Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:107

"And those who took a mosque" is a conjunction connected to what preceded it, meaning: "And among them are those who..." It is permissible for it to be an inchoative (mubtada') whose predicate is "Is he who founded...", with the pronoun (‘aid) being omitted because it is understood—that is: "Among them are those who..."—or the predicate itself is omitted, meaning: "Among those whom we have described [are those who...]." It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative case due to an implied verb, such as "I censure" or "I mean."

Nafi‘ and Ibn ‘Amir read it without the "wa" (and). In that case, the previous possibilities remain, except for the conjunction, and it could be a substitute for "others" (akharun) based on a less preferred interpretation.

His saying, the Almighty: "Out of harm" (diraran), is a maf‘ul lahu (causative object), as is what follows it. It is said: it is an infinitive in the place of a state (hal), or a second object for "took" (ittakhadhu) on the basis that it means "to render" (sayyaru). Or, it is an absolute object (maf‘ul mutlaq) for an implied verb, meaning: "They harm the believers thereby, harmfully." Dirar is the seeking and attempting of harm.

Ibn Jarir and others narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that a group of the Ansar were told by Abu ‘Amir: "Build a mosque and prepare whatever power and weapons you can, for I am going to Caesar to bring a Roman army to expel Muhammad—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—and his companions." When they finished their mosque, they came to the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—and said: "We have finished building our mosque, and we would like you to pray in it and invoke blessing." Thereupon, this [verse] was revealed.

Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Abu Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—that the companions of the Mosque of Harm (Masjid al-Dirar) came to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—while he was preparing for Tabuk, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, we have built a mosque for the sick, the needy, for rainy nights, and for cold nights, and we would like you to come and pray in it for us." The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said: "I am about to set out on a journey and am occupied," or as he—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said, "If we return, God willing, we will come to you and pray in it for you."

When he returned from his journey and stopped at Dhu Awan—a place between him and Medina a short time of the day—news of the mosque reached him. He summoned Malik ibn ad-Dukhshum (of the Banu Salim ibn ‘Awf) and Ma‘n ibn ‘Adi (and his brother ‘Asim ibn ‘Adi, one of the Bal‘ajlan) and said: "Go to this mosque whose people are oppressors; demolish it and burn it." They went out quickly until they reached the Banu Salim ibn ‘Awf, who were Malik's kinsmen. Malik said to his companion: "Wait for me until I bring you fire from my family." He entered his house, took some palm branches, lit them, and they both ran until they entered the mosque while its people were inside. They burned it and demolished it, and the people dispersed. The Quran was revealed regarding them as it was.

The builders were twelve men: Khidham ibn Khalid (from Banu ‘Ubayd ibn Zayd, of the Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf, from whose house the mosque was taken out); ‘Abbad ibn Hunayf (also from Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf); Tha‘labah ibn Hatib; Wadi‘ah ibn Thabit (both from Banu Umayyah ibn Zayd, the kinsmen of Abu Lubabah ibn ‘Abd al-Mundhir); Mu‘attib ibn Qushayr; Abu Habibah ibn al-Az‘ar; Harithah ibn ‘Amir and his two sons, Mujammi‘ and Zayd; Nabil ibn al-Harith; Nujad ibn ‘Uthman; and Bajdah (from Banu Dubay‘ah).

Al-Baghawi mentioned, from a hadith cited by al-Tha‘labi (as al-‘Iraqi said, without a chain of transmission), that after burning and demolishing the mosque, the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—ordered that it be made a dumping ground where corpses, filth, and refuse were thrown, as an insult to its people because they had taken it "out of harm and disbelief"—that is, to disbelieve therein. Some have implied [a word like] "strengthening," i.e., "and strengthening the disbelief they conceal." It was argued against this that disbelief itself suffices as a cause, so what is the need for an implication? It was excused that it is possible that it is because the act of taking it is not disbelief itself, but rather it is [a vessel for] what it contains. So reflect upon this.

"And causing division among the believers"—they are, as al-Suddi said, the people of Quba’, for they were all praying in their mosque together, and these [men] out of envy wanted to separate them and cause their words to diverge.

"And as an outpost"—that is, watching and waiting—"for whoever had warred against Allah and His Messenger"—who is Abu ‘Amir, the father of Hanzalah, the Washer of the Angels—may Allah be pleased with him. He had become a monk during the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), wore wool, and became a Christian. When the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—came to Medina, Abu ‘Amir asked him: "What is this religion you have brought?" The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said: "The pure Hanifiyyah, the religion of Abraham—peace be upon him." He said: "I am upon it." The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said to him: "You are not upon it." He said: "Yes, but it is you who have introduced into it what does not belong to it." The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said: "I have not done that; I brought it white and pure." Abu ‘Amir said: "May Allah kill the liar among us as an exile, alone." The Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said "Amen," so the people called him "Abu ‘Amir the Liar," and the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—called him "The Deviant" (al-Fasiq).

On the day of Uhud, he said to the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "I will not find people fighting you except that I will fight you alongside them." He remained that way until the day of Hunayn. When the Hawazin were defeated on that day, he fled to the Levant and sent to the hypocrites, inciting them to build a mosque, as we mentioned earlier from the learned scholar (al-Hibr). They built it and remained waiting for his arrival to pray in it and triumph over the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—but it was demolished as passed. Abu ‘Amir died alone in Qinnasrin, and what they had concealed remained as a regret in their hearts.

"From before" is connected to "warred," i.e., he warred against Allah and His Messenger—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—before this taking. Or, it is connected to "took," i.e., they took it before they [fully] displayed hypocrisy by staying behind, as they had built it before the Tabuk expedition, as you have heard. The intent is an exaggeration in censure.

"And they will surely swear: 'We intended nothing'"—that is, we intended nothing by building this mosque—"but the best"—that is, but the best [outcome], which is prayer, the remembrance of Allah, and providing convenience for those praying. "The best" (al-husna) is the feminine of "the better" (al-ahsan), and it is originally a description for a state (khasla), and it serves as the direct object for "intended." It is permissible that it stands in the place of an omitted infinitive, meaning: "The best intention."

"And Allah testifies that they are indeed liars" in what they swore regarding it.