Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:18

It is also recited in the singular (masjid). The meaning is: The maintenance performed by these people is the only maintenance that is upright and worthy of consideration.

"Maintenance" (‘imārah) encompasses:

• Repairing what has fallen into disrepair.
• Sweeping and cleaning them.
• Illuminating them with lamps.
• Revering them.
• Frequent attendance for worship and dhikr (remembrance).
• Among the forms of dhikr is the study of sacred knowledge—indeed, it is the most noble and greatest of them.
• Protecting them from things for which mosques were not built, such as worldly talk, let alone idle chatter.

From the Prophet (ﷺ):

• "There will come at the end of time people from my nation who will come to the mosques and sit in circles, their talk being of the world and the love of the world. Do not sit with them, for Allah has no need of them."
• "Talk in the mosque consumes good deeds just as livestock consumes grass."
• "Allah the Exalted says: 'My houses on My earth are the mosques, and My visitors in them are those who maintain them. So glad tidings to a servant who purifies himself in his house, then visits Me in My house; for it is the duty of the host to honor his visitor.'"
• "Whoever finds intimacy in the mosque, Allah finds intimacy in him."
• "If you see a man frequenting the mosques, then testify to his faith."

From Anas (ra):

• "Whoever lights a lamp in a mosque, the angels and the bearers of the Throne will continue to seek forgiveness for him as long as its light remains in that mosque."

Question: Why was faith in the Messenger (ﷺ) not mentioned? Answer: Because it is known and famous that faith in Allah is paired with faith in the Messenger. Since the Shahada, the Adhan, the Iqama, and other rites include both of them paired together—as if they were one thing, inseparable—faith in the Messenger is folded into the mention of faith in Allah. It is also said that the mention of establishing prayer and giving zakat points to it.

Question: How can it be said, "And he fears none but Allah," when a believer fears dangers and cannot help but fear them? Answer: It refers to fear and piety in matters of religion: that one does not choose anything over the pleasure of Allah due to the expectation of something feared. If two matters confront him—one being the right of Allah and the other the right of his own self—he fears Allah and prefers the right of Allah over the right of his own self. It is also said that they used to fear the idols and hope in them, so this fear was intended to be negated from them.

{فعسى أولئك أن يكونوا من المهتدين} (It is they who are expected to be among the guided)

This is a distancing of the polytheists from the stations of guidance and a frustration of their hopes of benefiting from the deeds they magnified, boasted about, and expected a good outcome from. It implies: If those who believe and combine their faith with the practice of the laws—while feeling fear and piety—have their guidance revolving between "perhaps" (‘asa) and "maybe" (la‘alla), then how can the polytheists be certain that they are guided and will attain the best from Allah?

In this speech and its like, there is a subtlety for the believers in prioritizing fear over hope and rejecting being deluded by Allah the Exalted.

{أجعلتم سقاية الحاج وعمارة المسجد الحرام كمن ءامن بالله واليوم الآخر وجاهد فى سبيل الله لا يستوون عند الله والله لا يهدى القوم الظالمين} (Have you made the providing of water for the pilgrims and the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque equal to one who believes in Allah and the Last Day and strives in the cause of Allah? They are not equal in the sight of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.)