So we were discussing the fiqh benefits of the story of Ka'ab ibn Malik.

We now
move on to other incidents. Recall again that the battle of Tabuk really isn't a
battle since no fighting took place. Rather it is a series of incidences from w
hich we derive lessons and benefits. At least a dozen mini incidents. The intere
sting point of the battle of Tabuk is, we will spend several episodes on it, but
won't discuss any battle. It's not like Badr or Uhud when we discussed actual f
ighting. Rather we discuss the stories. Because they go through the entire story
of Tabuk (i.e. the masjid the hypocrites built took place throughout the 'battl
e') we aren't going completely chronological.
So let us go back to Madinah where the prophet PBUH is calling for sadaqah. Ther
e are many stories given about the sahaba who donated, and the problems and gene
roisty shown, along with the sarcasm of the hypocrites. We begin with the very f
amous incident of the competition between Abu Bukr and Umar. It is a story narra
ted in the sunan of Tirmidhi. That the prophet PBUH stood up and continued to as
k for charity until Umar RA thought "today is the day I can beat Abu Bukr". And
he went back home and got half of his money. Realise, money back then was a very
scarce commodity. You did not know when the next batch of income would come. Th
ere was no monthly salary; the concept of a salary is very new. For the sahaba,
money was very erratic. They might get one dinar today, nothing for weeks, and t
hen suddenly hundred dinars. So the fact that Umar RA gave half his money is ext
raordinary. Even for us to give half our money, even though we have a constant i
ncome stream, is difficult to imagine. For Umar, it's a different level. So Umar
RA said he will give half - and he brought forth half of his money. When the pr
ophet PBUH saw this money, he said "Oh Umar what have you left for your family?"
Umar bin Khattab said "I have left a similar amount". Then Abu Bukr RA came and
he also has a bag of money. And he also isn't very rich, so the prophet PBUH as
ks him "what have you left for your family?" And he says "I have left them Allah
and His messenger" i.e. no money, but only taqwah in Allah. At this Umar said t
o himself "I can never compete with Abu Bukr after this".
Of the benefits we can derive, the main one is the fact that the sahaba are comp
eting with each other to do good deeds. This is something that has been lost amo
ngst the muslims. The sahaba are monitoring, "how much is someone praying, fasti
ng, paying etc" and they want to win the race in the eyes of Allah. That "no one
will beat me to the place in Jannah". This is something we do in the dunya in o
ur job, education etc. But when it comes to Islamic affairs we do the minimum. T
he sahaba were oppisite and this is proven in many narrations; in one hadith the
muhajiroon were complaining to the prophet PBUH that "Ya RasulAllah the Ansar f
ast as we fast, pray as we pray, but they give sadaqah and we don't have anythin
g to give". So the muhajiroon are monitoring - so this shows the sahaba raced to
do good deeds. And in fact Allah literally commands us to 'race' in doing good
deeds. When it comes to racing in Jannah. However when it comes to this world, A
llah says in the Quran "when salaatul Juma'a is over, go forth and spread' i.e.
don't race, just walk away gently and seek Allahs sustenance. But when it comes
to Jannah, Allah tells us to race.
We also have the concern of the prophet PBUH for the women and children of the s
ahaba. That they too need money; when Umar brings his share the prophet PBUH ask
s "what did you leave for your family?". So he is worried about the family. This
shows we are not asked to donate above our means. The priority is the family no doubt Abu Bukr RA did something only he can do, and this is something that go
es back to Abu Bukr's imaan, and indeed it's something even Umar RA did not do.
It most definately is not something we are encouraged to do. When we give, we sh
ould give between the two: not being stingy but not being over extravegant. If o
ur imaan was that of Abu Bukr then it's a different story, but we can never reac
h that level. So these stories motivate us, but we have to realise it's not some
thing Islam dictates for us to do.
Another example given is that Abdur Rehman ibn Awf gave 200 ooqiyas (grains). An

d this is a very large amount. What is interesting is Abdur Rehman ibn Awf came
with nothing to Madinah. He just had the clothes on his back. Now, he's reached
a level within 8 years of a very rich person. This shows us having money is a po
sitive if you are someone like Abdur Rehman ibn Awf. There is nothing wrong in I
slam with being rich, IF you are a generous person. How did he get rich? Buying,
selling and trading.
The story of Uthman ibn Affan is also narrated in many books of hadith and seera
h. That, the battle of Tabuk coincided with the return of one of his caravans fr
om Syria. So he had financed an entire caravan to Syria. When the battle of Tabu
k began, that was the time the caravan returned. And Uthman ibn Affan decided to
sell the entire caravan, including all the goods, stock and camels, and he got
around 1000 gold coins. And that is a fortune at any time, especially at that ti
me. Even in our time it would be hundreds of thousands. And he didn't have a bag
to carry so he walks back to the masjid with the gold coins being carried in hi
s thobe. And he then pours it in front of the prophet PBUH and says "this is for
the sake of Allah". And the prophet PBUH begins looking at the huge pile of gol
d coins, flipping them around. And then he says "walahi whatever ibn Affan does
after today it will not affect him; he has earned Jannah with this".
SubhanAllah this statement of the prophet PBUH was used by Uthman ibn Affan arou
nd 30 years later when the neo-kharijites surrounded his house, and had come fro
m all around demanding the most trivial matters "why did you appoint Sa'ad ibn A
bi Waqqas as the governer, why this, why that etc". And they are demanding so mu
ch, and they become harsher and harsher. One of the things Uthman said was "do y
ou not know that the prophet PBUH himself said when I gave the money for the Jay
sul Usra (army of difficulty) he himself said whatever I do will not affect me,
who are you to question me?" In another version of this, the prophet PBUH was gi
ving a khutbah and encouraging people to give, so Uthman stood up and said "I sh
all give 100 camels and all that is on them". So the prophet PBUH continued to a
sk. Then Uthman stood up and said "I'll give 200 camels". Then prophet PBUH cont
inued exorting until finally Uthman said "I shall give 300 camels and all that i
s on them". And the prophet PBUH then said "Uthman has no sin after what he has
done today". So it appears as if, Uthman had announced he would do this before t
he caravans came. When they came he brought it to the prophet PBUH.
On the flip side, we have the mocking of the hypocrites. Firstly they gave nothi
ng at all, and on top of this they mocked those who gave. And they would mock an
ything that was given, either by publically saying something or by nudging and w
inking. And they would say "oh this guy gave so much, he's just showing off, he'
s not doing it for the sake of Allah". Or they would ridicule someone that gave
a small amount. Allah exposed them in the Quran in a severe manner. Allah says "
these munafiqun are those who make fun of the believers when they give charity,
and they scoff at those who have nothing to give except their sweat. And Allah w
ill make fun of them, and what an evil and painful punishment". At Thabari menti
ons the story of this ayat, that the prophet PBUH was daily asking for money. So
one of the ansar decided to give something. So he spent the entire night in lab
our, pulling water and selling it. It's the cheapest thing you can do. So he spe
nds the whole night pulling water and selling it the next day. And this whole ni
ghts work earned his just two handful of dates. So he came the next day and said
"Ya RasulAllah here is one handful of dates for you, and the other handful to f
eed my family". So one of the munafiqun stood up and mocked him, saying "do you
think Allah needs this quantity of dates?" Another said "you are more in need of
this than anyone else" i.e. you are so poor you need it more than anyone. This
sahabi felt very hurt at this, as the munafiqun publically embarrased him. So th
is is when Allah revealed "they think they are making fun of the believers, Alla
h will mock them and they shall have a painful punishment".
So they not only didn't participate in the fund raising, the munafiqun gave excu
ses before and after the battle. They gave bizzare stories as excuses. The proph
et PBUH asked one of the friends of Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salool that "Oh Jud ar

e you not interested in going to fight the Romans?" And Jud said "Oh messenger o
f Allah can you not excuse me, for by Allah my people know that I have a weaknes
s for women and I am worried if I see the women of the Romans, I will not have a
ny patience". What a flimsy and pathetic excuse. They called the Romans the yell
ow people 'banil asfar';for the Arabs white was fair brownish. So the prophet PB
UH said "ok don't go" and Allah revealed in the Quran "there are those who say '
give me permission and don't test and try me'; they have fallen head first into
the fitnah". And Allah revealed in surah Tawbah "the hypocrites are happy that t
hey are not going with the prophet PBUH, and they are sitting down lazily. And t
hey are telling one another 'don't go in this hot weather'." Allah says "the fir
e of Jahanam is much hotter than this if you only understood. Let them stop thei
r laughing and start crying because of what they have done". Very powerful verse
s. Allah says "if the journey was small, the distance was easy and alot of money
gained they would have followed you. But they felt uncomfortable with the dista
nce so they all lied with their excuses".
Contrast this to the sahaba who were called the 'bakaoon', the criers. Why? Beca
use they did not have neither the means to give money, nor the personal possessi
on of a camel to go. And the prophet PBUH ran out of money to purchase camels fo
r everybody. So groups of sahaba were left behind without any camels. And they k
ept on wailing to the very end. And some of these were relatives of Abu Ayub al
Ansari; of them were some of the later muhajiroon. So this group (around 12/13)
to the very end were not able to purchase camels. And it's reported in the Quran
that the prophet PBUH told them "I have no money to give you a camel to ride on
". So Allah describes what happened: "they turned away, their eyes full of tears
. They were so sorry and greived they couldn't find the money to go". Contrast t
his difference of imaan. Some are overjoyed with a false excuse, others are cryi
ng with a legitimate excuse. SubhanAllah.
And when Allah revealed in the Quran the verses that defended the sahabi that ga
ve a handful, one of the sahaba (Urba) stood up. And he had nothing at all, so h
e said "Ya RasulAllah I have no money to give you, but I give you my honour and
dignity that in the way of Allah, I will defend against those people that are ir
ritating you (munafiqun)". And the prophet PBUH said "I have accepted your chari
ty", and this shows us the sahaba were so eager to give the prophet PBUH even th
at which is non monetary. With regards to these sahaba, Urba and the bakaoon, th
e prophet PBUH said at Tabuk "there are people in Madinah, such that you have no
t travelled even a step except that they have accompanied you and they will get
the reward of you". The sahaba said "Ya RasulAllah even while they are in Madina
h?" And the prophet PBUH said "even while they are in Madinah because they had a
legitimate excuse". This is a beautiful hadith for the benefits of intention. H
aving the correct, sincere intention "if I had a million dollars I would do this
" etc. You don't lose anything by having these intentions, and in fact just maki
ng the intention Allah will give us good deeds. Thus we should make positive int
entions constantly. With regards to these people, their intention was so strong,
the entire reward of the whole journey of the army, they get it while they are
sitting at home in Madinah.
We also have the story of Al Waathida Al Asqa. He kept on asking and waiting for
money until there was nothing available. So he kept on going to the marketplace
saying "who will give me a camel?" Finally on the last day before the expiditio
n departed, he said "who will take me and I will give him my share of the ganeem
a". Remember, the military at the time was voluntary. Those who participated the
re are rulings of fiqh for how much ganeema they get, and it's essential for the
ir livelihood. For the battle of Khaybar, the sahaba got ganeema that made their
wealth for the rest of the life. So participating in battles had monetary gain
too, and there is nothing wrong with this. You must have 100% ikhlas when it com
es to intention for doing it for the sake of Allah VS the praise of the people.
If you mix sincerity with the peoples praise, it ruins the sincerity of the act.
You cannot mix a good dead for the sake of Allah and for the praise of the peop

le. You can however mix a good deed for the sake of Allah and for some monetary
benefit. This is not shirk at all, in fact it is 100% halal. There are millions
of examples: the Quran teacher. He needs some money for his time. The islamic st
udies teacher; the imams of the masjids. The hajj businessman who organises trav
els to Mecca. These people spend months preparing the package - of course they n
eed a profit. So they combine an act of worship with monetary need. By unanimous
consensus this is absolutely fine, and we thank Allah for this. The Quran expli
citly allows it, and the prophet PBUH himself said "the best salary anyone can t
ake is teaching the Quran". (Bhukari)
So the rules state the one who is going on a camel shared by someone else will g
et one share. The owner of the animal gets three shares (or two in some madhabs)
. So Waathida gets a share - but he is saying "who will take me and I will give
him my percentage". So now the stakes have changed - there is the possibility of
getting even more ganeema. So one of the ansar said "you want me to take you, o
n the condition you will give me your share?" He said "yes". And the ansari said
"we will have to take turns riding and share the meals etc". So Waathida says "
yes I agree". So Waathida said "I travelled with my best companion I ever had. A
nd when I came back to Madinah I had a bunch of camels so I brought them to the
ansari". And Waathida said "here this is the share I promised you". So the ansar
i looked at the flock of camels and said "show me the camels". So Waathida bring
s them and the ansari sits down on the camel and says "bring them back and forth
". And the ansari says "subhanAllah, masha'Allah". Then the ansari said "your ca
mels are very beautiful". Waathida said "these aren't my camels, these are your
camels as I promised you this share". The old man said "oh my dear nephew, go an
d take your camels for I didn't intend this, I intended something else". This sh
ows us the imaan of the sahaba and the ansar.
We also have the story of Abu Kaythama al Ansari. And this story shows us even t
he sahaba have to struggle sometimes, and some of them take more struggling than
others. Ka'ab we discussed in depth; Abu Kaythama almost got to the level of Ka
'ab. Almost didn't leave Madinah. So the same thing happened; he delayed and del
ayed until finally the prophet PBUH departed. He went back to his home and enter
ed his garden, and his wife had prepared a rug for him under the date palms, and
she had sprinkled some water on the rug, and had prepared some food etc. So he
entered the garden and sees his wives having prepared everything. Upon seeing th
is he says to himself "what am I doing here? I am here in this pleasure while th
e prophet PBUH is in the heat. Walahi I am not even going to sit down". Right th
en and there he rushed out to catch up with the prophet PBUH. And the next day w
hen the prophet PBUH woke up, he saw a lone rider racing and the prophet PBUH sa
id "may it be Abu Kaythama" and it turned out to be him. The prophet PBUH knew A
bu Kaythama wasn't a munafiq and it was hurting him Abu Kaythama is not in the a
rmy. This again shows us the prophet PBUH is monitoring the sahaba. Abu Kaythama
is not of the elite but he is a well known sahaba. When Abu Kaythama came, the
prophet PBUH asked him "why did you delay?" Abu Kaythama told him the whole stor
y and the prophet PBUH said "woe to you, you just saved yourself Abu Kaythama".
This shows us the tough love of the prophet PBUH. He is gently rebuking him sayi
ng "you are here but you just made it".
Another famous story is that of Abu Dhur al Gifaali. Abu Dhur seems to have had
an issue with his camel. Either his camel was on loan to someone, or it fell sic
k. He was supposed to go, but his camel wasn't there for him to go. It was his i
ntention to go but he didn't have a camel. This is the famous narrator of hadith
. So he then took the stuff that was supposed to be his backpack for the camel,
and he put it on his back. And he started walking from Madinah all the way non-s
top. And the sahaba see a lone figure; a man walking in the distance. And the sa
haba are astonished "who is this man walking with his back pack". And these are
the bags you are supposed to put on the camel; but he didn't even have a camel s
o he is trodding along. So after two/three days he catches up with the caravan,
and the sahaba are wondering who is this man? And the prophet PBUH says "let it

be Abu Dhur" and indeed it was. The prophet PBUH said to the sahaba around him "
may Allah have mercy upon Abu Dhur, he is walking by himself, he will die by him
self and he will be ressurected alone". This is exactly what happened with Abu D
hur.
Abu Dhur is a very interesting sahabi - he had certain views of economics and po
litics that were unpalitable with the sahaba and even the prophet PBUH. In fact
even the prophet PBUH said to Abu Dhur "you are a weak man when it comes to poli
tics" i.e. he isn't capable of being a leader. And "being a leaader is a trust,
and it will be asked by Allah, so never take charge of someone else". Abu Dhur d
id not believe in collecting possessions for the next day, or having money for f
uture events. So he believed everything you have should just be given to others.
When the money began to flow in, and the sahabi built larger buildings, Abu Dhu
r could not stand this. But of course it is halal; but Abu Dhur was on the extre
me side, and he demanded others to be the same. But this led to so many complain
ts from the sahaba, so Uthman asked him to leave Madinah. So Abu Dhur took his w
ife and servant and they just went to live in the desert by himself. And ibn Sa'
ad reports his wife began to cry when Abu Dhur was on his death bed. And Abu Dhu
r said "why are you crying". She said "because I don't even have cloth to shroud
you, or power to bury you". Abu Dhur said "do not cry, for I heard the prophet
PBUH say one day 'one of you will die all alone, yet a group of believers will p
ray over him'. And every other companion in this sitting has passed away and the
y weren't in this condition, and I'm the only one left in the wilderness. So whe
n I die take my body and go sit on the path; somebody will come".
His wife said "why would anyone come? It isn't hajj season". So Abu Dhur said "d
o as I say, go on the path for walahi neither am I lying nor was I lied to". So
he passed away and his wife did what he said. And lo and behold almost instantly
a massive caravan riding out of nowhere see on the side of the road a dead body
, old lady and a weak servant who says "stop, stop help me bury a muslim". One o
f the people say "who is this?" And the servant says "this is Abu Dhur, the comp
anion of the prophet PBUH". Lo and behold ibn Masood is in the gathering, Ammar
ibn Yasir etc. And ibn Masood begans to cry and weap and says "the prophet PBUH
has spoken the truth". And they gave their own garments for the kuffin of Abu Dh
ur, and they praised janazah in the middle of the desert. And this incident took
place in the khalifa of Ali RA when the wars were going on.
The hypocrites: recall they gave excuses not to go, and they didn't donate even
a penny. They gave all sorts of flimsy excuses, and the prophet PBUH accepted an
y excuse. So much so Allah mildly chastised the prophet PBUH "why are you accept
ing all their excuses?" Allah Himself said "Allah has forgiven you but why are y
ou giving permission all the time". So when the situation became tense and these
verses were revealed, they decided to build their own masjid so they would have
full freedom to do as their please. So they could speak and preach without any
harrassment from the true believers. And Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salool was suppos
ed to be the leader; and they had the audacity to collect funds and build the ma
sjid, even while the prophet PBUH is asking for funds for Tabuk. They didn't giv
e a penny for Tabuk, yet they got the funds to build their own false masjid. And
they are giving excuses to not go forth in the battle, but they build their own
masjid even before the prophet PBUH left for Tabuk. And the masjid itself was w
ithin walking distance from Kuba. Note there is another reason given for them bu
ilding their masjid: that, there was one final attempt from the hypocrties to tr
y to counter the message of the prophet PBUH. The leader was not ibn Salool, but
rather his friend, Abu Aamir ar Rahib. He was one of the elite of the Khazraj,
and one of the few elders alive after the battle of Bu'ath, the civil war betwee
n the Ansar and Khazraj. This is one of the reasons why the Ansar embraced Islam
, because they wanted a new leader with new ways. Some of the elders who were su
pposed to become a leader was taken away - the main person was ibn Salool, and t
he other was Abu Aamir ar Rahib. Ar Rahib was called 'the monk' because he conve
rted to Christianity (pre Islam), and he was very respected amongst the people o

f Madinah.
When the prophet PBUH came, he wanted power and fame so Abu Aamir rejected Islam
. After Badr when there were no more pagans allowed, ibn Salool pretended to acc
ept Islam but Abu Aamir fled to Mecca. And before the battle of Uhud, Abu Aamir
told the Quraysh "look just let me speak before the battle you will see ALL of t
hem will listen to me". He kept on boasting "you will see how much respect they
have for me, they will hand over the prophet PBUH on a silver platter". So the Q
uraysh were so happy "he is our secret weapon". Right beore the battle he gave h
is speach and he says to his people "oh my people it is me, Ar Rahib, you know m
e hand over the prophet PBUH". When they heard this, they began saying the worst
things and said "you are Abu Aamir al Kaafir" and you're this and that. And the
y said "who do you think you are etc". And he turns back to the Quraysh and says
"I don't know what happened to my people". So when he realised he can't even be
in Mecca, he left for Rome and managed to get into the circles of the ceaser. A
nd it's not unrealistic: here is an Arab who speaks fluent arabic, who is willin
g to tell you the inner mechanisms of other lands. So Abu Aamir makes his way up
into the circle of the ceaser. So he writes to his best friend ibn Salool and t
ells him "make for me a base in Madinah, and allow me access to the people" i.e.
it's a revolt. Honestly it's bizzare, way too late in the game but it is desper
ation, that he wants to regain power in Madinah. And his plan was to have a foot
ing in Madinah, and then send in the Romans to take over the city. So when ibn S
alool got this letter, that is when he decided to open up a new masjid which wou
ld be the headquaters of this new revolt. So he then built masjid ad Dhirar whic
h means the 'destructive masjid', the evil masjid etc, as called by Allah in the
Quran. And the prophet PBUH made a dua against Abu Aamir that "make you die a s
tranger" and this is exactly what happened - he died in Rome with no family or f
riends around him. And it was a punishment for him to live in Rome as a stranger
for so many years.
So ibn Salool constructs the masjid, and as a token of upmost disrespect he asks
the prophet PBUH "why don't you come bless the masjid?" And the prophet PBUH fe
lt very uncomfortable because the whole of ibn Salool building a masjid at this
time, and the verses of the Quran have been revealed etc. The prophet PBUH asked
them "why did you build the masjid?" And they said "oh we have weak people, if
it rains it will just be right there" so the prophet PBUH said in his gentleness
"we are busy now preparing for travel, inshaAllah when I come back". He didn't
say yes - he said 'if Allah wills'. And they built the masjid, the masjid was in
operation for around a month but the prophet PBUH never prayed there. They open
ed it before Tabuk - now on the way back from Tabuk Allah revealed surah Tawbah
verse 107 to 108:
"And [there are] those [hypocrites] who took for themselves a
harm and disbelief and division among the believers and as a
r had warred against Allah and His Messenger before. And they
"We intended only the best." And Allah testifies that indeed

mosque for causing

station for whoeve
will surely swear,
they are liars.

Do not stand [for prayer] within it - ever. A mosque founded on righteousness fr

om the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. Within it are men who love
to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves."
In these verses Allah causes the masjid the masjid of pain/suffering. And Allah
says it's a masjid of:
1. Harm
2. Kuffar
3. Dividing the believers - when there is masjid Kuba right there, there is no n
eed to make this masjid
4. As a secret ambush for someone who has already waged war against Allah and Hi
s messenger (reference is Abu Aamir)

And Allah says "they will swear to you, 'we only want good - only for sick, poor
etc'". Allah is testifying "they are a bunch of liars". And Allah says "never e
ver go and stand there; verily, the masjid that was built from the very first da
y upon taqwah, that masjid is more befitting you pray in." So when Jibreel AS ca
me down with these verses, the prophet PBUH commanded Ammar ibn Yasir and other
sahaba to burn the masjid to the ground because it is a masjid of kuffar, pain,
suffering etc. And this was one of the final stances between the prophet PBUH an
d the hypocrites. The last straw was when ibn Salool dies in a few months and Al
lah says "don't even ask for forgiveness for them". So Tabuk ended the aspiratio
ns of the hypocrites - after this they did nothing. And note from this we learnt
even a masjid, if it's built for the wrong reasons, can become a masjid of evil
and harm. Allah calls this a masjid of kuffar. And our prophet PBUH was prohibi
ted from praying in it, and eventually he was prohibited for praying for them at
all. This also shows the hypocrites were well known - the one who says "don't t
ell me to go to Tabuk, I will see the Roman women etc" he was a well known hypoc
rite. So they were well known to the sahaba, but the books of seerah don't reall
y mention their names.
Now Allah says in this series of verses "the masjid that was built upon taqwah f
rom the very first day has more right that you stand on that masjid. In it are p
eople who love to purify themselves". Which masjid is Allah referring to? There
are three opinions:
1. Masjid al Kuba - this is narrated in a hadith in "the people of Kuba were ask
ed that Allah has praised you that you want to 'clean yourselves', so why did Al
lah specify you as people of extra cleanliness?" The people of Kuba said, and th
is hadith is mentioned in the chapter of istinja, "we have a habit that we alway
s use water when we wash ourselves". This is what the fiqh of istinja is based o
n - so they always used water to clean themselves. In our culture, we are accust
omed to using water (indeed a water jug next to the toilet is a give away sign o
f a muslim house). For us, we cannot imagine using the restroom without a jug. B
ut it is suprising for every muslim to find out, all of the madhab are in unanim
ous concensus that you do not have to use water. Not that we should stop using w
ater; it's a great habit. But we must realise water was scarce back then, and it
was not possible for every society to use water for cleansing. So it is allowed
to use dry material i.e. toilet paper. Now it is allowed by also by unanimous c
oncensus it is better to use water. Thus when the people of Kuba were asked why
Allah described them as people of extra cleanliness, they said "we are a people
who use water when cleaning ourselves". So Allah said "ya ta thaharu".
2. Masjid of the prophet PBUH. Two sahaba were arguing in the lifetime of the pr
ophet PBUH as to which masjid Allah was talking about. Is it masjid al Kuba, or
is it the masjid of the prophet PBUH? So they took their matter to the prophet P
BUH right then and there. So the prophet PBUH swore by Allah said "this is this
masjid right here". And this hadith is an authentic hadith.
3. It is a generic verse; every masjid built with taqawah is better than masjid
Durar. And this is the correct opinion, and it incooporates both of the previous
opinions within it. That both masjid al Kuba, and the masjid of the prophet PBU
H are verses built on taqawah.
Note some of the scholars have derived the beginning of the Islamic calender fro
m this verse. When the sahaba gathered together and said "we need a calender" du
ring the time of Umar bin Khattab, they said "when shall we begin the calender?"
Some said with the death of the prophet PBUH, others said Isra wal Mi'raj, othe
rs said Badr etc. And then the sahaba said "no with the hijrah" and of course th
at is what stuck. Later scholars read into this verse "the masjid that was built
on the first day" so the first day of the calender i.e the hijrah is the 'first
day'. And that's a bit of stretch but it's true if you read it in that way.

In any case, the masjid Durar was destroyed at the prophet PBUH never even enter
ed or came close to it. One final point: masjid Durar is a reality and we firmly
believe it is possible for another masjid to become a type of masjid Durar. But
, what we have seen happen is that when a community breaks into two, and another
forms another masjid; the first community says "oh that is masjid Durar because
they disagreed with us". This is very dangerous and arrogant. Because masjid Du
rar did not break away from the uncles of the community. Breaking away from a gr
oup of people does not make you kaafir. Breaking away from the prophet PBUH is a
huge deal. If you disagree with someone sincerely on paticular views, and you h
ave another scholar you follow, that's ok. This is your right; and we shouldn't
call that masjid 'masjid Durar'. We have to be very careful in this regard. It i
s possible a masjid can be a masjid Durar but we leave that verdict to Allah. If
someone breaks away and builds their own masjid for a semi-legitimate reason, s
o they break away. Ok - let them be. We should not label each other's mosques 'm
asjid Durar'. To do this would mean to go and torch the masjid down. You are imp
lying it's a masjid of kuffar: are you really going to accuse them of being hypo
crites and kaafir? This is arrogant, dangerous and unislamic. Let them go and bu
ild their masjid and if it's sincere it will flourish; if not, Allah will expose
them.