From the events of the emigration to Madinah, it is clear that the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, never stayed in any place unless he built a mosque therein for the believers to gather. He built the Qubaa mosque when he stayed there for four days. He also built a mosque between Qubaa and Madinah when the time of the Friday prayer came while he was in the residence of the tribe of Salimibn Auf in the heart of Ranonaa’ Valley.
When he arrived in Madinah, the first act he performed was the building of a mosque.
This indicates the importance of a mosque in Islam. All acts of worship (ibadah) in Islam are for the purification of the soul, refinement of morals, and strengthening the ties of mutual cooperation among the Muslims. The congregational prayers and the Friday and Eid prayers are strong examples of the nature of the Muslim community and in the unity of their opinions, goals and cooperation in achieving righteousness and in fearing Allah.
Thus, if this is the case with the acts of worship, it is no wonder that mosques carry a great social and spiritual place in the lives of the Muslims. The mosque is the thing which unites them and their efforts. It refines their souls and awakens their minds and hearts. It solves their problems. The mosque shows their strength and cohesiveness.
The history of the mosques in Islam has proved that from them come the great armies of Islam which rush to fill the earth with Allah’s guidance. From the mosques the beams of the light of guidance emanate for the Muslims and others. Inside them, the seeds of Islamic civilization develop and grow.
Is it not true that Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, Ali, Khalid, Saad, Abu Ubaidah, and their likes from among the greats of Islamic history were but the students of the Muhammad’s school which was headquartered in the Prophet’s mosques?
Another special characteristic of the mosques in Islam is that the word of truth emanates from them every week on the tongues of the preachers. The topic may be about forbidding evil and enjoining good or an invitation to do some good, an awakening for the heedless, an invitation to assembly, objections to a wrongdoer, or a warning about a tyrant. We (i.e. the author and his generation) witnessed, when we were still children, how the mosques were the centers of the nationalist movement against the French occupation. From the mosques also clame the leaders of the Jihad against colonialism in general and against Zionism (Israel) in specific.
If we see the mosques crippled and not playing their great role today, it is due to the fault of some of their paid preachers, mercenaries or the ignorant. On the day when the strong leaders and the scholars of Islamic legislation, sincere to Allah and His Messenger, give advice to the leaders and common Muslims and ascend the pulpits and lead the prayers, on that day the mosque will return to its leading position in the Islamic society. The mosque will return to its role in raising real men, graduating heroes, reforming corruption, fighting evil and building society upon the foundation of fearing and pleasing Allah alone. We hope for this to take place, Allah willing, when the vanguard of our purified, believing youths, who are educated with Allah’s religion and who behave with the Prophet’s manners, occupy the pulpits and the rooms of the mosques.
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