Don’t Intend Hypocrisy in Building Mosques

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

We are thanking our guests; they host us and they praised. Insha’Allah this praise is for Allāh ﷻ, not for us. Everybody can be Awliyā’uLlāh. Whoever follows the order of Allāh ﷻ is Waliyu’Llāh. AlhamduliLlāh all of us, in shā’a Llāh, we’ll be ‘awliyā’uLlāh, all together.

We are happy to see this place which Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla says about in the Qur’an, A‘ūdhu biLlāhi mina sh-shayṭāni r-rajīm. Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm: ‘وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ’, ‘Wa ta‘āwanū ‘ala l-birri wa t-taqwā wa la ta‘āwanū ‘ala l-lithmī wa l-‘udwān’, ‘And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.’ (Qur’ān 05:02). Ṣadaqa Llāhu l-‘Aẓīm. Allāh ﷻ is ordering, help each other to do the good thing, to help people, to help give benefit for Ummat Sayyidina Muhammad ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. So, alhamduliLlah we are happy with our brothers. It is the first time that we come here. But alhamduliLlah what they have done is very good. May Allāh ﷻ bless them.

When you see something for Allāh ﷻ done in the middle of a kufr place, you are happy. Why? Because it is giving light for the place and for people. They benefit from this good place in everything. Especially and firstly the mosque. The mosque which is Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla’s house, Baytu Llāh, Buyutu Llāh. The mosque is the house of Allah Azza wa Jalla, He ﷻ said. And beside them, like old people, alhamduliLlah, the sultans, ‘ulamā, awliyā’ were building mosques and around them, they make a place for people to come, to listen, to learn, to get benefit. Anything good for humanity, you can find there. AlhamduliLlah, this is the same. Like old places in which they were doing madrasah, doing hospital, feeding people.

Allāh ﷻ is happy with this. This place is for ākhirah. It is to prepare people for Jannah. Because there must be a place for gathering people. And alhamduliLlah here also, not only for gathering, but they are also encouraging people to be with good people. Because in some mosques, they only pray and go out without seeing anybody. But here, anyone can come and benefit from lessons of Qur’an and ṭarīqah; any ṭarīqah. AlhamduliLlah, they are open for all ṭarīqah. They are not banning anyone. “You are from that ṭarīqah. You are from this ṭarīqah. We don’t like. Don’t speak.” Here, there’s nothing like this at all. This is how Muslims must be. Muslims must accept what people like. What do the people like? They like the way of Allāh ﷻ, way of Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, to follow, to find good people.

We grew up in Damascus. AlhamduliLlah, they now cleaned the biggest mosque, Jami’ al-Amawi (Umayyad Mosque). In each corner you find one ‘ālim, Shaykh, making a circle and giving lessons. Maybe you can find 10 or 20 people because there are many ‘ālims there. And they have a book. They continue every day with this book in the same time, by themselves. Nobody gives them a salary or orders them to do this. They are happy to do this. And each one, as we said, has maybe 10, maybe 50, maybe 100, some of them 200 people around them listening, and also writing what they understand. In each place one. This is good for people: not only coming for praying, but to learn also. The mosque is very important. Besides this, if anybody asks something, they are also giving them an answer.

AlhamduliLlah, now it is open again. In shā’a Llāh, everywhere becomes like this. May Allāh ﷻ make such places more and more. May Allāh ﷻ bless those who put one stone here and make us to be with you. May Allāh ﷻ bless them. We are really, from our heart, praying for them, because they thought and did this. They say, “In this time, we cannot do like this.” In shā’a Llāh when Allāh ﷻ wants, you can do it. Don’t say anything. Begin and Allāh ﷻ continues. Allāh ﷻ helps because this is to “إِعلَاءِ كَلِمَةِ الله” – to make Superior the Word of Allah ﷻ. To make His ﷻ Word the highest. Allāh ﷻ surely helps. AlhamduliLlah, many mosques are established everywhere. And when people say, “Maybe we cannot finish this.” Allāh ﷻ opens and they finish it. For this, if anybody has an intention, Allāh ﷻ gives him for his intention. The intention must be pure for Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla, for helping people; and Allāh ﷻ helps. Not for the ego, or to make nifāq (hypocrisy) between mu’mins, or to make it for their way, a way different from what Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla says.

Because last year alhamduliLlah, we were in Canada. And we went to pray Salatu Jum’ah. We passed through a mosque. They said there is mosque here, a little bit between an industrial area. So, we went there to pray Jum’ah. We passed through one mosque. It was very huge, with a kubba, minaret; exactly like the Islamic style. I said, “This one.” They said, “No. No. This is not following. They are not even praying Jum’ah.” But the mosque was really exactly like the Islamic Mosque. But they said that there are no people even. And nobody was around. After that, we went to what looked like a mosque. It was maybe a factory or a place of stores, a big place; but not a mosque originally. It was built as a place to put something or as a factory. AlhamduliLlah, we prayed Jumah here, it was full; maybe a thousand people. They said, “This is the first Jum’ah this happens, and there are still the three-fold who will pray.”

AlhamduliLlah when the intention is good, Allāh ﷻ is happy with you. Because when the munafiqs (hypocrites) made a mosque in Madina, Allāh ﷻ was not happy. He ﷻ said in Qur’ān ‘Aẓīmu sh-Sha’n, this is not good intended. So they demolished this mosque. In shā’a Llāh, our mosques are all with good intention, Allāh ﷻ accepts this. Allāh ﷻ is happy with us because, al-ḥamdu liLlāh, they have every good thing for human beings. Muslims and non-Muslims, anybody can benefit. And they are blessed ones. This is the order of Allāh: ‘وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ’, ‘Wa ta‘āwanū ‘ala l-birri wa t-taqwā’, ‘And cooperate in righteousness and piety.’ (Qur’ān 05:02). Help each other to give good things and to be aware from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla, to be afraid of Allāh ﷻ.

How is being afraid of Allāh ﷻ? If you have a bad intention, you are not afraid of Allāh ﷻ. If you have a bad intention, Allāh ﷻ is not happy with you. This is the first ḥadīth [taught]. Intention is very important. Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says, “إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ”, “Innama l-‘aa’malu bin-niyyat”, “Actions are but by intentions”. Good deeds must only be with good intentions. Even for hijrah, this was the saying of Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. Who emigrates for Allāh ﷻ and Rasul, his emigration is acceptable, it is for Allāh ﷻ and Rasul. If for a woman whom he wants to marry, or for dunyā, then he emigrates for this also; for dunyā, not for Allāh ﷻ and for Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam.

May Allāh ﷻ make all our intentions for Allāh ﷻ and Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. Because this is the real valuable thing for us. You cannot take dunyā with you to ākhirah. Dunyā will stay in dunyā for other people, and you will take what you’ve done from goodness for the sake of Allāh Azza wa Jalla. May Allāh ﷻ make all our intentions to be our whole life for Allāh Azza wa Jalla. Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm, ‘قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَُ’, ‘Qul ‘Inna Şalātī Wa Nusukī Wa Maĥyāya Wa Mamātī Lillāh Rabbi Al-`Ālamīna’, ‘Say, “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.’ (Qur’an 06:162). We read this every time. Our life, our death, our everything is for the sake of Allāh ﷻ, in shā’a Llāh. May Allāh ﷻ bless you. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 

15 February 2025/ 16 Sha’ban 1446

Al Madina Mosque – Barking, UK