Almighty has stated four objectives for building this mosque. All four objectives are mentioned with the word of the infinitive: (1) {’’ ضِرَارًا ‘‘} That is, this mosque is not for the worship of Allah Almighty but to harm and cause distress to the believers. (2) {’’ وَ كُفْرًا ‘‘} The foundation of mosques is on faith in Allah and His Messenger and to call upon Allah alone, as He said: «{ وَ اَنَّ الْمَسٰجِدَ لِلّٰهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوْا مَعَ اللّٰهِ اَحَدًا }» [ الجن : ۱۸ ] but its foundation is the hidden disbelief and polytheism in their hearts and its propagation against Allah Almighty and His Messenger. (3) {’’ وَ تَفْرِيْقًۢا بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ ‘‘} Building a mosque right next to Masjid Quba, when it already existed, clearly meant to tear apart the unity of the Muslims so that they would not pray together in one place, because the hypocrites were extremely envious of the mutual love, harmony, and unity of the Muslims due to Islam. (4) {’’ وَ اِرْصَادًا لِّمَنْ حَارَبَ اللّٰهَ وَ رَسُوْلَهٗ ‘‘} To provide a hiding place under the cover of a mosque for those who previously opposed Allah and His Messenger and fought against them, especially the hypocrites and those who had fled from Madinah and, while living under the protection of the enemies, were conspiring against Islam, and for the men sent by them. Historians have especially mentioned here Abu Amir the Monk (whom the Muslims had named Abu Amir the Transgressor), who was the father of the famous companion Hanzalah Ghaseel al-Malaikah, and who became a Christian and went to Heraclius to seek help against the Muslims. On his suggestion, this mosque was built as an ambush and hiding place for those coming to fight the Muslims.

The hypocrites made the excuse of building the mosque to remove suspicion from the hearts of the Muslims, saying that they had built it for the convenience of the sick and weak, so that they could pray there comfortably in cold and rain, and at the same time, they came to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and requested that he come and pray there, so that they could receive blessings. Their desire was that by his praying there, our mosque would be accepted and we could continue our activities. At that time, he was setting out for Tabuk, so he said that if Allah wills, on my return I will come and pray in your mosque. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from Tabuk and was very close to Madinah, Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended with these verses, in which the reality of this Masjid Dhirar was exposed, and it was also stated that these people will surely swear that their intention in building this mosque was nothing but good, whereas Allah Almighty bears witness that without a doubt, these people are certainly liars.

17. 1 This describes another extremely vile act of the hypocrites: they built a mosque and convinced the Prophet that, due to rain, cold, and similar circumstances, it is difficult for the sick and weak to travel far, so they built this mosque for their convenience. They requested that you pray there so that they may receive blessings. At that time, you ﷺ were prepared to depart for Tabuk, so you promised to pray there upon your return. However, upon your return, through revelation, Allah exposed the true intentions of the hypocrites: that they wanted to harm the Muslims, spread disbelief, create division among the Muslims, and provide a hiding place for the enemies of Allah and His Messenger.

17. 2 That is, by swearing false oaths, they wanted to deceive the Prophet, but Allah protected you ﷺ from their deceit and treachery, and declared that their intentions are not sincere and that what they are displaying is false.

107. And there are those who built a mosque to cause harm, promote disbelief, create division among the believers, and as an outpost for those who had previously fought against Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. They swear, "We intended nothing but good," but Allah bears witness that they are surely liars.

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The Role of Abu Amir the Monk and the Mosque of Dhirar:

The Mosque of Dhirar was built by the hypocrites of Madinah, and the central figure in its construction was Abu Amir the Monk. This man belonged to the Khazraj tribe of the Ansar. He was a Christian scholar who had adopted the way of asceticism, and among the common people, he had a good reputation for his asceticism. Especially the Khazraj tribe greatly revered his piety and asceticism. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived in Madinah, just as the hypocrite Abdullah bin Ubayy considered you ﷺ his political rival and adopted a hypocritical attitude of enmity towards Islam, Abu Amir considered you his spiritual rival and chose the path of enmity against you ﷺ. Because after your ﷺ arrival, people's attention shifted from Abu Amir to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. At first, this man waited, thinking that the Quraysh of Makkah would be enough to deal with this man and his companions. But when the Quraysh of Makkah suffered a humiliating defeat at Badr, his hidden enmity against Islam and the Prophet of Islam flared up. Later, he used his influence to start preaching against Islam among the Arab tribes. In all the battles that took place after the Battle of Badr, such as the Battle of Uhud, the Battle of Khandaq, and the Battle of Hunayn, he himself participated and played a very effective role in inciting the disbelievers to war. If any conspiracy against Islam was prepared by the disbelievers or hypocrites, he was certainly involved in it.

The Purpose of Building the Mosque of Dhirar:

When the disbelievers were defeated at Hunayn, he realized that now there was no power left in Arabia that could crush Islam and the Muslims. Therefore, he devised a plan to bring the Caesar of Rome against the Muslims through his religious connections. The hypocrites of Madinah were his confidants and helpers in all such matters. When he was about to set out for Rome for this purpose, he told the hypocrites to immediately build a mosque where we could gather for consultation, and if I or my envoy came, he could stay there in peace. And since such vile conspiracies could only be hidden under the guise of religious sanctity, it was considered necessary to build a mosque for such purposes.

The Purpose Told to the Muslims and the Request for Inauguration from You:

Thus, a third mosque began to be built between Masjid Quba and Masjid Nabawi, closer to Quba, and the need for it was explained as follows: many among us are weak and frail, who cannot reach Masjid Quba during the rainy and cold seasons, and also, Masjid Quba is cramped for space, so this mosque is being built for the convenience of the worshippers. After the construction of the mosque, these people came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and requested that you come there and, as an inauguration, lead two units of prayer. The purpose of the hypocrites in this was only to deceive the Muslims and to remove the dangers of suspicion and doubt from their conspiracies. You ﷺ replied, "At this time, I am going out for jihad. Upon my return, I will go and lead two units of prayer."

The Consultation of the Hypocrites:

When you ﷺ set out for the Battle of Tabuk, the hypocrites who stayed behind began to rejoice, certain that now the Muslims would not be able to return safely, and the armies of Caesar of Rome would crush the Muslims. Therefore, they sat in this mosque and consulted that as soon as news of the Muslims' defeat arrived, the royal crown would be placed on the head of Abdullah bin Ubayy the hypocrite, and he would be accepted as their king.

The Results of the Battle of Tabuk:

But contrary to the expectations of these hypocrites, Allah had decreed something else. What happened was that when you ﷺ reached Tabuk, the king of Ghassan did not dare to confront you, and there were two reasons for this. One was that the king of Ghassan had already witnessed the faith-driven courage of the Muslims in the Battle of Mu'tah, where his army of one hundred thousand could not overpower three thousand mujahideen, and Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid ؓ had confronted them so fiercely. In this battle, the number of Muslim mujahideen was twenty thousand. The second reason was that he was expecting further reinforcements from Caesar of Rome. But when Caesar of Rome heard about the Prophet of Islam from Abu Sufyan in his full court, he was so impressed by your ﷺ truthfulness that he was ready to accept Islam, but seeing the attitude of his ministers and advisors, he did not dare to announce his acceptance of Islam. In this situation, Caesar of Rome refused to send reinforcements to the king of Ghassan. Thus, the morale of the army of Ghassan was broken, and they did not dare to confront the Muslims. You ﷺ stayed in Tabuk for twenty days, waiting for them. The purpose of this stay was, firstly, to instill awe in the enemy, and secondly, many Arab tribes who were previously tributaries of Caesar of Rome broke away from him and came under the authority of the Islamic state. In this way, Allah Almighty blessed the Muslims with many of His favors.

The Demolition of the Mosque of Dhirar:

On the return journey from Tabuk, when you ﷺ reached near Dhu Awan, close to Madinah, Allah Almighty informed you of the purpose and intent behind the construction of the Mosque of Dhirar and the vile conspiracies of the hypocrites, and commanded that you must not lead the inaugural prayer in that mosque. Accordingly, you ﷺ, from there, ordered two Companions, Malik bin Khashm and Ma'n bin 'Adi, to go immediately and set fire to that mosque. They immediately complied with your ﷺ command, and before your ﷺ arrival in Madinah, that mosque was reduced to dust. In this verse, "those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger" refers to that central figure, Abu Amir the Fasiq.