Masjid ad Zarar, the Mosque of Harm, was a mosque built by the hypocrites of Madinah to coverty oppose the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They completed it just before Prophet Muhammad departed on the Expedition of Tabuk.
Upon his return, Allah revealed their hypocracy in the Quran and the Prophet ordered the mosque to be destroyed.
Soon after, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the leader of the Munafiqeen fell critically ill, and he asked the Prophet to pray for him. After his death, his son asked the Prophet to lead his father's funeral prayer.
Out of mercy, the Prophet decided to pray for him, but Umar ibn al-Khattab forcefully objected, grabbing the prophet by his shirt, claiming Allah had prohibited the prayer. The Prophet replied "Allah has given me the choice. He said 'If you seek forgiveness 70 times, God will not forgive him" (there's no prohibition given) so I'll ask for more than 70 times."
Key lessons from this include:
- Don't pray in a mosque that advances the agenda of Islam's enemies. Don't become their pawns
- Worship cannot be detached from the political goals of Islam
- Leaders serve as exemplars for others, and thus have an elevated responsibility
- When we restrict acccess to centers of corruptions, we still have to provide alternatives
- The true worth of a masjid is reflected in the character of it's congregation
- Earnest desire for purification is a virtue Allah loves
- The worth of our actions depends on our intentions
- Anything undertaken with evil intentions is always on the verge of collapse
- Misuse of a mosque is a type of oppression
- Sometimes spiritual and psychological ailments are deeply rooted traits that resist change
Life of Prophet Muhammad by Sheikh Azhar Nasser
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Lecture slides available at http://www.why-quran.org/?p=735
Playlist of this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT
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