Are Some Mosques More Virtuous Than Others? Age, Congregation, and the Imam التفاضل بين المساجد: القدم وكثرة الجماعة والإمام

Questioner: Is there a difference in virtue between mosques, or are they equal? I mean in terms of the mosque's age versus new mosques; also in terms of the imam, whether he is a student of knowledge or a layman; the congregation; and fewer objectionable things in the mosque, such as hearing music and the like. So I ask: is there a difference between mosques?

Many jurists hold that prayer in the old mosque is better than prayer in the new mosque. This is ijtihad on their part, without evidence.

The rulings of the Shari'ah are built on evidence, not on hearsay. [Suppose] it is a well-known view among the jurists — then what? Is it known in the Book and the Sunnah? That is where the proof is established against the servants.

A mosque is made more virtuous by the size of its congregation, because of the hadith of Ubayy: "And whatever is more is more beloved to Allah." So if a great many people frequent this mosque, it is better than the old mosque in which only a small number pray.

As for the imam — does the imam have a role in making prayer behind him better than [behind] another? Without doubt, praying behind a pious, knowledgeable imam is better than praying behind a man who has some shortcoming and is ignorant.

The Prophet ﷺ says: "The one who leads the people [in prayer] is the one most versed in the Book of Allah." If people are led by those below them, they will keep declining; rather, they should be led by their leaders, their scholars, their jurists, the imams of the religion and the imams of scrupulousness.

When you pray behind a pious man, the prayer has a meaning it lacks when you pray behind a sinful man, or one with shortcomings and misguidance. So a person seeks out such people to pray behind them. That is why the scholars (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on them) differed on the ruling of praying behind an innovator — one, of course, whose innovation does not take him out of Islam — and the ruling of praying behind a sinner (fasiq).

The scholars have two views:

Some said: the prayer is invalid; he repeats it.

And some said: the prayer is valid, with sin, because whoever's prayer is valid for himself, his prayer is valid for others.

But if he finds others, he does not pray behind them; and if he finds no one besides them, let him pray behind them — prayer behind them is better than prayer at home.

Questioner: "Indeed the first House established for mankind" — does that not mean it is old? Allah mentioned that it is old. And Masjid Quba': "A mosque founded on piety from the first day" — does being old not give it a superiority?

[Another question, on the criterion for changing the creation of Allah, was asked at the same point; it is answered in The Criterion for Forbidden "Changing the Creation of Allah".]

Which is older, Quba' or the Prophet's Mosque?

Questioner: Quba'.

Which is better?

Questioner: Some scholars say Quba'.

Better than the Prophet's Mosque?!

Questioner: By Allah, I read a book that says so.

No problem, that is always happening. But which is better in your view?

Questioner: The Prophet's [Mosque].

Why?

Questioner: Because it is the mosque of the Prophet ﷺ.

Only that?

Questioner: The prayer in it.

A prayer in it is [better] than a thousand prayers elsewhere. But no virtue has come regarding Masjid Quba', except that the Prophet used to pray in it. As for the hadith "Whoever prays two rak'ahs in Quba' has the reward of an 'umrah," it is weak; this hadith is defective according to al-Tirmidhi and others.

So by your own testimony, the later [mosque] became better than the earlier one. So nothing follows [from age].

As for the verse, there is no indication in it. Allah informs us that this is an ancient mosque and that it is the first mosque; and He also mentioned in the context that it was founded on piety — in the context of explaining the Mosque of Harm (Masjid al-Dirar), which was founded to wage war on this religion and scatter the word of the Muslims.

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