Role Of The Mosque by No author available

One of the many graces which Allah (swt) has bestowed upon the generous Muslim Ummah is the making of the whole earth pure, a mosque and a grand mihrab for her where Allah (swt) is worshipped in every single corner of it, whether in the mosques, in the markets, in the streets, or at schools and universities, in the houses, at the frontiers and so on. Therefore, the whole earth is a mosque, and this is indicated by the hadith reported by Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “I have been granted upon five things which were not granted to any other prophet before me: I have gained victory with awe from the distance of one month; the earth has been made sacred and pure and mosque for me, so whenever the time of prayer comes for anyone of you, he should pray wherever he is; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me, and these were never made lawful to anyone before; I have been granted shafa‘a (intercession); and every prophet was sent particularly to his own people, whereas I have been sent to all mankind.” The Messenger of Allah (saw) had been sent to all mankind, for Allah (swt) says, “And we have not sent you but as a Messenger to all mankind.” [TMQ 34:28] And Allah (swt) had made it an obligation upon the Muslim Ummah to carry Islam as a way of life to the whole world, for Allah (swt) says, “Thus We have made you into a just Ummah so that you can be witness against other nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.” [TMQ 2:143] Therefore, one of the most important duties of this Ummah would be to work towards spreading the deen of Allah (swt), for He (swt) says, “???” [TMQ : ] This can be achieved by providing leadership to the world, in order to bring mankind out of the darkness and guide it to the light, and to fly high the banner of Islam, i.e. the banner of the tawheed (oness of Allah), of justice and security, above everything else. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “Islam stands highest and nothing else can stand above it.” And since the earth is meant to be a grand mosque, as mentioned in the hadith earlier, the Ummah should work towards purifying the earth, this grand mosque, and to carry the Message all over it, in order to lead people out of the worshipping of idols and people to the worshipping and the following the Creator of the universe, Allah (swt).

Since Islam’s viewpoints in life are general and comprehensive, the mosques had to be at the heart of all life’s positive and constructive activities, in order to shape the righteous generations.

Therefore, it is the duty of the Islamic State, and a desirable act for all the Muslims to build mosques all over the world. These mosques would serve as branches for this grand mosque, acting as a springboard to launch the spreading of the Message and its implementation. This is why we find that the Qur’an exhorts the building of mosques, making it a sign of belief. Allah (swt) says, “The mosques of Allah shall be visited and maintained by such as believe in Allah and the Last Day, and establish regular prayers, and pay zakat.” [TMQ 9:18] The Messenger of Allah (saw) also encouraged the building of mosques and made it very appealing, stressing that it is a rewarding act. It has been reported on the authority of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “He who builds a mosque for the sake of Allah, seeking the pleasure of Allah, Allah would reward him with a dwelling in Heaven.” The building of a mosque was the starting point to the expansion and the Islamic conquests which engulfed most of the world, as it plays a vital part in the life of the Muslim Ummah. This can be seen from the example of the Messenger of Allah (saw), who began to build a mosque as soon as he (saw) established the Islamic State in Madinah. To emphasise the great importance of the mosque in the shaping of the Islamic society, he (saw) took part in the building work personally. This mosque served as the launching point towards the practical implementation of Islam within both the State and society.

The first mosque was very modest and basic, its pillars were palm trees and its walls were made of clay, but this modest mosque was the first school of the Islamic campaign, and the headquarters of the Islamic State. It was the school where the Messenger of Allah (saw) instructed his Sahabah, the dwellers of Heaven, who disciplined the tyrants. In that modest building, he (saw) cultured the Muslims with Islam, he (saw) purified the bodies and the souls, and defined the Truth, the fard (obligations), the mandub (recommended), the mubah (permitted), the makruh (disliked) and the haram (forbidden).