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Qur'an 9:107

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Qur'an 9:107
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-Tawba (Qur'an 9)
Verse107
Juz'11
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Construction of a mosque next to Masjid Quba by hypocrites
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicMentioning the goals of building Masjid al-Dirar by hypocrites
Related VersesQur'an 9:108 and Qur'an 9:109


Qur'an 9:107 refers to the hidden goals of the hypocrites in building Masjid al-Dirar. In this verse, causing harm, strengthening disbelief, creating division among Muslims, and waiting for the enemy of God and His Apostle are considered the goals of the hypocrites. At the end of the verse, their oath regarding having good intentions is declared a lie, and God is introduced as the one aware of their secrets.

Regarding the occasion of revelation of the verse, it is stated that after the construction of Masjid Quba by the tribe of Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf and its inauguration by Prophet Muhammad (s), the hypocrites built Masjid al-Dirar under the pretext of supporting the weak and asked the Prophet (a) to pray in it. However, with the revelation of this verse, their intention was exposed, and the mosque was demolished by the order of the Prophet (a). It is said that this mosque was built at the instigation of Abu 'Amir al-Rahib, one of the enemies of Islam.

The importance of having a pure intention, avoiding showing off in building a mosque, and the impermissibility of building two mosques next to each other are among the interpretations of exegetes from this verse. According to some reports, mosques were built in the cities of Kufa and Sham (Syria) with the intention of Yazid b. Mu'awiya's victory over Imam al-Husayn (a); the Shi'a Imams introduced these mosques as "Cursed Mosques" (Masajid Mal'una) and declared praying in them forbidden.

General Points

Verse 107 of Qur'an 9 points to one of the major plots of the hypocrites to strike at Muslims.[1] In the preceding verses, various types of hypocrisy[2] and the status of their different groups were mentioned;[3] however, this verse and the following ones refer to a group of hypocrites who intended to conspire with precise planning. These verses reveal their plot[4] and point to hidden and deceptive goals that were presented with a beautiful appearance.[5] To advance their goals, this group proceeded to build a mosque[6] which, according to exegetes, is the famous Masjid al-Dirar.[7]

At the end of the verse, it addresses their false oaths to mislead public opinion and then refers to God's awareness of their secrets and lies,[8] informing Prophet Muhammad (s) of the invalidity of their oaths.[9] They had sworn that their goal in building the mosque was nothing but goodness and reform,[10] and that they only intended to help the Muslims and facilitate conditions for the weak.[11]

The story of Masjid al-Dirar is considered one of the important and prominent events during the Battle of Tabuk,[12] which has been reflected in historical sources in addition to exegetical sources.[13] Exegetical books with a narrative approach have cited a number of interpretive traditions in this regard.[14]

Goals of Hypocrites in Building Masjid al-Dirar

Qur'an 9:107, after mentioning the construction of the mosque by the hypocrites, points to their goals in doing so.[15] Nasir Makarim Shirazi, a Shi'a exegete, relying on the verse, considers their goal in these actions to be weakening the unity of Muslims, preventing the spread of Islam, destroying the Prophet (a), and destroying the foundation of Islam.[16]

  • Harming Muslims

Exegetes have interpreted the word "dirar" in the verse as seeking and causing harm.[17] It is said that the verse means causing harm to Masjid Quba[18] and its worshipers,[19] as well as causing harm to the Prophet's Mosque.[20]

  • Strengthening Disbelief

The goal of the hypocrites in building Masjid al-Dirar was considered to be establishing[21] and strengthening the foundations of disbelief[22] and hypocrisy[23] against God and the Apostle.[24] The hypocrites decided to build the mosque with the aim of refraining from praying behind the Prophet (s). They claimed that if the Prophet (s) came to their mosque, they would pray with him.[25]

  • Creating Division among Muslims

The next goal of the hypocrites in building Masjid al-Dirar was to create discord and weaken the unity of the Muslim community[26] and to scatter them from around the Messenger of God (s).[27] It is said that by gathering a group in this mosque, the prosperity of Masjid Quba, which was nearby,[28] or the Prophet's Mosque, which was further away, would be destroyed[29] and the population of their worshipers would decrease.[30]

  • Waiting for the Enemy of God and the Apostle

Exegetes have interpreted the word "irsad" in the verse as waiting[31] accompanied by enmity.[32] It is said that the ultimate goal of the hypocrites was to create a center so that a person who had previously shown enmity towards God and the Prophet (s), and whose bad record was clear to everyone, could carry out his plans from this base.[33] That person is considered to be Abu 'Amir al-Rahib, the father of Hanzala Ghasil al-Mala'ika, whom the Prophet (s) had called a fasiq (transgressor).[34]

Occasion of Revelation

Exegetes consider the occasion of revelation of the verse, along with the two following verses, to be about a group of hypocrites,[35] especially Abu 'Amir al-Rahib,[36] and the construction of Masjid al-Dirar.[37] It is said that there is a consensus among exegetes regarding the occasion of revelation of the verse.[38]

When Masjid Quba was built in Medina by a group of Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf, they asked the Prophet (s) to pray in that mosque. The Prophet (a) inaugurated the mosque and prayed there.[39] A number of hypocrites, out of envy towards the worshipers of Masjid Quba,[40] built another mosque next to Masjid Quba under pretexts such as helping the weak and sick in the Banu Salim tribe. This mosque was in fact a base for the gathering of hypocrites.[41] These individuals asked the Prophet (s) on the eve of his departure for the Battle of Tabuk to pray in the new mosque. The Prophet (s) postponed this request until his return from the battle. Upon his return from Tabuk, this verse was revealed[42] and exposed their true intention.[43] Following this event, the Prophet (s) ordered the mosque to be demolished and its site to be turned into a place for garbage collection.[44]

According to a number of narrations, Masjid al-Dirar was built by the order of Abu 'Amir al-Rahib. Abu 'Amir was initially one of those who announced the good tidings of the appearance of the Prophet of Islam (s);[45] but after the Prophet's migration and the spread of Islam, he opposed him.[46] Abu 'Amir wrote a letter to the hypocrites of Medina and promised to bring an army from Rome.[47] He asked them to build a mosque for his activities in Medina.[48] The hypocrites built Masjid al-Dirar and waited for Abu 'Amir's return to pray for them in that mosque.[49]

Builders of Masjid al-Dirar

Exegetes have stated the number of people who built Masjid al-Dirar as 12[50] or 15[51] from the tribe of Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf[52] or Banu Ghanm b. 'Awf[53] from the Ansar.[54] However, there is a difference of opinion among exegetes regarding the names of these individuals.[55] Khidham b. Khalid b. 'Ubayd, Tha'laba b. Hatib, Hilal b. Umayya, and 'Abbad b. Hunayf are among those mentioned in exegetical[56] and historical sources.[57]

Requirements of Mosques and Mosque Construction

Exegetes have derived interpretations from verse 107 of Qur'an 9 regarding mosques and mosque construction, some of which are:

  • Conditions of the Intention of Mosque Builders: The verse shows that the pure intention of the founders and custodians of mosques is important.[58] If a mosque is built with the intention of prayer and worship, it is praiseworthy; but if the goal is to cause harm, it is considered ugly and sinful.[59] Al-Qurtubi states in his commentary that Islamic scholars believe that any mosque built with the intention of harm, showing off, or ostentation falls under the ruling of Masjid al-Dirar, and praying in it is not permissible.[60] Exegetical sources refer to prominent individuals who, relying on the verse, refrained from praying in certain mosques.[61] According to some reports, mosques were built in Kufa and Sham (Syria) with the intention of Yazid b. Mu'awiya's victory over Imam al-Husayn (a); the Shi'a Imams called them "Cursed Mosques" (Masajid Mal'una) and declared praying in them forbidden.[62]
  • Restrictions on Building Mosques Close to Each Other: A mosque should not be built next to another mosque, and the construction of a new mosque should be prevented unless there is a need for a new mosque due to the size of the neighborhood.[63] Some exegetes believe that even in one city, two or three congregational mosques should not be built, and if someone performs Friday Prayer in the second mosque, their prayer is not accepted.[64] According to historical reports, Umar b. al-Khattab issued an order regarding the construction of mosques in these regions during the Muslim conquests. He emphasized that two mosques should not be built close to each other in any city.[65]
  • Implications related to Congregational Prayer: Two congregational prayers should not be held in one mosque; because this can also lead to scattering and weakening the unity of Muslims.[66]
  • Mosque as a Tool for Unity: Any mosque that is a factor of division and weakening the community of Muslims is considered a Masjid al-Dirar, and its respect and sanctity are lost in such conditions.[67] In this regard, any abuse by enemies must be prevented.[68] It is said that building mosques with tribal or personal motives that cause the scattering of Muslims and the emptying of the rows of congregational prayer is considered haram and contrary to Islamic goals.[69]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 137; Jaʿfarī, Kawthar, vol. 4, p. 579.
  2. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, vol. 4, p. 101.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 137.
  4. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, vol. 4, p. 101; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 137.
  5. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 298; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 257; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 138.
  6. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 389.
  7. ↑ Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 5, p. 94; Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 311; Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, p. 504.
  8. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 298; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 257; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 138.
  9. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147.
  10. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 305.
  11. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, p. 18.
  12. ↑ Sayyid Quṭb, Fī ẓilāl al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 1710.
  13. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, vol. 2, p. 529; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 3, pp. 110–111; Balādhurī, Futūḥ al-buldān, 1988, p. 13.
  14. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, pp. 18–20; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 3, p. 276; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 2, p. 375.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 389.
  16. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 137.
  17. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 297; Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 6, p. 19; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 389.
  18. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147.
  19. ↑ Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 310; Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, vol. 3, p. 97; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 2, p. 375.
  20. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, p. 18.
  21. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 110.
  22. ↑ Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, vol. 3, p. 97; Qummī Mashhadī, Tafsīr kanz al-daqāʾiq, vol. 5, p. 542; Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 2, p. 375.
  23. ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 310; Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 5, p. 94.
  24. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147; Baghawī, Maʿālim al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 387.
  25. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147.
  26. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, p. 18; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 298.
  27. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 110; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 257.
  28. ↑ Baghawī, Maʿālim al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 387.
  29. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, pp. 137–138.
  30. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 110.
  31. ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 6, p. 19; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 257.
  32. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147.
  33. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 138.
  34. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147; Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, pp. 501–502.
  35. ↑ Baghawī, Maʿālim al-tanzīl, 1420 AH, vol. 2, p. 387; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 4, p. 211.
  36. ↑ Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 257; Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 305.
  37. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 305.
  38. ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i drakhshān, vol. 8, p. 117.
  39. ↑ Qummī Mashhadī, Tafsīr kanz al-daqāʾiq, vol. 5, pp. 540–541.
  40. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 109; Qummī Mashhadī, Tafsīr kanz al-daqāʾiq, vol. 5, pp. 540–541.
  41. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 389; Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, pp. 501–502.
  42. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 389.
  43. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 305; Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, p. 18; Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 310.
  44. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 298; Qummī Mashhadī, Tafsīr kanz al-daqāʾiq, vol. 5, pp. 540–541.
  45. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 135.
  46. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 135.
  47. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147.
  48. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 136; Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, pp. 501–502.
  49. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 283.
  50. ↑ Ibn Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān, vol. 2, p. 196; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 16, p. 147; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 297.
  51. ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i drakhshān, vol. 8, p. 117.
  52. ↑ Ibn Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān, vol. 2, p. 196; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 297.
  53. ↑ Qummī Mashhadī, Tafsīr kanz al-daqāʾiq, vol. 5, pp. 540–541.
  54. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, p. 20; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 3, p. 277; Ibn Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān, vol. 2, p. 196.
  55. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 297.
  56. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 11, p. 18; Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 6, p. 19; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, pp. 253–254.
  57. ↑ See for example: Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, vol. 3, pp. 110–111.
  58. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, pp. 503–504.
  59. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 298.
  60. ↑ Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 254.
  61. ↑ Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 5, p. 94; Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 254.
  62. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, p. 502.
  63. ↑ Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 254.
  64. ↑ See for example: Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 254.
  65. ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 310; Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 5, p. 94.
  66. ↑ Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 257.
  67. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, pp. 503–504.
  68. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, pp. 503–504.
  69. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 138.

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