9:109 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

ثم فاضل بين المساجد بحسب مقاصد أهلها وموافقتها لرضاه فقال‏:‏ ‏{‏أَفَمَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَى تَقْوَى مِنَ اللَّهِ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ على نية صالحة وإخلاص ‏{‏وَرِضْوَانٌ‏}‏ بأن كان موافقا لأمره، فجمع في عمله بين الإخلاص والمتابعة، ‏{‏خَيْرٌ أَمْ مَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَى شَفَا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ على طرف ‏{‏جُرُفٍ هَارٍ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ بال، قد تداعى للانهدام، ‏{‏فَانْهَارَ بِهِ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ‏}‏ لما فيه مصالح دينهم ودنياهم‏.‏

يقول تعالى لا يستوي من أسس بنيانه على تقوى من الله ورضوان ومن بني مسجدا ضرارا وكفرا وتفريقا بين المؤمنين وإرصادا لمن حارب الله ورسوله من قبل فإنما يبني هؤلاء بنيانهم على شفا جرف هار أي طرف حفيرة مثالة " في نار جهنم والله لا يهدي القوم الظالمين " أي لا يصلح عمل المفسدين قال جابر بن عبدالله رأيت المسجد الذي بنى ضرارا يخرج منه الدخان على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال ابن جريج ذكر لنا أن رجالا حقروا فوجدوا الدخان الذي يخرج منه وكذا قال قتادة وقال خلف بن ياسين الكوفي رأيت مسجد المنافقين الذي ذكره الله تعالى في القرآن وفيه جحر يخرج منه الدخان وهو اليوم مزبلة رواه ابن جرير رحمه الله.

The Difference between Masjid At-Taqwa and Masjid Ad-Dirar

Allah the Exalted says that the Masjid that has been built on the basis of Taqwa of Allah and His pleasure is not the same as a Masjid that was been built based on causing harm, disbelief and causing division among the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His Messenger . The latter built their Masjid on the edge of a steep hole,

فِى نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ وَاللَّهُ لاَ يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(into the fire of Hell. And Allah guides not the people who are the wrongdoers.), Allah does not bring aright the works of those who commit mischief. Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "I saw the Masjid that was built to cause harm with smoke rising up from it, during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." Allah's statement,

لاَ يَزَالُ بُنْيَانُهُمُ الَّذِى بَنَوْاْ رِيبَةً فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ

(The building which they built will never cease to be a cause of doubt in their hearts) and hypocrisy. Because of this awful action that they committed, they inherited hypocrisy in their hearts, just as those who worshipped the calf were inclined to adoring it. Allah said next,

إِلاَّ أَن تَقَطَّعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ

(unless their hearts are cut to pieces.) until they die, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, Zayd bin Aslam, As-Suddi, Habib bin Abi Thabit, Ad-Dahhak, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and several other scholars of the Salaf.

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ

(And Allah is All-Knowing,) of the actions of His creation,

حَكِيمٌ

(All-Wise.) in compensating them for their good or evil actions.

Is he who founded his building upon fear of God and in hope of beatitude from Him better or he who founded his building upon the brink the edge of a bank an overhang that is crumbling about to collapse read juruf or jurf so that it toppled with him so that it collapsed taking with it the one who built it into the fire of Hell? this is an excellent similitude for building upon that which constitutes the opposite of fear of God and for what it leads to; the interrogative is meant as an affirmative in other words the former is the better which is the likeness of the building of the mosque of Qubā’ while the latter is the likeness of the mosque of ‘harm’ masjid al-dirār. And God guides not the evildoing folk.

In the third (109) and the fourth (110) verses, Masjid Dirar (the harmful mosque) made by the hypocrites has been condemned as it has to be when compared with a masjid that is blessed. This has been accomplished through the use of a similitude. The surface of the land on which they were laying the foundation of their ` masjid' has been likened to a landmass that has been corroded on the inside by flowing water. The topsoil looks solid and smooth. Now, if someone starts building there, it is obvious that the whole thing would collapse instantly. Similarly, the foundation of this Masjid Dirar was inherently unstable. The result was that it collapsed and went right into the fire of Jahannam. The expression ` collapsed into the fire of Jahannam' could be figurative in its sense - in that it smoothed out the way of Jahannam for its makers. Some others have taken it in the real sense - in that the masjid, when made to collapse, went into the Jahannam. Allah knows best.