An Expansion For Which There Is No Evidence:

From the Essay “Sifatu Masājid Dhirār Allatī Yajibu I’tizālahā”.

Some of the People of Knowledge – like Az-Zamakhsharī and others – included another cause in building the Masjid which enters it in the description and the ruling of the Masjid Adh-Dhirār, and it is the intent of showing off and seeking recognition from building the Masjid. So they said, ‘Whoever builds a Masjid out of showing off, then its ruling is the ruling of Masjid Adh-Dhirār.’ And some of the contemporary Students of Knowledge have followed them in this saying – and they spread it amongst the people – and they made invalid Qiyās upon it, which resulted in including that which is not allowed to be included from the Masjids which the Muslims built, (claiming) that they are Masājid Dhirār. I say: This is an expansion which is not correct, and it is rejected from (numerous) points:

- From them, is the absence of evidence from the Book and the Sunnah which indicates that showing off is from the descriptions which turn the Masjid to the description and the ruling of Masjid Dhirār.

- And from them, is that the sanctity of the Muslim’s wealth – from which the Masjid is built – is safeguarded by explicit evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, it is not allowed to oppose this evidence, reject it and invalidate it with the statement of an individual from the People of Knowledge! So the wealth of the Muslim is safeguarded with the evidence, so how can its sanctity be breached without evidence?

- And from them, is that the place of showing off is in the heart, (and) it is not possible to know it with certainty and to be positive of it. As how many people who show their actions are not actually showing off, and how many of those who hide their actions show it from a hidden way, (and) he will be someone with Riyā’ with Allāh, Ta’ālā? And how many individuals leave an action out of showing off and so that he will not be labelled as someone who shows off? And this is a broad subject, no one whom can encompass it except Allāh, Ta’ālā. Due to this, the Prophet, (saw) , labelled it “Shirk As-Sarā’ir (The shirk of the insides)… and Ash-Shirk Al-Khafī (The Hidden shirk)”, due to it being veiled from the eyes and knowledge of the people, and maybe even from the person committing it himself. Then if it is said: ‘It is possible to know Riyā’ through the Qarā’in (accompanying factors) that indicate it’. I say: These Qarā’in do not elevate passed being assumptions, and assumptions do not benefit anything beside the truth. And the rulings – and especially from them this issue of ours – are not based upon assumptions, and the sanctities are not breached, and the Masjids are not abandoned, destroyed and torched with assumptions.

- And from them, is that it is from the nature of the Believer that the good things make him happy, and that the praise of the Righteous upon him with good pleases him, because they are the witnesses of Allāh on the Earth. And in the Hadīth, as it has come authentically from the Prophet, (saw) that he said, “Whoever is made happy by his good deeds and made unhappy by his bad deeds, then he is a Believer.” And the likes of this happiness and pleasure might be explained according to many of the people as Riyā’, then they build upon that mistaken ideas (and) unjust rulings, and the Masjids are abandoned, and the tear will become wider to the point that it becomes hard to patch it or close it.

- And from them, is that the argument of Riyā’ might be a means for every hypocrite and one of weak Īmān which leads him to abandon the Masjids and the Jamā’ahs, and possibly leaving the Salāt. Then if you ask one of them about the reason for him leaving the Jamā’ah and his abandonment of the Masjid which might be neighbouring him, he says to you, ‘I know from the builder of this Masjid that which you do not know, (and) he has built it and wanted to show off by building it.’ And like this, the Masjids and the Jamā’ahs will be abandoned under the means of Riyā’.

- And from them, is the absence of scales with which Riyā’ can be verified, weighed and known, and which it is possible for it to be something agreed upon between all sound minded people. So the action that you explain as being Riyā’, someone other than you might explain it as openly declaring the truth, and ordering the good and forbidding the evil, or it is sincere piety, or sincere action. And the likes of this discrepancy, if it is acted upon, then it will lead to division, disputing and disagreement, and especially in an issue like the issue of Masājid Adh-Dhirār.

- And from them, is that the likes of this expansion in issuing rulings upon the Masjids that they are Dhirār has a negative effect upon the Muslims, their children and their lives, and especially those who are living in Europe, which is known for the lack of Masjids in it. To the point that due to the lack of Masjids, the Muslims have resorted to establishing the Jumu’ahs and the Jamā’ahs in places which immediately after the Salāt are turned into places of fisq, drinking alcohol, fornication, and bringing the evil acts to life. Is it comprehendible in the likes of this painful, difficult state of affairs, to restrict upon the slaves more than they are in from restrictions and hardships, and (for it) to be said to them that it is not allowed for you to pray in these Masjids due to the possibility of the suspicion of the presence of Riyā’? It is not allowed to take your children to these Masjids, while they know that the alternative to it will be the clubs, the shameless markets, befriending evil companions, and sitting in front of the television screen for long hours, in order for them to receive the destructive poisons which are broadcasted to them through the local and satellite channels.

And the Fiqhī rule states, “If it (i.e. the situation) becomes restricted, it (i.e. the ruling) becomes broadened.” And not “If it becomes restricted, it becomes (more) restricted and increases in tightness, strangling and severity.” And Allāh, Ta’ālā, says,

So verily, with hardship is ease. Verily, with hardship is ease. [As-Sharh, 5-6]

So it is not from the Religion and the Fiqh for us to follow up hardship with hardship and severity. So hardship is always followed by ease and comfort – without negligence – until the hardship is raised off of the Ummah and the slaves.

- And from them, is that Salāt Al-Jamā’ah and that which is included with it from the great and important Shar’ī objectives, to the point that the Prophet (saw) intended to torch the homes of those who stayed behind from it, if it were not for the presence of the children and the women in them. It is not possible for all of these Shar’ī objectives to be inactivated due to the suspicion of Riyā’, which is not elevated to the level of an authentic evidence.”