Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book On The Mosques And The Congregations
كتاب المساجد والجماعات
Chapter 1
مَنْ بَنَى لِلَّهِ مَسْجِدًا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Yunus ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Layth ibn Sa'd narrated to us. (A second route:) Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Dawud ibn 'Abdullah al-Ja'fari narrated to us, from 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Muhammad. Both routes converge through Yazid ibn 'Abdullah ibn Usamah ibn al-Had, from al-Walid ibn Abi al-Walid, from 'Uthman ibn 'Abdullah ibn Suraqah al-'Adawi, from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Whoever builds a mosque in which Allah's name is mentioned, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The two transmission lines converge at Yazid ibn 'Abdullah ibn Usamah ibn al-Had.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Abu Bakr al-Hanafi narrated to us: 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja'far narrated to us, from his father, from Mahmud ibn Labid, from 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build its like for him in Paradise.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-'Abbas ibn 'Uthman al-Dimashqi narrated to us: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, from Ibn Lahi'ah: Abu al-Aswad narrated to me, from 'Urwah, from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever builds a mosque for Allah with his own wealth, Allah will build a house for him in Paradise.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yunus ibn 'Abd al-A'la narrated to us: 'Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us, from Ibrahim ibn Nashit, from 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Husayn al-Nawfali, from 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah, from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whoever builds a mosque for Allah as small as a sandgrouse's nest, or smaller, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source compares the mosque to a qaṭā bird's nesting hollow (مَفْحَصِ قَطَاةٍ); ‘sandgrouse’ is a tentative identification of the bird.
كَمَفْحَصِ قَطَاةٍ
The rare bird name and the precise referent of its nesting place may require specialist confirmation.
Is ‘sandgrouse's nesting hollow’ the appropriate rendering of this comparison?
Chapter 2
تَشْيِيدِ الْمَسَاجِدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abdullah ibn Mu'awiyah al-Jumahi narrated to us: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The Hour will not come until people vie with one another in boasting about the mosques.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Jubarah ibn al-Mughallis narrated to us: 'Abd al-Karim ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Bajali narrated to us, from Layth, from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn 'Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘I can see that after I am gone, you will adorn your mosques as the Jews adorned their synagogues and the Christians adorned their churches.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The verb تشرفون can convey embellishing or making structures prominent; ‘adorn’ is used in parallel for the mosques, synagogues, and churches.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Jubarah ibn al-Mughallis narrated to us: 'Abd al-Karim ibn 'Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from 'Amr ibn Maymun, from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Whenever a people's deeds become bad, they adorn their mosques.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The verb زَخْرَفُوا refers to embellishing or ornamenting the mosques.
Chapter 3
أَيْنَ يَجُوزُ بِنَاءُ الْمَسَاجِدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Waki' narrated to us, from Hammad ibn Salamah, from Abu al-Tayyah al-Duba'i, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The site of the Prophet's mosque (peace and blessings be upon him) belonged to Banu al-Najjar. It contained date palms and graves of polytheists. The Prophet said to them, ‘Set a price for it with me.’ They said, ‘We will never take payment for it.’ The Prophet began building it, and they handed him the materials while he said: ‘Indeed, the true life is the life of the Hereafter. So forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants.’ Anas said: Before the mosque was built, the Prophet used to pray wherever the prayer time found him.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The request ثَامِنُونِي بِهِ is rendered as asking them to agree a price for the land; they refuse any payment. The closing sentence is Anas's narration.
ثَامِنُونِي بِهِ
The verb is a form related to valuing/pricing; a more idiomatic sense may be ‘name your price’ or ‘set a price with me.’
Which English wording best conveys this request to agree the land's price?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us: Abu Hammam al-Dallal narrated to us: Sa'id ibn al-Sa'ib narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Iyad, from 'Uthman ibn Abi al-'As, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to build the mosque of al-Ta'if at the site where their idol had stood.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source calls the idol their taghut; rendered contextually as ‘idol’.
حَيْثُ كَانَ طَاغِيَتُهُمْ
The term طاغية can refer to an idol or object of worship here.
Should the source's term be transliterated as taghut or rendered ‘idol’ in this context?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us: 'Amr ibn 'Uthman narrated to us: Musa ibn A'yan narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Ishaq narrated to us, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar. He was asked about courtyards where dung is thrown, and said: ‘If they have been watered several times, then pray in them.’ He traced this report back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source specifies watering the courtyards repeatedly before praying there; the exact number or purpose of the waterings is not elaborated.
عَنِ الْحِيطَانِ، تُلْقَى فِيهَا الْعَذِرَاتُ
The setting and the kind of waste described by العذرات may need contextual review.
Does الحيطان refer to courtyards or enclosed plots in this report?
Chapter 4
الْمَوَاضِعِ الَّتِي تُكْرَهُ فِيهَا الصَّلاَةُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us: Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from 'Amr ibn Yahya, from his father. Hammad ibn Salamah also narrated from 'Amr ibn Yahya, from his father, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The whole earth is a mosque, except for the cemetery and the bathhouse.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives two routes, the second of which names Abu Sa'id al-Khudri before the report.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Dimashqi narrated to us: 'Abdullah ibn Yazid narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Ayyub, from Zayd ibn Jubayrah, from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade praying in seven places: the refuse dump, the slaughterhouse, the cemetery, the middle of the road, the bathhouse, the camel resting places, and above the Ka'bah.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source lists seven locations, including ‘above the Ka'bah’ literally.
وَفَوْقَ الْكَعْبَةِ
The phrase is unusual and is translated literally; the precise spatial/legal context may need specialist review.
Should ‘above the Ka'bah’ be understood literally in this list of prayer locations?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Dawud and Muhammad ibn Abi al-Husayn narrated to us; they said: Abu Salih narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated to me: Nafi' narrated to me, from Ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There are seven places in which prayer is not valid: the roof of the House of Allah, the cemetery, the refuse dump, the slaughterhouse, the bathhouse, the camel resting place, and the main thoroughfare.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic list orders the roof of the House of Allah first and describes the road as its main/central passage.
ظَاهِرُ بَيْتِ اللَّهِ
The phrase literally denotes the exterior/upper part of the House of Allah; its exact architectural referent should be checked.
Does ظَاهِرُ بَيْتِ اللَّهِ here mean the roof or exterior of the Ka'bah?
Chapter 5
مَا يُكْرَهُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yahya ibn 'Uthman ibn Sa'id ibn Kathir ibn Dinar al-Himsi narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Humayr narrated to us: Zayd ibn Jubayrah al-Ansari narrated to us, from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘There are matters that should not be done in the mosque: it should not be used as a thoroughfare; weapons should not be displayed there; a bow should not be drawn there; arrows should not be spread there; raw meat should not be carried through it; legal punishments should not be administered there; no one should be subjected to retaliation there; and it should not be used as a marketplace.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source lists eight prohibitions concerning conduct in the mosque.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abdullah ibn Sa'id al-Kindi narrated to us: Abu Khalid al-Ahmar narrated to us, from Ibn 'Ajlan, from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade buying and selling and the recitation of poetry in mosques.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source uses تناشد الأشعار, referring to people reciting/repeating poetry to one another.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Sulami narrated to us: Muslim ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Al-Harith ibn Nabhan narrated to us: 'Utbah ibn Yaqzan narrated to us, from Abu Sa'id, from Makhul, from Wathilah ibn al-Asqa', that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Keep children, the mentally ill, and your wicked people away from your mosques, as well as buying and selling, disputes, raised voices, carrying out legal punishments, and unsheathing swords. Place facilities for purification at their entrances and fumigate them on Fridays.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report lists multiple sources of disruption and then gives directions concerning purification facilities and fumigation of mosques on Fridays.
صِبْيَانَكُمْ وَمَجَانِينَكُمْ وَشِرَارَكُمْ
The text's broad labels may carry a context-specific meaning; ‘mentally ill’ is an interpretive rendering of مجانين.
How narrowly or literally should these categories be rendered in context?
Chapter 6
النَّوْمِ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ishaq ibn Mansur narrated to us: 'Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us: 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Umar informed us, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we used to sleep in the mosque.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Al-Hasan ibn Musa narrated to us: Shayban ibn 'Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, that 'Ayish ibn Qays ibn Tikhfah related to him from his father—who was one of the People of the Bench. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us, ‘Come along.’ We went to the house of 'A'ishah, ate and drank, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us, ‘If you wish, you may sleep here; or, if you wish, you may go to the mosque.’ We said, ‘Rather, we will go to the mosque.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator's father is identified as one of Ahl al-Suffah, the People of the Bench.
Chapter 7
أَىُّ مَسْجِدٍ وُضِعَ أَوَّلُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Maymun al-Raqqi narrated to us: Muhammad ibn 'Ubayd narrated to us. (A second route:) 'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Ibrahim al-Taymi, from his father, from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, who said: I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, which mosque was established first?’ He said, ‘The Sacred Mosque.’ I asked, ‘Then which one?’ He said, ‘Then al-Masjid al-Aqsa.’ I asked, ‘How long was between them?’ He said, ‘Forty years. Then the earth is a place of prayer for you, so pray wherever the prayer time finds you.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source states forty years between the establishment of the two mosques and then broadens the instruction to prayer wherever one is when its time arrives.
Chapter 8
الْمَسَاجِدِ فِي الدُّورِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Marwan Muhammad ibn 'Uthman narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Sa'd narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Mahmud ibn al-Rabi' al-Ansari—who remembered a mouthful of water the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had spat from a bucket into one of their wells—from 'Itban ibn Malik al-Salimi, who was the imam of his people, Banu Salim, and had fought at Badr with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: I came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, my eyesight has deteriorated, and floodwater comes and prevents me from reaching the mosque of my people. Crossing it is difficult for me. If you would come to me and pray at a place in my house that I could take as a prayer place, please do so.’ He said, ‘I will.’ The Messenger of Allah came to me the next morning, with Abu Bakr, after the day had grown hot. He asked permission, and I admitted him. He did not sit down before asking, ‘Where in your house would you like me to pray for you?’ I pointed out the place where I wanted him to pray. The Messenger of Allah stood, and we lined up behind him; he led us in two rak'ahs. Then I kept him there over a stew being prepared for them.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The parenthetical report about Mahmud ibn al-Rabi's remembered mouthful of water and the description of 'Itban's role and Badr participation are retained. Khazirah is rendered broadly as stew.
خَزِيرَةٍ
The specific dish khazirah is not fully identified by the source context here.
Should the dish name be transliterated as khazirah rather than rendered generically?