Masjids having no special reward for offering Salah therein

Q: Your Eminence, I would like your answer to the following question:First, what is the Islamic ruling on whoever visits Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah to offer Salah in Al-Masjid Al-Nabawy Al-Sharif then goes to Masjid Quba', and the Masjid of two Qiblahs (direction faced for Prayer towards the Ka`bah), the Masjid of Jumu`ah, the Masjid of Al-Ghamamah, Al-Seddik, the Masjid of `Aly (may Allah be pleased with them), and other ancient Masjids, and after entering them, the visitor offers Tahiyyat-ul-Masjid (two-unit Prayer to salute the mosque). Is this permissible for him to do or not?Second, after the visitor reaches Al-Masjid Al-Nabawy Al-Sharif, is it permissible for him to visit the ancient Masjids in Al-Madinah Al-Nabawiyyah with the intention of contemplating over the remains of the righteous Salaf (righteous predecessors) and seeing the actual embodiment of the information which they read in the books of (Part No. 5; Page No. 178) Tafsir (explanation/exegesis of the meanings of the Qur'an), Hadith and history concerning the Gazawat (battles) and the abodes of the tribes of Al-Ansar. Please advise concerning this regard.

A: The answer to these two questions necessitates some details as follows:First, by surveying the Masjids that exist in the Prophet's Madinah, peace be upon him, i.e., Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah (may Allah protect it), it is evident that they are of many kinds:As for the first kind, a Masjid that exists in the Prophet's Madinah (peace be upon him) and which has a special merit. There are only two Masjids in this regard:The first one is the Prophet’s Mosque (peace be upon him) and which is mentioned in Allah's Saying: Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allâh loves those who make themselves clean and pure [i.e. who clean their private parts with dust (which has the properties of soap) and water from urine and stools, after answering the call of nature]. It is the second of the three Masjids to which a journey may be undertaken as authentically proven in the prophetic Sunnah. It has also been authentically proven that offering one Salah in this Masjid is better than one thousand Salahs elsewhere with the exception of Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque in Makkah).Second, Masjid Quba' for which this Ayah (Qur'anic verse) was revealed: Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid on piety Furthermore, it is narrated in the Hadith reported by (Part No. 5; Page No. 179)  Usayd ibn Hudayr Al-Ansary (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Offering Salah in Masjid Quba' is equal in reward to `Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). (Related by Al-Tirmidhy, Ibn Majah, and others) It is narrated on the authority of Sahl ibn Hunayf, (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who purifies himself at his house then goes to Masjid Quba' only to offer Salah in it will get a reward equal to that of performing `Umrah. (Related by Ahmad, Al-Nasa'y, Ibn Majah, and others) This is the exact wording of the narration of Ibn Majah. The second kind refers to the general Masjids of Muslims that are spread in the Prophet's Madinah, peace be upon him, and which have no merit of their own, but offering Salah in them is equally rewarded.As for the third kind, they are the Masjids that were built at certain places that the Prophet was thought to have offered Salah at, or he himself defined the place where he offered that Salah in, such as Banu Salim Masjid and Musalla (a place for Prayer) for `Eid (Festival). Such Masjids have no virtues for which they should be singled out, and nothing was reported that encourages visiting them and offering two Rak`ah (unit of Prayer) in them.The fourth kind is dedicated to some newly built Masjids that were ascribed wrongly to the Prophet's era or that of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and due to innovated practices, they were frequented by the people, such as (Part No. 5; Page No. 180) the seven Masjids, a Masjid in the Uhud Mountain, and others. These Masjids are baseless as far as the sanctified Shar` is concerned, and accordingly they should not be visited for the purpose of offering a certain `Ibadah (worship) or other acts of worship, as this is an apparent Bid`ah (innovation in religion).The basic Shar`y rule is that no one is to be worshipped except Allah and in the manner He enjoined and prescribed as revealed to His Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is evidently manifested in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the traditions reported from the Salaf (righteous predecessors) of this Ummah (nation) who authentically reported this religion from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and conveyed it to us. This is to warn us against following innovations in obedience to the command of the bringer of glad tidings and warnings (peace be upon him), as he says in the Sahih (authentic) Hadith: He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected. And in another wording: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected. He (peace be upon him) also said: You must follow my Sunnah and that of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs after me. Stick to them and hold fast to them. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error. And he said: Follow the example of those after me: Abu Bakr and `Umar. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said when some of the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) asked him to make for them a tree from which they seek blessing and hang their weapons on. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Allaahu (Part No. 5; Page No. 181) Akbar! By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, verily these are the ways of the earlier nations. You have said exactly as The Children of Israel said to Musa: Make for us an ilâh (a god) as they have âlihah (gods). The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: The Jews have split into seventy one sects, and the Christians have split into seventy two sects. And this Ummah will split into seventy-three sects, and all of them will be in the Hellfire save one.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, which one will that be?” He replied, “The one that follows what me and my Sahabah (Companions) follow. Furthermore, it has been reported by Ibn Waddah in his book "Al-Bid`a wal Nahy `anha" (Innovations and Means of Forbidding them) with his Sanad (chain of narrators) from Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that `Amr ibn `Utbah and some of his friends built a Masjid in Al-Kufah, but it was ordered by `Abdullah that this Masjid be demolished and that was done. Then it came to his knowledge that the said people were gathering in a corner of Masjid Al-Kufah and continued offering Tasbih (glorification of Allah), Tahlil (saying: "La ilaha illa Allah [There is no god except Allah]") and Takbir (saying: "Allahu Akbar [Allah is the Greatest]"). It is said that `Abdullah wore a hooded cloak and went to the Masjid to hear what they were saying, and then he unveiled his face to identify himself as Abu `Abdul-Rahman, then he said: "Either you surpassed the knowledge of Muhammad's Sahabah, or you have wrongfully introduced a new innovation, etc."He also warned him and others against following invented innovations, and incited people to understand and comprehend the rulings and teachings of Din (religion) as the Salaf did. It has been authentically reported that `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) cut off the tree under which the Bay`ah (pledge of allegiance) of Ridwan took place between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Sahabah, when he saw that people (Part No. 5; Page No. 182) began to visit it frequently. Moreover, when he saw that people used to go collectively to a certain place, he enquired about that matter, and was told that they offer Salah in a place where the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to pray in on his way to perform Hajj. He accordingly got furious and said: Those who preceded you were destroyed due to following the traces of their prophets." End quote.It is an established fact that the purpose of building a Masjid is gathering people to perform their acts of worship in it, and it is an intended gathering in the Shari`ah (Islamic law). Accordingly, the existence of the seven Masjids in one place do not achieve that purpose; rather this will disperse prayers in a way that contradicts the purposes of Shari`ah. Moreover, such Masjids were apparently not built for gathering people because they are so close to one another; rather for seeking a blessing by offering Salah in them and offering Du`a' (supplication). This is an apparent innovation. As for the naming of such Masjids i.e. "The Seven Masjids", there is no historical explanation for that at all, but Ibn Zubalah mentioned Masjid Al-Fath, and he is a liar as defined by the Hadith scholars, and he died at the end of the second Hijri century. Then he was followed by Ibn Shabbah, the historian, and he mentioned the same Masjid, but it is known that historians tell narrations without confirming the authenticity of the narrators who said it, as they report what they hear and put the responsibility of its authenticity on those from whom they heard it. This was also the opinion of Al-Hafiz Imam Ibn Jarir in his history set. As for the authenticity of the names of these Masjids or one of them, this is not authentically proven. The Sahabah exerted all their efforts to report the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as his actions and deeds; they also reported everything the Prophet did, even on entering the bathroom. They similarly reported the Prophet's visit to Quba' Masjid every week and his performing Salah over the martyrs of Uhud before his death as if he was bidding them farewell, in addition to other narrations mentioned in (Part No. 5; Page No. 183) the books of Sunnah. As for these Masjids, the Hufaz and the historians have searched into the origin of their names, as the knowledgeable scholar Al-Samhudy (may Allah be merciful to him) said that he did not come across any authentic proofs concerning the names of these Masjids. And he said in another part that he did not find any authentic evidences regarding the names of such Masjids, or the other two Masjids mentioned by Al-Matary. As for shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be merciful to him), he said: It is meant here that the Sahabah and the Tabi`un (Followers, the generation after the Companions of the Prophet) did not glorify any of the traces of the prophet, such as a place he went or offered Salah in. They did not intend to build a Masjid to honor the traces of prophets and righteous people; rather their Imams such as `Umar ibn Al-Khattab and others intentionally forbade offering Salah in a place in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) might have offered Salah in once or twice. He also mentioned that `Umar, the other Rightly-Guided Caliphs such as `Uthman and `Aly, and the rest of the ten Sahabah promised with Jannah (Paradise) as well as others including Ibn Mas`ud, Mu`adh ibn Jabal and Ubay ibn Ka`b never intended offering Salah in these places. Then shayk-ul-Islam mentioned that in Al-Madinah there are many Masjids, and offering Salah in them is not singled out with a special virtue except for Masjid Quba' and that the Masjids that were built over graves (Part No. 5; Page No. 184) are nothing but mere innovation introduced into the religion of Islam and practiced by those who have weak knowledge of Islam and the Shari`ah revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) as to the perfection of Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah) and worshipping Allah alone as well as blocking all avenues with which Satan tempts mankind. Al-Shatiby related in his book "Al-E`tisam", that `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw some people frequently visiting a certain place in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to offer Salah, so he said, 'Those who came before you were perished due to following the traces of their prophets, and they turned these traces into churches and synagogues. He also said: Ibn Waddah said: Malik used to hate every innovated Bid`ah even if it was a good one lest people ascribe to the Prophet things he never did or considered lawful. Al-Shatiby (may Allah be merciful to him) also said: Ibn Kinanah was asked about the traces and remnants left in Al-Madinah and he said: that the most authentic narration refers only to Quba' It has been authentically narrated that `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) cut down the trees frequently visited by people to offer Salah under them lest they should be a source of Fitnah (temptation) for Muslims. `Umar ibn Shabbah mentioned in his book "Akhbar Al-Madinah" and also Al-`ainy in his commentary on Sahih Al-Bukhari the names of many Masjids, but they did not mention the said seven Masjids.In light of this short elaboration, it is known that the existence of the said seven Masjids or what is even called the Masjid of Al-Fath which was given considerable care by Abu Al-Haiga', the vizier of the ‘Ubaydi (Fatimid) state with its known school of thought, were not authentically reported and as these Masjids have recently been frequented by people for the purpose of visiting and attaining blessings by offering Salah in them, (Part No. 5; Page No. 185) and this may lead astray many of the visitors to the Prophet's Mosque, it should be known that going to such Masjids is an apparent Bid`ah (innovation in religion), and keeping them contradicts the objectives of Shari`ah and the teachings revealed to Muhammad of devoting worship to Allah alone. Honoring the prophetic Sunnah demands demolishing such Masjids, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected. The said Masjids should be demolished so as to avoid Fitnah and to block the avenues leading to Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) and to protect the `Aqidah (creed) of Muslims against any innovations as well as the perfection of Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah/ monotheism), and following the example of the Rightly-Guided Caliph, Amir Al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Believers), `Umar ibn Al-Khattab, (may Allah be pleased with him), who cut down the tree of Al-Hudaybiyah Treaty when he saw that people used to frequent it and he feared that they might be tempted away from their religion. He also reminded them that the people who came before them were perished by following the traces of the prophets because the Shari`ah of Allah did not prescribe that.Second, and based upon the above mentioned facts, it becomes evident that people who frequently visit these seven Masjids and other newly built Masjids solely for the purpose of discerning the ancient traces or to rub its walls and Mihrabs (a place where the Imam stands when leading prayer), and seeking blessing by means of that are committing a Bid`ah similar to that which disbelievers used to do with their idols in Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic time of ignorance). Therefore, every Muslim who wants to protect his religion against any temptation must avoid such misdeeds and advise his Muslim brothers to do the same.Third, this makes it known that what some weak-minded people do regarding deceiving pilgrims and visitors into visiting these innovated places in return for fees, such as the said seven Masjids, is a Haram (prohibited) deed, and the money taken (Part No. 5; Page No. 186) in return for the misdeed is ill-gotten, and the person who commits such an act should give it up. And whosoever fears Allâh and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.