The Book of the Masjids

'Amr ibn 'Uthman reported to us. He said: Baqiyyah narrated to us, from Bahir, from Khalid ibn Ma'dan, from Kathir ibn Murrah, from 'Amr ibn 'Abasah, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Whoever builds a mosque in which Allah is remembered, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will build a house for him in Paradise.'

Suwayd ibn Nasr reported to us. He said: 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak informed us, from Hammad ibn Salamah, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilabah, from Anas, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Among the signs of the Hour is that people will boast about mosques.'

'Ali ibn Hujr reported to us. He said: 'Ali ibn Mushir narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Ibrahim, who said: I used to recite the Qur'an to my father in the street. Whenever I recited a verse of prostration, he would prostrate. I said, Father, do you prostrate in the street? He said: I heard Abu Dharr say: I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Which mosque was established first? He said, The Sacred Mosque. I asked, Then which? He said, The Farthest Mosque. I asked, How many years were between them? He said, Forty years. The earth has been made a place of prayer for you, so wherever the prayer time comes upon you, pray there.

Qutaybah reported to us. He said: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Nafi', from Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Ma'bad ibn 'Abbas, that Maymunah, the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ), said: Whoever prays in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)—I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, 'A prayer offered in it is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except in the Ka'bah Mosque.'

Qutaybah reported to us. He said: Al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered the House with Usamah ibn Zayd, Bilal, and 'Uthman ibn Talhah. They closed the door behind them. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) opened it, I was the first to enter. I met Bilal and asked him, Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) pray inside it? He said, Yes, he prayed between the two Yemeni pillars.

'Amr ibn Mansur reported to us. He said: Abu Mushir narrated to us. He said: Sa'id ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz narrated to us, from Rabi'ah ibn Yazid, from Abu Idris al-Khawlani, from Ibn al-Daylami, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): 'When Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him) built Bayt al-Maqdis, he asked Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, for three things. He asked Allah for judgment that would accord with His judgment, and He granted it to him. He asked Allah for a kingdom that no one after him would have, and He granted it to him. When he had finished building the mosque, he asked Allah that no one would come to it, with prayer there as his sole purpose, without leaving his sins behind like the day his mother gave birth to him.'

Kathir ibn 'Ubayd reported to us. He said: Muhammad ibn Harb narrated to us, from al-Zubaydi, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman and Abu 'Abd Allah al-Agharr, the freedman of the Juhani tribe—both were among Abu Hurayrah's companions—that they heard Abu Hurayrah say: One prayer in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is better than a thousand prayers in other mosques, except the Sacred Mosque. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is the last of the prophets, and his mosque is the last of the mosques. Abu Salamah and Abu 'Abd Allah said: We had no doubt that Abu Hurayrah was relating this from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), but we did not ask him to confirm its attribution before he died. After his death, we recalled it and blamed ourselves for not asking Abu Hurayrah whether he had heard it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). While we were discussing this, we sat with 'Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim ibn Qariz and mentioned the report and our failure to ask Abu Hurayrah directly. 'Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim said to us: I testify that I heard Abu Hurayrah say, The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, I am the last of the prophets, and this is the last of the mosques.

Qutaybah reported to us, from Malik, from 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr, from 'Abbad ibn Tamim, from 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'The area between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise.'

Qutaybah reported to us. He said: Sufyan narrated to us, from 'Ammar al-Duhni, from Abu Salamah, from Umm Salamah, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The supports of this pulpit of mine are in Paradise.'

Qutaybah reported to us. He said: Al-Layth narrated to us, from 'Imran ibn Abi Anas, from Ibn Abi Sa'id al-Khudri, from his father, who said: Two men disputed about the mosque founded upon piety from the very first day. One said it was the mosque of Quba'; the other said it was the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'It is this mosque of mine.'

Qutaybah reported to us, from Malik, from 'Abd Allah ibn Dinar, from Ibn 'Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to visit Quba', riding and on foot.

Qutaybah reported to us. He said: Mujammi' ibn Ya'qub narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kirmani, who said: I heard Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf say: My father said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Whoever sets out for this mosque—the mosque of Quba'—and prays in it will receive a reward equivalent to an 'umrah.'

Muhammad ibn Mansur reported to us. He said: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Sa'id, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who said, 'Journeys should be undertaken only to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, this mosque of mine, and the Farthest Mosque.'

Hannad ibn al-Sari reported to us, from Mulazim, who said: 'Abd Allah ibn Badr narrated to me, from Qays ibn Talq, from his father, Talq ibn 'Ali, who said: We went as a delegation to the Prophet (ﷺ), pledged allegiance to him, and prayed with him. We told him that our people had a church in our land, and asked him for the surplus water from his purification. He called for water, performed ablution, rinsed his mouth, then poured the water into a vessel and instructed us: Go. When you reach your land, demolish your church, sprinkle this water over its place, and make it a mosque. We said, Our land is far away, the heat is intense, and the water will dry up. He said, Add more water to it, for that will only make it more wholesome. We went out and, when we reached our land, demolished the church, sprinkled the water over its place, and made it a mosque. We called the adhan there. The monk, a man from Tayy', heard the call and said, This is a true call. Then he headed toward one of our hills, and we never saw him again.

'Imran ibn Musa reported to us. He said: 'Abd al-Warith narrated to us, from Abu al-Tayyah, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) arrived in Madinah, he stayed in its upper area among Banu 'Amr ibn 'Awf for fourteen nights. Then he sent for the chiefs of Banu al-Najjar, and they came with their swords at their sides. It is as though I can see the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on his mount, with Abu Bakr riding behind him, and the chiefs of Banu al-Najjar around him, until he dismounted in the courtyard of Abu Ayyub. He would pray wherever the prayer time found him, even in sheepfolds. Then he ordered that a mosque be built. He sent for the chiefs of Banu al-Najjar, and when they came he said, Banu al-Najjar, name your price for this walled plot of yours. They said, By Allah, we will seek its price only from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Anas said: There were graves of polytheists, ruins, and date palms on the site. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ordered that the graves be exhumed, the date palms cut down, and the ruins leveled. They lined the palm trunks along the mosque's qiblah side and made its two doorposts of stone. They carried rocks while reciting verses, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was with them as they said: O Allah, there is no good except the good of the Hereafter, so grant victory to the Ansar and the Emigrants.

Suwayd ibn Nasr reported to us. He said: 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak informed us, from Ma'mar and Yunus. They said: Al-Zuhri told me that 'Ubayd Allah ibn 'Abd Allah related that 'A'ishah and Ibn 'Abbas said: When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was on his deathbed, he began placing a cloak over his face. Whenever he felt distressed, he would uncover his face. In that state he said, May Allah's curse be upon the Jews and Christians; they took the graves of their prophets as places of worship.

Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim reported to us. He said: Yahya narrated to us. He said: Hisham ibn 'Urwah narrated to us. He said: My father narrated to me, from 'A'ishah, that Umm Habibah and Umm Salamah described a church they had seen in Abyssinia, containing images. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When a righteous man among those people died, they built a mosque over his grave and made those images. They are the worst of creation in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection.

'Amr ibn 'Ali reported to us. He said: Yahya narrated to us. He said: Ibn Abi Dhi'b narrated to us. He said: Al-Aswad ibn al-'Ala' ibn Jariyah al-Thaqafi narrated to us, from Abu Salamah—Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman—from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: 'When a man leaves his house for the mosque, one step is credited as a good deed and another erases a bad deed.'

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us. He said: Sufyan informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'When the wife of one of you asks permission to go to the mosque, do not prevent her.'

Ishaq ibn Mansur reported to us. He said: Yahya narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj. He said: 'Ata' narrated to us, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Whoever eats from this plant'—the first time he said garlic; then he said, 'garlic, onions, and leeks'—'let him not come near us in our mosques, for the angels are harmed by what harms human beings.'